Category: DIY

  • Offsite – Zine Club Chicago on Marz: Everything's Gone Green Zinemaking Hangout, April 24th!

    A flyer featuring an image of a pile of green leaves and this text: “Zine Club Chicago on Marz: Everything’s Gone Green; 7-9 p.m. Thursday, April 24; Life on Marz Community Club, 1950 N. Western Ave; Free!; Info at quimbys.com”

    Zine Club Chicago on Marz: Everything’s Gone Green Zinemaking Hangout
    Life on Marz Community Club, 1950 N. Western Ave. in Logan Square/Bucktown
    7 – 9 p.m. Thursday, April 24, 2025
    Free!

    This month, Zine Club Chicago is celebrating the earth and its natural delights in collaboration with our friends at Life on Marz Community Club! Y’all are invited to help create a group zine on the theme Everything’s Gone Green.

    Please join us for Zine Club Chicago on Marz: Everything’s Gone Green Zinemaking Hangout, 7-9 p.m. Thursday, April 24 at Life on Marz Community Club, 1950 N. Western Ave. in Logan Square/Bucktown. Free!

    Zine Club Chicago will provide all the zinemaking supplies! Just bring your creativity. Life on Marz Community Club, our favorite locally owned taproom and café space, offers awesome alcoholic, CBD, and non-alcoholic beverages from Marz Brewery and more, plus some very fun snacks, for purchase. DJ Soup Time will be providing sonic accoutrement during the evening, and we encourage y’all to stick around for some awesome music!

    Zine newbies and longtime enthusiasts alike are always welcome at Zine Club Chicago. This free event series is produced by Cynthia E. Hanifin and sponsored by Quimby’s Bookstore. Anna Jo Beck is the creative force behind our visuals.

    Facebook event is here. More info on the Zine Club Chicago social media channels: @zineclubchicago

    Image description: A flyer featuring an image of a pile of green leaves and this text: “Zine Club Chicago on Marz: Everything’s Gone Green; 7-9 p.m. Thursday, April 24; Life on Marz Community Club, 1950 N. Western Ave; Free!; Info at quimbys.com”

  • Zine Club Chicago Online: Writing a Letter Zine Workshop, April 15th!

    A red-and-blue infographic flyer, with the image of a piece of paper sticking out of an envelope, and text that reads: “Zine Club Chicago: Writing a Letter Zine Workshop; Online! Free! Zoom info on quimbys.com; 7:30 p.m. CT Tuesday, April 15, 2025”

    Zine Club Chicago Online: Writing a Letter Zine Workshop
    7:30 p.m. CT Tuesday, April 15, 2025
    Online! Free!
    On Zoom, RSVP details below

    Do you love snail mail? This month, Zine Club Chicago will be making letter-inspired zines! Producer Cynthia E. Hanifin will lead a fun workshop designed to tap into your epistolary leanings.

    Grab your zinemaking supplies*, BYOS(tamps + Snax) and join us on Zoom for Zine Club Chicago Online: Writing a Letter Zine Workshop at 7:30 p.m. CT Tuesday, April 15, 2025!

    ** RSVP required ** We want to make sure that our online Zine Club Chicago events are a safe space, so we won’t be releasing the Zoom link publicly. If you’d like to attend, please email zineclubchicago@gmail.com to RSVP by 9 p.m. CT Monday, April 14 (the evening before our event). We’ll email you the Zoom link by 5 p.m. CT on Tuesday, April 15.

    Zine newbies and longtime enthusiasts alike are always welcome at Zine Club Chicago. This free event series is produced by Cynthia E. Hanifin and sponsored by Quimby’s Bookstore. Anna Jo Beck is the creative force behind our visuals.

    Facebook event is here. More info on the Zine Club Chicago social media channels: @zineclubchicago

    * You’ll need a few sheets of 8.5×11” paper, a stapler or some tape, whichever implements you prefer for writing/drawing/etc., and your creativity!

