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Blizzard’s Bones—“The Dog’s Preferred Mint for Humans”
By Heather Gaghan
Who knew that August 15th of 2002 would offer new
inspiration for Leslie Lipowski.? The only white Labrador out of a litter of 11
puppies who would eventually be named Blizzard, was simply irresistible to one
of the creators of Blizzard’s Bones.
It was Leslie’s business partner, Donna Green who literally
dreamt up the idea of breath mints in collectible tins. Donna wanted to create
a product that encompassed her love for animals in the form of a breath mint
for humans. She shared her dream with long-time friend Leslie Lipowski, a
former hairstylist who “lived” on breath mints; always aware of the close
proximity between client and hairdresser when cutting hair. “I used breath
mints all day long. I know every kind, every flavor and every shape ever made;
I know what tastes good and what does not,” states Lipowski. “So, when Donna
and I started researching and testing the best mint product we could find, we
came up it in the form of Blizzard’s Bones.”
“We both love animals, especially dogs, and wanted to honor
the age-old union of man and his dog,” states Green. “Creating Blizzard’s Bones
has been a labor of love for both of us and we are eager to share that feeling
with pet lovers everywhere.” Their
eagerness has paid off with at least one store in every state, including
Canada, carrying the collectible tins. Leslie added, “We are located in pet
boutiques, dog barkerys, card stores, hospital gift shops, vet offices, butcher
shops and a variety of other gift stores not to mention Orvis stores and Wild Bird
Centers.”
Lipowski says there are many plans for “the bones” in the
new year. Part of the plans will bring four new tins to the Blizzard’s Bones
limited edition collectibles. The first two should be available in March of
2005 with the remaining two tins coming out in the fall.
The process of choosing the dogs is headed by Donna and
Leslie. Most of the subjects for the tins are picked from a close circle
including the dogs of the creators and the artists and their respective
friends. People can and do send pictures of their dogs which are then kept on
file, and if chosen all rights must be signed over to Twins 23, Inc. Once the dogs have been chosen, the ladies
of Blizzard’s Bones sit down with the artists, Gladys Patalano and Michael
Vistia, and the creative juices begin to simmer. All ideas are kept secret
until finished products are ready to be shipped and word has it there is a new
puppy tin coming out soon! The Co-founders of Twins 23, Inc. know what it takes
to create a product that makes us smile, starts up a conversation, and helps
others.
The Artists of the
Collectible Tins
Each one of Blizzard’s Bones irresistibly collectible tins
is created from the brilliant artwork of two artists from the northwest suburbs
of Chicago: Gladys Patalano and Michael Vistia. While there creative stories
differ in history and process, their work and inspirations are very similar.
Gladys
Patalano:
- BRRR the
Puppy Tin
- Chasing
Butterflies with her Black Lab Daisy
- A Touch of
Gold with Leslie's Golden Cody
- Semi-Sweet
with Trouble the Chocolate Lab
Michael
Visita:
- Blizzard
- The Loved
Lab with Blizzard
- High
"Mint"enance with the Bichon
- Un-Bull-ievable
with Rocko the Bulldog
Gladys Patalano
For Gladys Patalano, growing up as an Air Force “brat”
allowed her to see many parts of the USA and Europe. She attended schools in
Texas, Kansas, California, Alabama, New Mexico and Italy. As a young girl,
Gladys remembers, “I realized I could bribe my three younger sisters to do my
share of the chores by drawing and creating glamorous paper dolls with designer
wardrobes. I didn't know if I had
talent but I've always felt the desire to be creative.”
Ironically, talent is something Gladys has never had in
short supply. The refinement of her artistic process has come mostly through her
natural gifts with pens, inks, and brushes with a few workshops and art history
courses thrown in. “I’ve taken art classes for as long as I can remember and
have enjoyed the experience of studying under some really neat instructors and
have learned something new from all of them.”
Her beautiful work began to get noticed with an extensive
exhibit of her animal portrait paintings at her vet’s office. She continues her
success with exhibitions in many juried art shows and has her work displayed in
local galleries and retail establishments.
