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.”