    Image description: A red-and-blue infographic flyer, with the image of a piece of paper sticking out of an envelope, and text that reads: “Zine Club Chicago: Writing a Letter Zine Workshop; Online! Free! Zoom info on quimbys.com; 7:30 p.m. CT Tuesday, April 15, 2025”

  • Zine Club Chicago: An Encyclopedia of Radical Helping Collective Reading and Zinemaking Workshop, March 15th!

    A colorful infographic flyer designed by Julie Cho that features the cover of the book “An Encyclopedia of Radical Helping”, with text that reads: “An Encyclopedia of Radical Helping Collective Reading and Zinemaking Workshop; Zine Club Chicago at Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave., Chicago IL 60622; Saturday, March 15, 3pm CST; For more information visit quimbys.com”

    Zine Club Chicago: An Encyclopedia of Radical Helping Collective Reading and Zinemaking Workshop
    3 p.m. Saturday, March 15, 2025
    Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave.
    Free! 

    This month, Zine Club Chicago is thrilled to welcome our friends at Thick Press for a celebration of their new book, An Encyclopedia of Radical Helping!

    From “abundance” to “zinemaking,” An Encyclopedia of Radical Helping invites the reader to wander through a collection of interconnected entries on helping and healing by over 200 contributors from the worlds of social work and family therapy; art and design; body work and witchery; organizing and education; and more. Privileging co-construction over diagnosis, wisdom over evidence, collective healing over individual curejuyet, always blurring categories and embracing contradictions — this world-making collection reveals a pluriverse of helping practices grounded in love and freedom.

    Please join us for Zine Club Chicago: An Encyclopedia of Radical Helping Collective Reading and Zinemaking Workshop, 3 p.m. Saturday, March 15, 2025 right here at our shop, 1854 W. North Ave. in Wicker Park. Free!

    Erin Segal and Chris Hoff, two of the editors of An Encyclopedia of Radical Helping, will be joining us, and contributors to the book will read selections from their entries. Our readers include Zine Club Chicago producer Cynthia E. Hanifin, Neil Horsky, and Noriko Martinez.

    Zine Club Chicago also be hosting a zinemaking workshop, and you’re all invited to make a mini zine about your own radical helping and collective care practices! No prior zinemaking experience necessary.

    All zinemaking materials will be provided. Please note that event seating is limited, and will be first-come, first-served. Zine Club Chicago is a mask-supportive environment; masks will be provided if you’d like to wear one.

    About Thick Press: Care-givers, justice-seekers, and community-builders often find ourselves in the thick of human experience. Yet so many of the texts we produce rely on the thin logic of Western medicine and mainstream social science! What might happen if we grounded more texts in the arts? In critical theories? In spirituality? In lived experience? What might happen if we paid more attention to medium, form, and design?

    Enter Thick Press, a collaboration between a social worker (Erin Segal) and a designer (Julie Cho).

    We aspire to a practice that is loving, reflexive, playful, and collaborative. We worry about reproducing oppressive structures, but we’re not really that interested in critique. Above all, we want to make unusual books with others.

    Inspired by artists’ books and zines, Thick Press publishes books that cross genres and disciplines.  All our books relate to working or living in the thick of human experience.

    Zine newbies and longtime enthusiasts alike are always welcome at Zine Club Chicago. This free event series is produced by Cynthia E. Hanifin and sponsored by Quimby’s Bookstore. Anna Jo Beck is the creative force behind our visuals, and she also made the Zine Club Chicago Shout-Outs site, where folks can peruse and recommend zines we’ve discussed at our events.

    Facebook event is here. More info on the Zine Club Chicago social media channels: @zineclubchicago

    Image description: A colorful infographic flyer designed by Julie Cho that features the cover of the book An Encyclopedia of Radical Helping, with text that reads: “An Encyclopedia of Radical Helping Collective Reading and Zinemaking Workshop; Zine Club Chicago at Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave., Chicago IL 60622; Saturday, March 15, 3pm CST; For more information visit quimbys.com”

  • Offsite – Zine Club Chicago on Marz: Chicago-Style Traditions, Feb. 27th!