Her process begins with a toned dry canvas where she uses
chalk to develop her composition. She
continues by washing in the darkest areas and building up to the lightest and
thickest paints. In this process, she
is careful to develop a good likeness of her subject matter, to set a mood and
achieve some drama with the help of mostly oils and sometimes acrylic paint.
Gladys shares life with Jake, a handsome three-year old
yellow Lab and Indy, a handsome two- year old black Lab, destined to be a fine
bird- hunting dog. She says she loves Labs for their “…exuberance and good
nature The have great personalities and
they are especially good with kids,
even though they might knock them down accidentally and tear their clothes but
you can rest assured they won't bite them.” She also enjoys the simplicity of a
dog. “They just make me happy. Cold
noses, wet kisses, wagging tails and all the unconditional love exhibited when
you come home even if it was only fifteen minutes ago that you left.”
When I asked her what she loves most about her furry,
four-legged companions, her answer sums up what I believe most dog lovers
treasure about their pets, “…they are the best, most original entertainment in
town. Whether it's two Labs playing tug
of war with your new sweater or the Lab pup eating things he shouldn't like two
pairs of socks, a quarter lb of butter or tubes of red, white and blue acrylic
paint, there's just no end to the mischief and the fun of it. We've spent many
evenings with friends and acquaintances swapping animal stories—it's more fun
than politics.”
Michael Vistia
Michael Vistia is also a self-taught artist who picked up
the road less traveled and decided to become an artist on his own terms.
Immediately after high school at the age of 18, Michael left Ohio for Atlanta,
GA to pursue art and music, as his love affair with the guitar was evenly split
with his affinity for brushes and paint. Eventually he found success with mural
painting.
He
decided to return home to Ohio and this turned out to be a decision that would
pave the way for his success. It was in 2000 that Michael “…happened to meet
the most inspiring man—Tony Badalamenti. He’s a real dog lover with 13 dogs of
his own. He asked me to paint a portrait of his three labradors and that's were
it all started. After that I continued painting many more of his dogs and we
became the best of friends. While I was painting Tony would be out drumming up
more portrait orders. We were a great team.”
Michael
speaks high praise of his friend and rightly so. Tony believed in Michael’s
talent enough to build a studio on his farm nestled in the midst of 10 acres of
English gardens for the burgeoning artist.
Michael also says Tony’s “…spirit is overwhelmingly contagious. [He is]
85 years old with the energy of 25 year old. Tony and I remain the best of friends and enjoy regular fishing
trips together.
Family
is vital to Michael’s work and it really shines through as he speaks reverently
about his wife. “…eventually I met my wife, Tracy, on a trip to Chicago and
moved here continuing to focus on the dog portraits that Tony had inspired me
to paint. She is involved with every part of this business. She has an incredible
eye for art and has even painted with me on various wall murals. She's my
mirror image who makes every day better than the last.”
The
artist also attributes his success to his parents and mother-in-law. “My mother
and father have always stood behind me in all my artistic ventures and that
kind of support is priceless. They have not ever once told me that I wasn't
good enough. Through my work and success I want them to see the person that
they have created through all their years of support. Also, my mother in law
has been an incredible help. She owns the Academy of Dog Grooming Arts and has
many of my paintings displayed there. She has been a very large part of my
success in so many ways.”
His
process is also highly personalized and he takes care to study his furry
subjects before taking brush to canvas. “When I'm working from a customer’s
photo I initially start out by analyzing the photo to determine what I might
need to change in the dog's appearance to make him look his absolute best,
whether it's some color changes, position, highlights, shadows, etc. Second, I
will consider background, figuring out what will suit the animal best. When I
feel comfortable on where I want to go with the painting I will lay down a
rough sketch, then comes mixing up a pallet of colors that will be needed and
ultimately painting the portrait. When I'm making a painting up out of the blue
the only difference is that I may go through a number of sketches before I
finally decide on the right one for the painting.”
“The people who enjoy my work inspire me...
to see their overwhelming reaction to something I've created for them is
amazing and beyond that I absolutely love dogs and animals in general.”
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