Meet our dad, Jack.

He was free spirited before it was a trend and most importantly, taught us how to live fully with our hearts wide open. You could catch him at Peet’s Coffee every Saturday sharing tales of his adventures like the time he had beers with the Jamaican bobsled team in Germany. He fell in love in Australia and raised us and our brother, Nik, between Sweden and the Bay Area. He’ll always be our ‘kuhl dad’.

A vintage photo showing a man in a dark baseball cap smiling down at two young children. He holds a book, while one child on the left also looks towards the book, and the other child in a pink shirt smiles to the right. This is Jack with his kids.

About FTD

In 2022, Jack received a diagnosis: FTD. It had been quietly stealing pieces of him since 2015. Frontotemporal Dementia is the most common form of dementia for those under 60 and manifests in a variety of ways, making it challenging to diagnose. Some common symptoms include changes in personality, behavior and language abilities. Currently, it takes over three years for an accurate diagnosis.

A vintage photo of five young adults, Jack's family, standing outdoors, smiling. They appear to be primarily white, with four men and one woman, dressed in casual clothing from the 1970s. They are standing with their arms on each other's shoulders.

The project: Coolmud

We knew he needed a creative outlet after his diagnosis and signed him up for art classes. It became his new language from prints in different mediums to charcoal portraits and acrylic landscapes. While Jack’s abilities shifted over the past few years, we continued to appreciate his art even more in his new chapter. This project is our way of sharing his art with you and we aim to spread awareness of FTD along the way.

By supporting this project, you're not just buying art; you're funding FTD research, supporting Jack’s cost of living and shining a light on this too-often invisible disease.

This is Coolmud, born from a German mispronunciation, a license plate, a password, and now, a tribute.

Thank you to friends and family who supported him in getting to and facilitating his ongoing classes. Your kindness is something we’ll always remember.

Erika + Linnea

A close-up of an open page from Jack'ss travel journal with handwritten notes and a detailed architectural drawing of a building with a tall tower, a castle, in pen and ink.

FAQs

Have any questions?

Feel free to drop us an email at info@coolmud.com or reach out to us personally.

  • FTD is a group of brain diseases that affect behavior, personality, language, and sometimes movement. Unlike Alzheimer's which focuses on memory loss, FTD can strike people in their prime working years or while raising families. It's often misdiagnosed, but early diagnosis can connect families with promising new treatments currently being researched. The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD) is dedicated to raising awareness and supporting research.

    Learn more about FTD here.

  • The cool artwork on the shirts is all created by Jack and his immediate family! We've adapted the designs to fit on the shirts.

  • We’re running pre-order on his latest designs and therefore are aiming to ship in late August / early September.

  • After covering production costs, all remaining profits go towards The aFTD to fund vital research efforts.

  • Due to the small scale of our production and designs being ‘made to order’, we are unable to accept returns or exchanges. That said, reach out if something doesn’t look correct and please carefully review your order before checkout.

Know the signs. Show support.

By supporting this project, you're not just buying art; you're funding FTD research, supporting Jack’s cost of living and shining a light on this too-often invisible disease.