diff --git a/recommender/recommender.py b/recommender/recommender.py
index 15cf914..1876c7f 100644
--- a/recommender/recommender.py
+++ b/recommender/recommender.py
@@ -48,6 +48,12 @@ def emit(param1, param2):
             pass
 
 
+def load(path):
+    """Handy helper for getting resources from our kit."""
+    data = pkg_resources.resource_string(__name__, path)
+    return data.decode("utf8")
+
+
 def stem_url(url):
     """
     Get the base form of url.
@@ -996,9 +1002,9 @@ def studio_view(self, _context=None):  # pylint: disable=unused-argument
             self._init_template_lookup()
 
         frag = Fragment(template_lookup.get_template("recommenderstudio.html").render())
-        frag.add_css(pkg_resources.resource_string(__name__, "static/css/recommenderstudio.css"))
+        frag.add_css(load("static/css/recommenderstudio.css"))
         frag.add_javascript_url("//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jqueryui/1.10.4/jquery-ui.min.js")
-        frag.add_javascript(pkg_resources.resource_string(__name__, "static/js/src/recommenderstudio.js"))
+        frag.add_javascript(load("static/js/src/recommenderstudio.js"))
         frag.initialize_js('RecommenderXBlock')
         return frag
 
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 5785576..a15a4b6 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ def package_data(pkg, root_list):
 
 setup(
     name='recommender-xblock',
-    version='1.4.8',
+    version='1.4.9',
     description='recommender XBlock',   # TODO: write a better description.
     long_description=README,
     author='edX',