I don’t really know how to process the news that the world has lost Frank Kozik. I thought of a thousand ways to write this, but anyone who knows his name already know all that he accomplished in the world of art, music, and toys. There are countless places that can tell you how he literally changed the landscape for creative folks today and I can assure you they are well worth reading. Instead, I am going to tell you my memories of Frank.
I remember when my wife bought a Labbit from his website and had an issue with the shipping address. She called the phone number listed and Frank himself answers, which completely caught her off guard. After speaking with him she immediately called me at work so excited that she had the opportunity to talk to one of her favorite artists.
I remember seeing Frank at New York Comic Con just roaming around and checking out various booths. I was beyond nervous to introduce myself and I’m sure he saw me waiting for him to finish a conversation he was having, looking like a complete dork. I approached him and gave him one of the business cards I had made for this very website and he told me that he enjoyed reading my posts. Thankfully, I didn’t squeal like a preteen at a Taylor Swift show. Well, not out loud anyway.
I remember when he took over as creative director of Kidrobot and a member of the marketing team reached out to me becausw he wanted to meet and discuss me writing their blog posts for new releases. My wife and I went to Toy Fair the day after a snow storm and that’s when he told me he had been fighting for me to take over the blog, but people were concerned my content was too…let’s say rated r. But he believed in me and I held that position for four years before the company shifted focus into more license-friendly products.
I remember emailing him weekly with my posts and he telling me when they were awesome and critiquing me when they needed some work. I learned to tailor what abilities I have beyond being creative and into something that would get people excited about an object.
I remember when I first posted a picture of my Nordic Lucky Cat figure online and he said it was “amazing”.
And I remember when he posted this picture to his Instagram, which made me feel I was doing something right.
