Sweaty, crowded, and nonstop conversation — last weekend, I tabled at my first-ever LA Zine Fest, and it was one of the most rewarding and delightful experiences I’ve had this year.
My LA Zine Fest experience, summed up
This was the first time I’ve invested in display stands that aren’t just made of various things I scrounged from around my house. They were made of thin wooden panels, and I painted them with acrylics and paint pens. I loved my little DIY display, but having just two key pieces on my table made for a much quicker (and less stressful) setup and teardown. I also feel like the added height drew a lot more people into visiting my table than I’ve seen at previous events like this.
Related: I made more sales than I have at any other zine fest or craft fair, which felt incredible. The organizers mentioned they were expecting about 4,000 people to come through the warehouse throughout the seven hours the fest was open, and that felt extremely true based on the fact that I was pretty much constantly talking with someone new at my table.
I made so many new friends! This is pretty consistent with my experience at other zine fests so far, but this was such a wonderful reminder of how warm and welcoming the zine community is — and that includes both people who were tabling and the people who attended the fest. It’s incredibly special.



Have you ever made a zine before?
I’m curious! If you’ve been subscribed here for a while, you’ll know that I write pretty frequently about zines — I’d love to know if you’ve tried making one before. Literally any scale or kind of zine, whether it’s something you made for a club, a project, a friend, or just yourself.