Dear friends,

Tabling at the Milwaukee Zine Fest was a longtime goal of mine. For years I’d think, “This is the year I’m going to do it!” But my zine ideas never went any further than the pages of my notebook. Motivation has always been a struggle for me and the logistics of producing a zine stopped me completely. How do I print? How do I set up a template? How do I fold it? I frustrated myself.

But this year was different. After having my little one almost four years ago and being reasonably consumed by my new role, I finally felt like I was coming out of my bubble and peeking into the world again. I was motivated more than ever and so appreciative of the newfound time I was slowly getting. All of these changes led me to apply to be a vendor at the Milwaukee Zine Fest, without a zine. I’m a pretty positive person and think that most things will work out. I was certain that I would get a table and I went to work making my zine. I started first on my USPS inspired zine about how things work at the Post Office. Halfway through, I was notified that I didn’t get a spot and would be on the waitlist. I was pretty disappointed, to say the least. I wasn’t as enthusiastic about finishing since I didn’t have a deadline anymore, so I stopped working on my zines. I was proud of how far I’d gotten and my husband was even inspired to make one of his own.

A month before the Zine Fest I was notified that someone had backed out and I was in! Oh wow time to get back to work. I had gotten far enough that I just needed to do some collages and drawings and then I’d be ready to print. I also had enough time to create another zine about penpaling for newbies. Printing was a nightmare (Fedex is garbage) but we found a local printer who was great and super helpful. Although I spent more money than I planned trying to fix the mess of printing, I’m looking at all of these experiences as though they were rites of passage to becoming a real zinester.

I first attended the Milwaukee Zine Fest when it was at Falcon Bowl, maybe in 2015 or 2016. The venue was much smaller than the library and had a funky odor that added to its character. The bar created a different ambiance as well, it felt a little more serious and mature, whereas the library feels fun and lively. I like aspects of both locations, although I liked the simplicity of the old MKE Zine Fest, I’m impressed with its growth and ability to attract talented zinesters from all over the country.

On the eve of the Zine Fest, we packed up our displays and I stayed up late making a chicken and biscuit casserole for the babysitter and our little one’s lunch the next day. The morning of the big day, our sitter said she was in Missouri for a funeral. We remained calm and did the only thing we could, we brought our toddler to the Zine Fest! Surprisingly, he did much better than we expected. The Fest takes place at the Milwaukee Central Library. It has a wonderful children’s area with trains, Legos, lots of books of course, and a lighthouse! We were also grateful for the eating room where we spent our lunch and snack breaks. Anyway, back to the big day. There was a super long line for check in, with more vendors than ever, the volunteers managed to get everyone through quickly. When we got to our table, it hit me. What had I gotten myself into?! I’m not shy, but I’m very reserved and a bit awkward in conversations, especially small talk and meeting new people. I hadn’t really thought this part through and, as silly as it sounds, I didn’t expect to be socializing so much. I thought I’d just talk about my zine or let people browse, but there was much more to it than that. After my anxiety and thoughts about running away settled, I was thankful to have my son and husband there for support and distraction.

The best part of the day was being surrounded by creative people, both the vendors and the patrons. I traded my stickers for someone’s personal photos, I found other snailmailers, met someone who’d recently discovered that they’d been making zines for decades and decided to join this year’s Fest, found lovely postcards and prints, and all the wonderful things! I didn’t get as much time to browse as usual, but I found some gems.

If I ever table at a zine fest again, I will drink coffee, bring a personal fan, change my display up so it’s easier for people to browse, make more merch, and make sure I have childcare!

At the end of the day, we were exhausted. The noise and entertaining our toddler really wore us out. We packed up and headed home to have the casserole I’d made the night before.

From,

Antonia