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Dana Kubick and her twin sister, Michele grew up near New York City sharing their love for reading, making things and especially drawing. Michele Greenstein grew up to be a successful fine art painter, while Dana is still making things---

After getting her BA in Art Education and studying design and illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York with Barry Zaid from Push Pin Studios, Dana came to London in 1972 to live for two or three years, but liked it so much that she is still there, living with her husband Mark Leffler and her cats.


"I left New York, fully intending to come back, but as much as I miss New York, London is where I want to live. One of the things I love about London is that although I live quite close to the centre, I wake to bird song and work next to a window that looks out to the neighbourhood cat traffic with visiting foxes and squirrels."


In the 1980's and 90's Dana worked closely with much loved Hunkydory Designs creating dozens of pop-up greetings cards after studying the collections in the Victoria & Albert and British Museums. Inspired by old tin toys, she also created little shaped tin boxes; boxes that won awards and influenced a whole market. Her love affair with little tins continues and she still designs tin boxes for Elite Gift Boxes.

In 1989, Marcantonio Foods telephoned Dana with a surprising request. When Mr. Marcantonio read Dana's book Midnight Teddies to his young children, he saw the bear he had imagined for his new ice cream wafers. A telephone call, a meeting to discuss baking and batter flow and quite a lot of designing later, Dana and Marcantonio Foods created the first Little Bear Wafers-teddy bear shaped ice cream wafers. With Marcantonio Foods, Dana went on to design Little Bear wafer cups, and most recently Little Bear Teddy Top Cones, teddy bear shaped ice cream cones!

 


Returning to her early pursuit of photography, Dana has expanded that interest to a third dimension with her work in stereography as well as photography for Omnibus Theatre and Arts Centre (2014-2018) photographing performances of artists such as Judi Dench (2017), Prunella Scales with Timothy West (2015), and Bill Nighy (2018)
. . .
Omnibus actors

and photography for The Clapham Society (2015-present).

Clapham Society


In a happy blend of her interests in architecture and photography, Dana photographed dozens of London buildings, including the cover image, for the book The I'Ansons: A Dynasty of London Architects & Surveyors by Peter Jefferson Smith, published by Brown Dog Books, 2019.


Dana's childhood love of reading continues and writing and illustrating books remains a great favourite---all sort of books---pop-up books for Campbell Books, baby board books and picture books for Walker Books, Piccadilly Press and Oxford University Press.


Her work has been widely exhibited, from the Victoria & Albert Museum and Somerset House to the London Design Centre, and more recently The Illustration Cupboard, The Anna-Mei Chadwick Gallery, and Marwell Zoo. Dana's work was featured in the exhibition Tins! Tins! Tins!, Barnsley Museums, Yorkshire 2019.

 

 

You can reach Dana Kubick at:dana@danakubick.co.uk

AWARDS AND MEDIA

Awards

Best in Metal 1988, MPMA Gold Award, Hunkydory Cottage tins
Best in Metal 1991, MPMA Gold Award, Hunkydory Sweet Dreams tins
Red House Children’s Book Award 2003, short-list; Books for Younger Children, Federation of Children’s Book Groups, To Mum With Love
Platinum Award Winner 2003, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, Books Preschool, A Present for Mom
A Bank Street College Best Children’s Book of the Year 2004, A Present for Mom

Photographic Competition 2010, International Fund for Animal Welfare, runner up, “Fox Cubs at Home”

British Stereoscopic Society Competitions
2012 - two competition photographs chosen as “Editor’s choice”, by editor Bill Hibbert for
      The Stereoscopic Journal of 3D Imaging. “Girl in a Pavilion” and “Venice, Rialto Bridge”
      (#12 & #20 in photo gallery)

2015 - “Venice as Gondolas Pass” chosen 1st in Buildings category of competition (#23 in photo gallery)
2018 - selected as competition Judge
2019 - “Children Play Inside the Hive, Kew Gardens,” Commended
2020 - selected as competition Judges’ Chairman
2022 - Winner of the Digital Award; Common Theme Awarded for "Sarah Everard Remembered"

Radio
“Owl and the Pussy Cat” Take Five, BBC WorldService, interview with producer Molly Price-Owen,
      9 December 1996.

T.V.
Fox News, Documentary shown in USA about American expatriates living in England, interviewed as       an illustrator working in London, taped in my studio with presenter Catharine Harwich, producer       Katrina Balmforth, 23 October 1997.
BBC, “Children’s BBC – Tweenies” episode 141: Story Time featured “Something’s Coming”, BBC1,
      August 2000.

