about bernie & zuzu
At bernie & zuzu, we design unique, one-of-a-kind goods with bold, bright color and exuberant patterns that inspire playfulness, creativity and joy. bernie & zuzu is named for Bernie Witzack, founder and artist, and her brilliant cat Zuzu (bios below). 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.
You can find our goods at the top of State Street with 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 found at Madison brick and mortar stores as well. We are stocked at Little Luxuries, Hatch Art House, and Olbrich Gardens Gift Shop.
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News
This winter Bernie will be returning to the Pinney Library Art Studio for a mini-art residency! Join me for Warm Creativity on Cold Afternoons from 3:30-5:30 every Thursday in February and every Tuesday in March with drop-in art making projects for grown-ups, teens, and kids. Different surprise projects and medium(s) will be featured each week to help you add some color play to your winter day. No registration necessary, drop-in and get creative with your friends and neighbors of all ages.
Bernie was interviewed on Madison's local community radio station WORT 89.9 FM, during the Queery radio show in Nov, 2024. Learn about color as a verb, her teaching philosophy and ideas about creativity, and learn more about Zuzu the Boss Cat too. Listen to the interview
Bernie was the Artist In Residence at Pinney Library art studio from February - November, 2023. The residency, entitled Color Play - Making the World a Little More Rainbow, focused on the exploration of color, creativity and play. During the residency, Bernie transformed the Pinney Art Studio into an art installation bursting with color and artwork made by community members. View the Rainbow Room and learn more about Bernie's residency
bernie & zuzu was featured in the January 2023 issue of Madison Magazine. Read the article
Bios
Zuzu
Zuzu was adopted by Bernie when she was a kitten. Zuzu earned her BA in Business Management from Beloit College and a MBA from Harvard. When Zuzu's not working as the CEO of bernie & zuzu, you can find her napping on the couch (when she was a kitten her favorite napping spot was a hiking boot)! Zuzu is nineteen years young. She really loves watermelon.
Bernie
Bernie Witzack is an 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 launched bernie & zuzu in 2021.
Bernie is the co-President of Madison's printmaking collective Polka! Press, and has been a member of the collective for over 6 years. Bernie regularly 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 is returning to Pinney for a mini artist residency in Winter 2025.