Jody Kozlow Gardner
New York City was altered reality during the pandemic. The human interaction so essential to its vibrancy had vanished. Seeking something tangible and real, Jody found herself in a pottery studio. She had just completed graduate school with an M.A. in Nutrition and Food Studies; clay certainly seemed like an outlandish diversion. She started spending more and more in the studio. A creative by nature, she had always been frustrated by her inability to express herself through drawing. The discovery of clay as a means of creative expression was, as it turns out, not so dissimilar to working with fabric as she had her previous career.
The co-founder of an innovative fashion start-up that revolutionized the concept of maternity, Belly Basics took the world by storm. Her groundbreaking product ‘The Pregnancy Survival Kit’ was sold in over ten countries. She wrote the definitive book on pregnancy style, Pregnancy Chic, which was published by Random House. Celebrating a woman’s pregnant body, the book offered endless ideas for dressing while pregnant. After selling Belly Basics and saying goodbye to the fashion world, Jody spent time designing interiors before enrolling in NYU’s prestigious Food Studies program. She is an active investor in the food space with a particular affinity for sustainable, women-owned start-ups.
Email Jody at jkozgardner@mac.com
Why Wolf Rose
Wolf and Rose immigrated to America in the late 1800s, settling in Michigan’s remote Upper Peninsula. A fur trapper in his native Ukraine, Wolf sought a climate that would enable him to continue his trade. After enduring one too many savagely cold winters, Wolf and Rose moved to Detroit. Wolf opened a general store called ‘Peoples’, selling hardware, canned goods, and clothing. With Rose by his side, they raised five children, the youngest of whom was Jody’s grandfather.
The names Wolf and Rose represent opposing forces. A wolf stalking his prey versus a delicate rose blooming in a garden. Jody’s work has similarly opposing forces; masculine vs feminine, soft vs hard, historic vs modern.
Wolf Rose captures the spirit of her aesthetic.