Handmade & Bound

The journey to the Handmade and Bound fair was an epic one... wading through the protesters at st pauls, traversing across the pilgrim's passage, and up the mountainous staircase of the fair Bride.. we eventually arrived.. to be met with the most gleaming, glistening jewels awaiting plunder. Beautifully handcrafted books, intricate prints and the most lavish of drawings. We acquired a number of shiny delicacies, one such find is the work of screen printer and book maker Otto.
Here is his website http://www.ottoillustration.com/
We also found out that St Bride's offers letter pressing, screen printing, and book binding courses.. a perfect venue all in all, and a lovely way to wilt away some of those precious Sunday moments. A potential place to practice those good old screen printing ambitions! http://stbridefoundation.org/visit.html

Handmade and Bound

We don't have a stall for this one because we're unorganized mess and our favorite pet died but we may very well leave some of our zines on Gareth Brooke's table. Its a big zine fair and its prabably going to be amazing and fantastic. www.handmadeandbound.com

Birdie Necklaces

We'll be selling birdie pendants at the next fair!

Festival Distro

Gareth Brookes and Julie Homersham have been out spreading the word on small press. Here are some pictures from their first stop Port Elliot Festival, the first picture depicts two stalls with many fine zines including some Walrus ones too which Gareth kindly arranged to take, the second shows Julie with a big bunch of the latest Comix Reader which sold very well I hear. Their next stop is West Dean Festival at the end of August. 

New Cross Turn Left

We ran our first round of Social Network Syndrome consultations last Sunday at The Old Police Station offering members of the public free appointments in which they would be tested and potentially diagnosed with SNS. Each consultation was about 10-15 minuets long and involved several practical and written tests and finished with a short information video detailing the pioneering work of Dr. Gustav Von Schneider. The consultations ran for five hours with our appointment sheet fully booked! Thanks to Ellen Linder for offering us the old police cell  for the day and everyone else who helped organise New Cross Turn Left. 

The danger that is SNS

Strengthening our ties with the University of Kominsance, we are pleased to support the important research of Dr Gustav Von Schneider and his team of specialists who'll be in the UK for the first time - offering FREE consultations investigating the phenomenon and danger that is SNS.

For support and advice about this crippling syndrome, please find us at New Cross Turn Left from 1pm - 6pm on Sunday 24th July.

Let us help you help you.

The Women's Library Zine Fest 2011

As mentioned Walrus Zines were at the 4th Women's Library Zine Fest. It was a nice atmosphere with various talks, and workshops to take part in, and a couple of exhibitions. One of which is part of the women's library current display. It was nice talking to all of you who popped over to purchase something, browse, or just for a chit chat. We hope you enjoyed the day just as much as we did, and to those who couldn't make, maybe we'll see you next time.

Zine Fest 2011

Walrus have a table at Zine Fest on the 25th of June, it's on from 12-4pm at the Women's library. feministmemory.wordpress.com/zinefest-2011/ for more info!

International Alternative Press Fair 2011

Hello all. Walrus Zines were at the International Alternative Press Festival over the weekend and we all enjoyed the day out, reading, selling and swapping zines. Here are some photo's for those of you who were unable to make it. Thank you to all those who attended and picked up a zine from the walruses.

Musings #2

When I replied to the LCC Library with permission to use images of my zine for promotional purposes, I also (in what I hoped was a polite nonchalant flippant manner, disguising my less than chuffed but less than sad and upset feelings at the possibility that the self-publication was donated) enquired how they came across the zine. A reply wasn't expected as I was sure that the Library had more important things to worry about than stroking my bruised ego and my sense of zine-worth... Needless-to-say I was pleasantly surprised to receive an email from LCC Librarian Leila Kassir...

I've met Leila a few times previously, introduced by the lovely Jimi and Peter of Alternative Press, and she too is a rather nice lady. She kindly informed me that she had brought my zine at the Wolfwind Zine Fair in Tunbridge Wells last year - a fair I couldn't attend but was represented by the rest of Walrus.... And so with my sense of zine-worth restored, I began to feel like a dumbo - laughing at how it didn't even occur to me that my silly little zine could have been brought for the collection...

Hahahahahahaahahahahahahaahhhaaa... what a waste of drama and less than chuffed feelings...

WOO!

Another flyer for the International Alternative Press Festival.... its all so very exciting!!!

