Kuczmarski Designs

Goodnight Ranger iPad App

2011-12-22T18:29:00.005-06:00

Goodnight Ranger is now available as an iPad app in the iTunes store! Full screen illustrations and an audio option make this a far superior experience than the other eBook option available.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/goodnight-ranger/id487451056?ls=1&mt=8

A Happy Tale From Texas

2011-09-17T12:53:00.003-05:00

A young hodag fan just sent me this fun story I thought I would share. (Full disclosure is that young Dillon is my cousin as well as a burgeoning writer.) And so as the weather turns brisk here in the great North I'm certainly appreciating the warmer sentiment of a trip down south, if not for me, for Happy at least. Enjoy!

A Scared Monster:
When Happy Meets People
By Dillon Scott

You have heard about Happy but this time he has a little different story to tell. It was April and Happy wanted a trip away from home in July, he wanted to go down to Texas where it is very hot. But he needed to take a friend so he took Buddy. So he wanted to go down to Camp Grady Spruce in Graford, Texas because he has never seen a firework show. But before he went he needed to learn to talk. For him it didn’t take long to learn English. So on July 1st they left for Texas and got there later that night.

Now Camp Grady Spruce is also a place where people go explore the woods. The next day they just rested after their trip, but that night Happy wanted to go explore the woods. While Happy was out, Buddy went to the lake and started swimming, then these 2 boys and one girl found him and since he is a bulldog they think he is there by himself. So then they took Buddy to their cabin. When Happy got back to his and Buddy’s camp out place Buddy wasn’t there so Happy started to look for him. At the same time Beth the girl that found Buddy took him on a walk alone. Then she ran into Happy and she got scared but Buddy ran to Happy because he knew him. So then she walked to Happy and he started talking and said hi to Beth. So after they started talking Beth knew why Buddy and Happy were there. She let Buddy go and then the both of them went to their camp out spot.

The next day July 3rd they just watched them set up for the show all day long. Now the fun started the next day, Happy and Buddy went swimming, then when the lake got full by the shore Happy and Buddy went on the boat. When they came back the sun was going down. So to watch the sunset they sat by the lake. Right after that the firework show started. The first fire work went off and Happy got scared. It was the noise that scared him. So what Buddy did was is he took Happy to their camp out spot. Buddy told him why that noise was so loud and they went back to the beach. On their way they saw Beth and she was with her family. Her family got scared until she told them who they were. They all walked to the beach together and watched the firework show. After the show they all went to Beth’s cabin. While they were there they talked about their trip. Then they went outside and played tag. The next day they headed back. The next day all they did was talk about their entire trip. So that’s the story of when Happy went to Texas.

The End

Happy & Buddy Pillow Patterns

2011-05-22T15:31:00.003-05:00

Check out the new Happy & Buddy pillow patterned fabric available here http://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/kuczmarskidesigns at Spoonflower.com!

Happy Hodag Holidays!

2010-12-09T19:29:00.012-06:00

Happy was proud to be in the downtown Rhinelander Christmas parade and had many wonderful companions along the way.

Thank you to the area Girl Scouts for letting Happy share in the holiday spirit!

A Fan Serenades Happy

2010-08-17T08:10:00.000-05:00

Oliver makes his own Hodag story from Jill Kuczmarski on Vimeo.

"Happy Looking At The Water", by Oliver

2010-08-17T08:08:00.002-05:00

Serenading Happy the Hodag from Jill Kuczmarski on Vimeo.

2010 Relay For Life Coloring Contest Winners

2010-07-06T18:51:00.001-05:00

Swing by HappyTheHodag.com to check out this years winners of the Relay For Life Coloring Contest!

A Monster Misunderstanding

2010-06-22T19:13:00.001-05:00

A Monster Misunderstanding from Jill Kuczmarski on Vimeo.

Tales From The Trees

2010-06-22T19:12:00.001-05:00

Tales From The Trees from Jill Kuczmarski on Vimeo.

Goodnight Ranger

2010-06-22T19:11:00.001-05:00

Goodnight Ranger from Jill Kuczmarski on Vimeo.

Eleven Odd Mushrooms

2010-06-22T19:07:00.000-05:00

Eleven Odd Mushrooms from Jill Kuczmarski on Vimeo.

Bon APpetite

2010-05-09T15:20:00.000-05:00

I recently created a logo and materials for my neighborhoods first restaurant crawl. I can honestly say I've never worked on a project with such a large committee where everything went so smoothly. The folks at The North River Commission and The Albany Park Chamber of Commerce were an absolute joy to work with!

2010-03-07T18:59:00.001-06:00

I have purchased a 1901 C&P press! It works and is in great condition for its age. Now it's time to purchase some replacement rollers, high speed keys, solar plates and probably a million other things I'll be figuring out over the next few months.

The man I bought the press from was gracious enough to not only show my friend and I around his amazing print shop but he also did a little training demo for us which was so very, very helpful. Frankly it was one of the most interesting and entertaining Saturday's I've had in a long while. Mike and his wife Betty transformed molten lead into set type as we watched, it was amazing. While I'll never be able to do some of things they demonstrated for us I am very excited to get going on my letterpress.

