Seven invited guests. One host. One table. Every seat chosen with intention.
The right room changes who hears your story, who understands the value of your work and which conversations become possible.
But remarkable people do not always need another networking event. They need spaces where their perspectives are recognized, their stories are understood and the people around them have been brought together for a reason.
That belief became The IKONIK Table, an intimate editorial gathering and curated Vancouver event series created and hosted by Oyéta Kokoroko through IKONIK Magazine
On a September evening at CinCin Ristorante in Vancouver, eight people from different professional, creative and cultural worlds gathered around its inaugural Table.
Some were meeting for the first time.
Every invitation had a purpose. Every voice added something distinct. And every person in the room became part of IKONIK Table’s founding story.
Why the right people matter
Visibility is often presented as an individual pursuit: build your personal brand, communicate consistently, share your ideas and become more visible.
Those things matter. But many meaningful opportunities still begin through people.
The person who recognizes the potential in your work. The introduction that opens an unexpected conversation. The exchange that changes how you see your next move. The person who remembers your name when an opportunity emerges.
The most valuable rooms are therefore not defined by how many people enter them. They are defined by the thought behind who is there—and why they should know one another.
That idea shaped every seat at IKONIK Table 01.
The vision behind IKONIK Table
Throughout my work as a founder, brand advisor and editor, I have seen what becomes possible when meaningful work is recognized and positioned with intention.
It led me to consider a new question:
Not only which rooms should I enter, but what kind of room was I uniquely positioned to create?
My answer brought together the qualities at the heart of IKONIK: thoughtful curation, editorial storytelling, meaningful visibility and a genuine interest in the people behind remarkable work.
An invitation to IKONIK Table communicates something simple:
I recognize something meaningful in what you are building, creating or representing. Your perspective belongs in this conversation, and I believe the people around this Table should know you.
Through IKONIK Magazine, important stories can be documented and shared.
Through IKONIK Table, the people behind those stories can meet.
What is IKONIK Table?
IKONIK Table is a curated editorial dinner and intimate Vancouver event series created by IKONIK Magazine.
Each edition brings together a small group of founders, entrepreneurs, artists, experts and cultural voices whose work is worth knowing—and who have meaningful reasons to know one another.
The experience combines intentional guest curation, purposeful introductions, substantive conversation, editorial photography and continued visibility through the IKONIK platform.
The value is designed to extend beyond one evening.
The photographs document who entered the room. The editorial features allow their work and ideas to reach a wider audience. The relationships formed around the Table can continue evolving long after dinner ends.
This is where media, community and meaningful connection meet.
Inside Table 01
At CinCin Ristorante, personalized editorial cards waited for each guest.
Around the Table were perspectives spanning entrepreneurship, contemporary art, personal branding, bespoke tailoring, marketing, executive leadership, accessibility, philanthropy and community building.
The evening was anchored by one question:
What do you hope people will ultimately know you for?
It moved the conversation beyond professional titles.
It invited each person to consider what they wanted their work to mean, what they hoped to contribute and what they wanted others to understand about the person behind the public profile.
As the evening unfolded, the conversation moved naturally from what people did to why their work mattered—and what they hoped it could make possible.
The portraits captured who entered the room.
The conversation revealed why each person belonged there.
Meet the founding guests
The inaugural guests were not simply attendees. They became the seven founding guests of Table 01 in a new chapter of IKONIK.
Claudia Preciado
Claudia Preciado is a Vancouver image consultant, personal-brand strategist and author who helps women leaders and entrepreneurs align their style, confidence and professional presence.
Rajat Nagpal
Rajat Nagpal is a Vancouver entrepreneur, bespoke tailoring expert and founder of Suited Booted & Co., known for helping executives and founders express confidence and leadership through personalized luxury tailoring.
Nicole Chiang
Nicole Chiang is a Vancouver copywriter, digital marketer, former pharmacist and creator of Sisi Sote Jewelry who brings storytelling, behavioural psychology and audience insight into human-centred marketing.
Augustino Duminuco
Augustino Duminuco is a Canadian entrepreneur, real-estate professional, philanthropist and Founder and President of Infinite Expansion Foundation, with experience spanning strategic leadership, business development and community impact.
Anne Mok
Anne Mok is a blind storyteller, voice actor, author, disability advocate, speaker and founder of Purpose in View who advances accessibility, representation and more inclusive ways of experiencing the world.
Nefe Ogodo
Nefe Ogodo is a Nigerian contemporary artist and founder of Nefe African Art Studio in Vancouver whose work celebrates African identity, preserves culture and expands how African stories are seen.
Michelle Puffer, SPHRi
Michelle Puffer, SPHRi is a Vancouver-based chief executive and leadership strategist specializing in strategic planning, organizational development and community engagement, and the creator of Radiate Joy.
Their industries and lived experiences were different. What connected them was a shared commitment to building, leading, creating and contributing with purpose.
To Claudia, Rajat, Nicole, Augustino, Anne, Nefe and Michelle:
You did not simply attend the first IKONIK Table. You helped define it.
You trusted the vision before there was a previous Table to reference. You gave the idea its first life. You will always be part of where it began.
More than a magazine
IKONIK Magazine documents remarkable people, powerful ideas and meaningful work.
IKONIK Dialogues creates space for substantive perspectives. Our interviews introduce audiences to founders, creatives, experts and cultural leaders shaping business and society. IKONIK Table brings selected voices into the same room.
Together, these experiences create something larger than coverage alone:
IKONIK recognizes people, documents their ideas, connects them meaningfully and helps others understand why their work matters.
For readers, that means discovering people and perspectives worth following.
For those we feature, it means being presented with depth and intention.
For the IKONIK community, it means entering an ecosystem where recognition can become relationship—and relationship can create new possibilities.
Small room. Lasting impact.
In a world of constant digital communication, being meaningfully seen remains rare.
Intimate gatherings create space to encounter the person behind the positioning. They allow curiosity, trust and connection to develop without the pressure of performing for a crowded room.
An event does not need to be enormous to be influential.
Sometimes eight intentionally selected people can begin relationships, ideas and opportunities that reach far beyond one evening.
That is the power of the right room.
What comes next
Table 01 marked the first expression of a larger IKONIK vision: a media platform that not only documents community, but brings it together.
Future IKONIK Tables and editorial experiences will continue connecting founders, entrepreneurs, creatives, experts and cultural leaders through carefully considered rooms, meaningful questions and stories that travel beyond them.
Some people will first discover IKONIK through an article. Others through an interview, an introduction, a collaboration or a future invitation.
Every pathway leads towards the same purpose:
To create a platform where remarkable people and meaningful work are recognized, connected and elevated.
To our inaugural guests: thank you for bringing your insight, openness and presence to the first Table.
To those discovering IKONIK Table for the first time: future rooms are already being imagined.
Table 01 was the beginning.
The right room changes what becomes possible.
And IKONIK is only beginning to set the Table.
Stay connected to IKONIK
- Follow IKONIK Magazine
- Subscribe for new interviews, stories and IKONIK experiences
- Express interest in a future IKONIK Table
Partnerships
IKONIK collaborates with selected venues, brands and organizations that believe in meaningful visibility, influential storytelling and thoughtfully curated community experiences.
To explore an editorial partnership or sponsorship opportunity
Oyéta Kokoroko is an entrepreneur, brand strategist, founder of OKOKO Cosmétiques, and Founder and Editor-in-Chief of IKONIK Magazine. Her work brings together brand positioning, editorial storytelling and strategic visibility to help founders and meaningful ideas become more clearly recognized, trusted and remembered.
To explore brand strategy or founder advisory opportunities with Oyéta