 

PUBLICATION LIST with FOREIGN CO-EDITIONS
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FOUR LITTLE TEDDIES BOARD BOOKS: Picnic, Party, Seaside, Playground
   UK, Walker Books (published for Mothercare) 1987
   USA, Warner Books

French Edition  MIDNIGHT TEDDIES
     
  UK, Walker Books  1989
       France, Librairie Gründ
       USA, Discovery Toys Inc.
       Germany, Lentz Verlag 1990
       Paperback edition 1992
       Miniature edition 1993 as part of
Bear Hugs, 2000 for Marcantonio promotion
       Included in
The Walker Book of Bear Stores (UK)  1995
        The Candlewick Book of Bear Stories
(USA)
        The Walker Picture Book Library
(UK) 1999
        My Little Bear Library
(Walker Books for The Book People) 1999
     
Also published as Little Book Card, Walker Books 1996
     
Japan, Holp Shuppan Publishers 1994 illustrations published as calendars and playing cards.
     Miniature ed. 2004,
Little Favourites-Classic Picture Books in Miniature Walker Books

BALLERINA BEAR     

UK, Campbell Books 1993
USA, Scholastic Inc.
Germany, Coppenrath Verlag
Australia, Lothian Publishing Co.
France, Librairie Gründ 1995
Japan, Tuttle-Mori Agency 1995
Chosen for the Good Book Guide To Children's Books

 
Japanese Edition  
CINDERELLA CAT  
UK, Campbell Books 1994
USA, Scholastic Inc.
Germany, Coppenrath Verlag
Australia, Lothian Publishing Co.
France, Librairie Gründ 1995
Japan, Tuttle-Mori Agency
 
SOMETHING'S COMING   Richard Edwards, author
UK, Walker Books 1995 (for Sainsbury's)
USA, Candlewick Press
Included in Time For A Story Walker Books 2000
     Walker Bedtime Book Walker Books 2001
Featured on CHILDREN'S BBC TV; Tweenies, Episode 141, August 2000
 
BALLERINA BEAR PRESS-OUT BOOK
CINDERELLA CAT PRESS-OUT BOOK
UK, Campbell Books 1995
THE OWL AND THE PUSSY-CAT   Edward Lear, author
UK, Walker Books (for Sainsbury's) 1996
USA, Shaw's
Walker Books export edition
KITTY KIT   Richard Edwards, author
UK, Oxford University Press 1998
Oxford University Press Teachers' Edition (large format 330mm x 430mm)
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RAGGYBEAR'S RESCUE   Richard Edwards, author
UK, Walker Books (for Early Learning Centre) 1999
CATS, CATS, AND MORE CATS
UK, Piccadilly Press 2000
Australia, Koala Books
USA, Barron's Books
TO MUM WITH LOVE   Viv French, author

Gaelic Edition  UK & Australia, Walker Books 2002
  France, Editions Gründ
  Germany, Ars Edition
  Holland, Van Buuren Kinderboeken
  Finland, Oy Satusiivet—Sagovingar AB
  Denmark, Bogklubben Rasmus
  Sweden, Sjostrands Forlag AB
  Irish-Gaelic, An Gum
  USA & Canada, Candlewick Press
    Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award winner 2003, Preschool category
    The Federation of Children's Book Groups; short-listed for The Red House Children's Book Award,
        Books for Younger Children category
TABBY THE WILD CAT
    UK,Piccadilly Press 2003
    Australia, Koala Books
    South Korea, Areah Publishers 2005
    Indonesia, "Tabby si Kucing Liar", Penerbit Erlangga 2010
I LOVE YOU, GRANDPA    
Viv French, author
    UK & Australia,Walker Books 2004
    USA, Candlewick Press
    France, "Un Week-end avec Grand-Père", Gründ
    Holland, "Je bent de liefste opa", Van Buuren Kinderboeken
A PRESENT FOR FATHER CHRISTMAS
    UK, Walker Books 2008
    USA, "A Present for Santa Claus", Candlewick Press
    France, "Le Cadeau du Père Noël", Éditions Grűnd
    Spain, Castilian: "Un regalo para Papá Noel", timunmas
       Catalan:"Un regal per al pare Noel", timunmas
    Portugal, "Um Presente para o Pai Natal", Publicações Dom Quixote
    Italy, "Un regalo per Babbo Natale", Istituto Geografico De Agostinti
    Poland, "Prezent dla Świętego Mikołaja" Firma Księgarska

    Japan, Shufunotomo Co. Ltd.
    Greece, Livanis PublishingOrganization
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