Letterpress Workshop at Hamilton Wood Type Museum

2009-12-14T20:06:00.000-06:00

This past weekend I had the pleasure to attend a workshop hosted by the Hamilton Wood Type Museum (http://www.woodtype.org/) and led by Jim Sherraden of Hatch Show Print in Nashville, TN. Both Jim Sherraden and Jim Moran (HWTM Printer/Archivist) were so wonderful, friendly and warm, it made for a memorable weekend.

Sadly I didn't realize my camera battery was dying until I got to Two Rivers and so I was only able to take a few shots of the museum and workshop before it ran out. There was a photographer (another super nice Nashville soul) there all weekend taking candid shots and when she posts them for the museum I'll post a link.

We had access to some amazing type and images that had either never been touched or not touched in a very, very long time, not to mention the pieces Jim brought from his Hatch Show Print collection. Truly amazing.

The following images are some of my creations from this weekend. I felt like Saturday was the warm up and Sunday I hit my groove. Even as I was helping put type away at the end of the weekend I was blown away by collections I hadn't had time to explore. I will definitely be back to the Hamilton Wood Type Museum!

Pardon the previous posts

2009-11-14T11:21:00.000-06:00

I used to keep a blogish page on my website but blogger.com makes it so much more functional and easy to keep a blog so I've moved what I had over here. So, the previous posts below are older than their post dates but I wanted them to have a presence here. Going forward all of my posts should be going, well, forward.

Forest Path Prints

2009-11-14T11:20:00.001-06:00

Path Prints released in the Spring 2009
Hand fountain silkscreened original, limited-edition prints. Available on a variety of papers, these pre-matted prints fit into a standard 16" x 20" frame.

Drop me a line if you are interested, these aren't on Etsy yet.

Silhouette Prints

2009-11-14T11:18:00.001-06:00

Nature Silhouette Prints were released in the Spring of 2009
Hand silkscreened Deer & Bird and Moose & Birds original, limited-edition prints. Available on a variety of papers, these pre-matted prints fit into a standard 11" x 14" frame. Mix and match paper colors of the same print or do one of each
for a whimsical addition to your walls. $15 Matted, $25 Matted & Framed

Drop me a line to inquire about purchasing, I've not put them on Etsy yet.

Nature Pendents

2009-11-14T11:15:00.000-06:00

Released in the Spring of 2009 my nature pendents are a little under an inch in size, these handpainted and silkscreened pendents are a wearable work of art. Silhouettes and nature have been hot trends for the past several seasons and this year has seen this genre get even hotter. Stay cool with one of these pendents at $12 a piece.
Visit me on etsy to purchase, I'll be posting better photos of them very soon.

Skull Dag Tees - Spring 2009

2009-11-14T11:14:00.000-06:00

Not your momma's hodag! Check out my new adult tees on my websites shop.

Hodags On Parade - Spring 2009

2009-11-14T11:10:00.000-06:00

Happy made an appearance at Hodags on Parade where the Downtown Association unveiled 5 hodag sculptures painted by local artists, if you're in the Rhinelander area, keep your eyes open for these fun additions to the local landscape!
Image courtesy of Star Journal, © 2009 Star Journal

2009 Fourth of July Parade

2009-11-14T11:05:00.000-06:00

Waiting for our turn to go, we were number 86 in line.

Happy the Hodag and McKenzie who did a wonderful job handing out candy.

Happy the Hodag and Jerry Kuczmarski cruising the parade route.

And I can't forget to thank Susie Miller for putting up with the hot, hot delay!

New Tee Designs for Summer 2009

2009-11-14T11:01:00.000-06:00

Hodag Crossing T-shirts launched this Summer for toddlers and kids. As of today I plan on keeping this design available in 2010 in addition to a new design, check back in the 2010 Spring for the launch!!

Happy The Hodag Ad - November 2008

2009-11-14T10:57:00.000-06:00

This is a ad I ran in the Winter issue of Small Magazine, the most interesting, beautiful and well designed magazine for parents I've ever encountered. My ad didn't garner too much attention, the Hodag being so specific to the Northwoods of Wisconsin, but it was fun coming up with it!

http://www.smallmagazine.net/issue.asp

Community - November 2008

2009-11-14T10:52:00.001-06:00

I was approached by my grade school/junior high alma mater to donate some items to their auction and for permission for a few students to create and auction off a Happy the Hodag chair. They just sent me pictures and I think they did a great job!

Looking at these pictures brings me back to the old art room at St. Mary's. There was always loads of cool art stuff to experiment with and if I finished my projects early (and I almost always did), Mrs. Rondello would let me start a new project of my choice using anything on the shelves.

Now that I think about it, it's no wonder my office looks like it does. I've apparently been trying to recreate that art room my entire adult life! ;)

First Books For Kids - May 2007

2009-11-14T10:43:00.000-06:00

These images were taken at the Rhinelander Area Chamber of Commerce book signing and reading for First Books For Kids recipients. Area children who received my donated books, Tales From The Trees, and A Monster Misunderstanding took part in the event.