Musings

I received an email a few days ago (actually it was a while ago but the email got lost in the vast abysses of my junk folder until recently when I thought I would have a gander... it wasn't pretty - bizarrely full of adverts for fabric softeners) from the London College of Communication's Library. The purpose of the email was to inform me that my zine is part of the LCC Zine Collection and standard practice is to ask if I would allow the Library to use images from the zine to help promote and raise the profile of the collection... My first reaction was one of being chuffed: 'hurrah!" I thought, patting myself on the back... and then I wondered "how did the LCC get my zine?"... and my second reaction was one of ... not quite sad but not chuffed - so less than chuffed but also less than sad and upset (please insert appropriate adjective here)... Someone must of donated the zine to the LCC Zine Collection... they didn't want it ... perhaps it was someone who I had coerced into swapping zines with me at a fair ... and now they were like "man! this sucks" so they gave it away cursing my name because I obviously got the better deal... and then I had my third reaction of ... not quite relief as my second reaction was not strong enough to warrant relief but it was something on the relieved spectrum, as I became thankful that they had appreciated the zine enough to donate it to the library and not recycle... or worse throw it in the bin... With that I gave the LCC Library permission to use images of the zine whenever and however they liked.

Check out the LCC Zine Collection Facebook page here

This got me thinking: the great thing about making zines is that it is open to everyone with access to a pen, a piece of paper, and a photocopier. It’s an interesting medium to work in because it is so accessible. Instead of making work where you, the artist, are removed and where your work is at a distance from your audience, you’re creating something that is tangible - that your audience can hold and take away. You watch as they approach your table, pick up your zine and buy. You also watch as they approach your table, pick up your zine, flick through it, put it back down and walk away. And sometimes you watch as they approach your table, and bypass your zine all together. It’s a really interesting way to assess who you’re creating for, and who exactly your audience are, and in turn why you are creating. It’s also really satisfying to make something that is immediate and mass – produced. I think as an artist, there’s a lot of value in creating your own zines because it allows you to not be so precious with your work, and think about how and why you are communicating.

Alternative Press Festival

The International Alternative Press Festival is fast approaching. It runs from 27th May-13th June with an exciting line up of workshops and events. Walrus, and many many other zine makers, should be at the zine fair on 28th and the 29th May. For more details click out their website: www.alternativepress.org.uk 

I Made A Boo Boo

So Sofia kindly asked me to take pictures at the Papered Parlour event It's Your Write...but in my excitement I forgot.... however with the video in the post below and my fantastic drawing above I think you get a good gist of how great it was....

The Papered Parlour

Here's a video from the Papered Parlour event which was on at the Museum of Childhood earlier this month, it was attended unofficially by Walrus and officially by Alternative Press and lots of other exciting people/projects. Pictures coming soon...

Walrus at the Zine Symposium 2011

Thanks to everyone who picked up a a Walrus zine today!

'Space'

The first edition of the walrus collaborative

'Space'

First set of copies being sold at the London Zine Symposium 2011.

London Zine Symposium!

We'll be packing up our zines and transporting them across London to this cool event next month. It's the annual London Zine Symposium at the Rag Factory where zine makers come from far and wide to dispense zines and badges and all sorts of other things, but mainly zines. One can click the link below for more details.

www.londonzinesymposium.org.uk

Brighton Stall

We had fun fun fun down at the Brighton zine fair yesterday. It was our first time down there and we met lots of nice people and shifted loads of zines. Here's a mysterious and hazy picture of our stall. Amongst some of our swaps were a cross stitched badge, an origami kit, and envelope full of philosophical puns and a small black book with lyrics from a band that Brighton feminist Sarah Clark used to be in when she was eight, Sarah was our very nice stall holder neighbour for the day.

Alternative Press Fair November 2010

Our table at the Alternative Press Fair 2010... look at our things... look at how cool we are...come find us at the Brighton Zine Fest!

First Outing

Based on a true story, Eat My Sponge Publications' first outing was a little zine called he plagues me. Its about love and the scary stuff... like falling... and being barked at... It was well received... by Mylon Carn, who said (and I quote) "best thing since semi-skimmed milk".

Brighton Zine Fest

We've got a stall at Brighton Zine Fair! The Zine Fair is part of the Zinefest and is on the 20th of February at the Hanover Community Centre, www.brightonzinefest.co.uk for more details.

Social Notwoking

Dr. Von Schnieder's earlier pioneering studies on Bebo and other reunion websites have been the subject of fierce debate, winning him much acclaim in social science circles. In his newest study 'Social Notworking' Dr. Von Schneider ventures bravely into new territory taking a serious look, for the first time, into the root causes and effects of the emerging Social Network Syndrome (SNS).

Kitties in Cities

Moon Juicing

At one time, according to Sir George H. Darwin, the Moon was very close to the Earth. Then the tides gradually pushed her far away: the tides that the Moon herself causes in the Earth’s waters, where the Earth slowly loses energy.

Italo Calvino

'The Distance from the Moon'

'Cosmic Comics'

The Boy and The Owl