Artist Creates Coffee Cup Dog Mascots For Different Chicago Neighborhoods

By Marielle Shaw in Arts & Entertainment on May 24, 2014 6:00PM

It started with one clever piece of puppy wordplay, Artist Carolyn Kassnoff told DNAChicago.

When told about North Side dog park “Wiggly Field,” inspiration struck. Kassnoff figured that if one area of the city she loved could claim a dog-related alternate name, there was room for more canine comedy.

So she set to work creating illustrations of doggie mascots for different areas of the city. There’s Ravenswoof, Bridgepooch, Hound Boldt park, Englewoof, Lickin’ Square (which is only slightly disturbing) and plenty more. Puppy portraits differ for each area, with Englewoof’s mug featuring a German Shepherd on a motorcycle with a tabby cat in his sidecar, to Bridgepooch’s droopy yet stately bassett pal.

Though the original neighborhood mugs Kassnoff sells in her Etsy shop have pre-selected breeds.

Kassnoff also does custom requests, in case you’d like to honor your Pomeranian from Pawlsen or your Border Collie from Bridgeport. Some of our favorite pooch portraits include the sweet pitbull from Doganash, the pizza making beagle from Rover North, and of course, the doge Shiba Inu on a fixie featured on the Chicago Dog Go mug.

The line art is simple yet expressive, and the wordplay silly enough to create plenty of smiles. Mugs are $16 and would make a great gift for Father’s Day or a fun addition to anyone’s growing coffee mug collection.