Author: Nyx

Creative Breakdown Insurance: How to Survive Your Worst Days of Creative Freelancing
Imogen Dall
https://www.imogendall.com/
https://twitter.com/ImogenDall

Creative Breakdown Insurance is an A5 full-colour zine about approaching problems that can come when you’re a creative freelancer.

Given the state of the world these days, I thought this zine would be a most appropriate read. Especially for all of the people who aren’t used to working from home.

Creative Breakdown Insurance opens with a minimalist first page that lets you know that it’s okay to hate the guide; that doesn’t mean you can’t use it. I had a smile at that, given that is how anything helpful can often go. Most of us don’t like being told what to do, but what works, works.

From there Imogen introduces us to the changing world of freelancing and how it can often come along with unexpected problems. Those problems (at least some of them) are laid out on the next page in the table of contents. I quite liked this page, as Imogen broke the contents into sections: Emergency Problems, Short-Term Problems, and Long-Term Problems. Each section is accompanied by an appropriately coloured alarm light.

Imogen covers many things from mental health matters to creative blocks to money matters. Every section is beautifully designed with readable fonts, bolded headers, colours, and even some lovely drawings to go with some. My graphic communications professor would have adored this. (And, of course, I adore it.) The quality of this zine is wonderful.

Each problem is also met with a number of different things you can do about it. I especially liked the checklist for “I Feel Miserable And I Don’t Know Why” checklist. I’m currently finding my way through a particularly harsh depression, and I was reminded of how easily it can be to forget the basics like even drinking some water.

All up, I found this to be a great zine that I will be referring to plenty. I highly recommend you check it out.

Sticky Stories
Saff Miro
https://www.instagram.com/saffmiro/

Sticky Stories is a full-colour A7 mini zine of short stories based around stickers and washi tape used in the zine. Each mini is handmade and slightly different.

I love this idea. I adore it! Talk about taking prompted writing from a different direction. I only have one copy (edition? version?) of this zine (hand delivered by Saff at Festival of the Photocopier! <3 ) so I don't know how much each zine varies. However, that simply makes me all the more curious and wanting to get my hands on another copy, so all the more wins to Saff in that regard.

As well as the idea itself, I enjoyed Saff's stories and sense of humour. The subtle tactile element that comes with it being the actual washi and stickers – as well as pretty sticky gems on the front cover – made is all the more fun. A unique zine for me to enjoy. (Hat tip to Ryan of Pocket Thoughts whose one-of-a-kind zine still makes me tear up in a good way.)

I think this is a lot of fun and a zine to check out for enjoyment as well as inspiration.

and here you are living, despite it all
???

and here you are living, despite it all is a full-colour A7 mini zine of images and short poems.

I’ve mentioned two things before in my reviews:

1. I know very little about poetry other than what I like
2. Sometimes I have a zine for quite a while and end up reading it when I need to read it

This zine touches on both… but it also inspires some confusion as well.

and here you are launches right into short poems, each one taking one or two pages. Each poem is accompanies by handdrawn swirls of colour and cut and paste elements. I must admit that I didn’t even think about pems until I saw the “All Poems by Rupi Kaur” on the back of the zine. Yet the classification became less important when I thought about the words. Each one speaks to me of finding strength in survival and self. Every piece became its own bit of art to me – to be thought about as little or as much as I desired. In my case, I thought about each a lot.

What’s clear to me is that this is definitely what you make of it – like most forms of art. What I’m not clear about is whether this is a zine by Rupi, in honour of Rupi… There’s no social link or other name to look up. Admittedly, I wasn’t familiar with Rupi (or the controversies) until I looked it up thinking that the person who made the zine was Rupi.

Now I have no idea.

Alas, I’m reviewing it anyway. Because, for me, the words are important. They gave me some quiet contemplation time in my own mind, for which I am grateful. So whether Rupi made this or someone made it in honour of those words, thank you.

Full Disclosure 1-3
Hadass Bar Lev
https://hadass420.wordpress.com/
https://www.etsy.com/shop/pmsmess/

Full Disclosure 1-3 is a full-colour set of three A7 mini-zines, each of which is based on a prompt from a friend. These minis were mad as part of ZineWriMo 2019 (the prompts list set by yours truly).

Full Disclosure 1 takes on the topic of being Jewish and living in Israel, 2 takes on motherhood, and 3 takes on Hadass’ zine origins. Each zine is a short read but an interesting one, and I am grateful to know more about someone I consider to be a friend.

I love the ‘prompted by friends’ type of zine because you never know what people would like to know about you, and you never know what you have yet to learn about people you know. Hadass’ layout for these zines is simple and easy to read – each like a mini-perzine.

I found all three minis equally interesting on different levels. I enjoyed learning more about Hadass and also enjoyed Hadass writing voice, which is full of metal and strength. Each mini left me more interested to read the next – the set making me eager to dive into her other zines.

Hadass is always great about including ‘loud and clear’ socials, which is very much appreciated.

I can see this set of zines being a great first step to people not only being introduced to Hadass as a person but to her fun, badass style. I quite enjoyed them all and hope to see an extension of this set into a series come ZineWriMo 2020.