about bernie & zuzu

 ABOUT 

bernie & zuzu is named for Bernie Witzack and our original founder, the late and great Zuzu Boss Cat (bios below). bernie & zuzu is all about unique, one-of-a-kind goods with bold, bright color. bernie & zuzu is run out of a studio in the Madison Enterprise Center at 100 S. Baldwin Street in Madison, Wisconsin on ancestral Ho-Chunk land. Bernie hand screen prints all her goods at Madison's community printmaking collective Polka! Press.

You can find our goods at the top of State Street next to the Dane County Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings from April-October, and at Madison based art markets such as The Big Gay Market, The Crafty Fair, and the Madison Maker Markets as well as many others. Check our Events & Workshops page to find out where bernie & zuzu will be popping up next.

Our goods can be also be found at a few Madison brick and mortar stores as well! A collection of our prints and stickers are currently stocked at Hatch Art House on Willy Street! We have also been stocked at Little Luxuries, Olbrich Gardens Gift Shop, and Communication Madison in the past.

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BIOS

Bernie (she/her)
Bernie Witzack is a queer artist, art educator, and the entrepreneur behind bernie & zuzu. Bernie earned a BA in Studio Art from Beloit College, a MA in Public Service from Marquette University, a MFA in Fine Art from the University of Michigan, and an AA in Graphic Design from Madison College. Bernie has been making art since she could hold a crayon, and showing art and teaching since her undergraduate studies. 

Bernie is the co-President of Madison's printmaking collective Polka! Press, and has been a member for over 6 years. Bernie offers workshops at the Textile Art Center of Madison, the Arts + Literature Laboratory, the Pinney Library Art Studio, and Polka! Press. Bernie was the Pinney Library Artist In Residence in 2023 and returned to Pinney for a mini residency in Winter 2025.

Zuzu Boss Cat (she/her)
April 6, 2005 - April 10, 2025

Zuzu was the founder of bernie & zuzu and our first CEO. 
In her private life, Zuzu was adopted by Bernie when she was 8 weeks old and lived her whole life (20 years!) with Bernie. Zuzu was known for her playful energy, a mischievous streak and her loving, affectionate nature. Zuzu was an adventure cat and loved walks in the yard. She also loved belly rubs and watermelon. 
In her professional life, Zuzu showed a precocious aptitude for numbers and business as a kitten, and earned an MBA from Harvard by age 5. Zuzu was a talented and brilliant CEO, and the only good CEO in the world. She is dearly missed. Her spirit will live on in our hearts forever, and she will always be a huge part of bernie & zuzu.

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