ABQ Adventures
If you've read my last couple of posts you know that I've been busy putting together a zine for the ABQ Zine Fest which was just this past weekend!
We ended up pulling together a pretty good variety of work to put into the zine. Early on we decided to keep it purely visual and use as little text as possible. I thought it was a pretty interesting approach considering that most zines I'd seen either had a combination of both text and visuals or just text. I'm not sure if that idea just wasn't as appealing as I thought it would be or if it wasn't the right audience, but we didn't end up selling that many. Initially I was disappointed with the lack of sales, but it wasn't because I was expecting to make a ton of money. I was mostly disappointed because it didn't seem to grab people's attention like I thought. I guess some people are just into certain things and you can't really control the way they react. It's really hit or miss in situations like that. There were people with tons of different styles and tastes that were tabling/attending so I came to the conclusion that the lack of sales wasn't necessarily a reflection on the quality of our work, but just a reflection of our environment.
I'm also glad I got to do it with a group of friends! There were a few people there that were tabling alone and I kept thinking to myself "Ohmygah, they're so brave." So dramatic. But honestly it's kind of intimidating to present your work to strangers and then (figuratively and literally) stand by it. In past shows that I've participated in, I would just hang back in the shadows and not even put my name on my pieces. Part of me likes having the work be somewhat "anonymous" because I think it can be viewed with less bias, but the other part of me is kind of just nervous about talking to people about my work. Even if I don't intend it to be, my work always ends up being pretty personal and discussing stuff like that with strangers is sometimes terrible. ANYWAY, I think it's good to do things that are intimidating and I'm happy I didn't have to do it alone this time!
Everyone there was super friendly. Most people tabling were from Albuquerque but there were also some from out of town. There was a group from Portland and also one from L.A. and both had awesome work! I also met a father and son who were visiting from Abilene, Texas that I chatted with for a while. The son was in the process of transferring to the UNM medical program and they were there visiting for the weekend scoping out the Alby scene. He said he loved it and was happy that he stumbled upon the zine fest. He bought like one of everything from our table! Whadda sweetheart! I wish I remembered their names but my brain was on total overload that day...
It ended up being a kind of long and exhausting day but we were able to hangout after and enjoy a sushi dinner. The next day my boyfriend and I ate at a gluten free gourmet cafe and shopped around town. It was a nice weekend away and we're already planning our next zine so stay tuned!
P.S. Here's a little interview Anne and I did about the zine. :)
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| The final product along side our custom pins! |
We ended up pulling together a pretty good variety of work to put into the zine. Early on we decided to keep it purely visual and use as little text as possible. I thought it was a pretty interesting approach considering that most zines I'd seen either had a combination of both text and visuals or just text. I'm not sure if that idea just wasn't as appealing as I thought it would be or if it wasn't the right audience, but we didn't end up selling that many. Initially I was disappointed with the lack of sales, but it wasn't because I was expecting to make a ton of money. I was mostly disappointed because it didn't seem to grab people's attention like I thought. I guess some people are just into certain things and you can't really control the way they react. It's really hit or miss in situations like that. There were people with tons of different styles and tastes that were tabling/attending so I came to the conclusion that the lack of sales wasn't necessarily a reflection on the quality of our work, but just a reflection of our environment.
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| Details of some work from the zine |
I'm also glad I got to do it with a group of friends! There were a few people there that were tabling alone and I kept thinking to myself "Ohmygah, they're so brave." So dramatic. But honestly it's kind of intimidating to present your work to strangers and then (figuratively and literally) stand by it. In past shows that I've participated in, I would just hang back in the shadows and not even put my name on my pieces. Part of me likes having the work be somewhat "anonymous" because I think it can be viewed with less bias, but the other part of me is kind of just nervous about talking to people about my work. Even if I don't intend it to be, my work always ends up being pretty personal and discussing stuff like that with strangers is sometimes terrible. ANYWAY, I think it's good to do things that are intimidating and I'm happy I didn't have to do it alone this time!
 |
| Binding zines at the last minute |
Everyone there was super friendly. Most people tabling were from Albuquerque but there were also some from out of town. There was a group from Portland and also one from L.A. and both had awesome work! I also met a father and son who were visiting from Abilene, Texas that I chatted with for a while. The son was in the process of transferring to the UNM medical program and they were there visiting for the weekend scoping out the Alby scene. He said he loved it and was happy that he stumbled upon the zine fest. He bought like one of everything from our table! Whadda sweetheart! I wish I remembered their names but my brain was on total overload that day...
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| Anne and I in paradise after a long day... |
It ended up being a kind of long and exhausting day but we were able to hangout after and enjoy a sushi dinner. The next day my boyfriend and I ate at a gluten free gourmet cafe and shopped around town. It was a nice weekend away and we're already planning our next zine so stay tuned!
P.S. Here's a little interview Anne and I did about the zine. :)
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