    Zine Club Chicago on Marz: Chicago-Style Traditions Zinemaking Hangout
    Life on Marz Community Club, 1950 N. Western Ave. in Logan Square/Bucktown
    7 – 9 p.m. Thursday, February 27, 2025
    Free!

    This month, Zine Club Chicago is paying tribute to the distinctive ways our city loves to celebrate with a free zinemaking hangout in collaboration with our friends at Life on Marz Community Club! Y’all are invited to help create a group zine on the theme Chicago-Style Traditions.

    This month’s theme is inspired by one of our favorite local holidays, Paczki Day, which Marz Brewing commemorates with the annual release of their Paczki Stout. This unique seasonal beer will be available during our event!

    Please join us for Zine Club Chicago on Marz: Chicago-Style Traditions Zinemaking Hangout, 7-9 p.m. Thursday, February 27 at Life on Marz Community Club, 1950 N. Western Ave. in Logan Square/Bucktown. Free!

    We’ll provide all the zinemaking supplies! Just bring your creativity. Life on Marz Community Club, our favorite locally owned taproom and café space, offers awesome alcoholic, CBD, and non-alcoholic beverages from Marz Brewery and more, plus some very fun snacks, for purchase. The taproom also will be holding a DJ night that evening, and we encourage y’all to stick around for an awesome selection of music spun by Rent Control Records!

    Zine newbies and longtime enthusiasts alike are always welcome at Zine Club Chicago. This free event series is produced by Cynthia E. Hanifin and sponsored by Quimby’s Bookstore. Anna Jo Beck designs our visuals and created our logo.

    Facebook event is here. More info on the Zine Club Chicago social media channels: @zineclubchicago

    Image description: A flyer featuring paczki on a plate and this text: “Zine Club Chicago on Marz: Chicago-Style Traditions; 7-9 p.m. Thursday, February 27; Life on Marz Community Club, 1950 N. Western Ave; Free!; Info at quimbys.com”

  • Zine Club Chicago Online: Show Us Your Stacks, Feb. 18th!

     

    A red-and-blue infographic flyer, with the image of books and zines stacked in a wicker basket, and text that reads: “Zine Club Chicago: Show Us Your Stacks; Online! Free! Zoom info on quimbys.com; 7:30 p.m. CT Tuesday, February 18, 2025”

    Zine Club Chicago Online: Show Us Your Stacks
    7:30 p.m. CT Tuesday, February 18, 2025
    Online! Free!
    On Zoom, RSVP details below

    Whenever self-publishing fanatics gather, one question always seems to come up: How do you organize your zines?  Whether you’re a meticulous cataloguer, a creator of haphazard piles, or something in between, we want to know about the ways you arrange, display, and categorize your personal collection.

    Get your home stash in order (or leave it messy), BYOS(tacks + Snax) and join us on Zoom for Zine Club Chicago Online: Show Us Your Stacks at 7:30 p.m. CT Tuesday, February 18, 2025!

    ** RSVP required ** We want to make sure that our online Zine Club Chicago events are a safe space, so we won’t be releasing the Zoom link publicly. If you’d like to attend, please email zineclubchicago@gmail.com to RSVP by 9 p.m. CT Monday, February 17 (the evening before our event). We’ll email you the Zoom link by 5 p.m. CT on Tuesday, February 18.

    Zine newbies and longtime enthusiasts alike are always welcome at Zine Club Chicago. This free event series is produced by Cynthia E. Hanifin and sponsored by Quimby’s Bookstore. Anna Jo Beck designs our monthly flyers, created our logo, and made our Zine Club Chicago Shout-Outs site, where folks can peruse and recommend zines we’ve discussed at our events.

    Facebook event is here. More info on the Zine Club Chicago social media channels: @zineclubchicago

    Image description: A red-and-blue infographic flyer, with the image of books and zines stacked in a wicker basket, and text that reads: “Zine Club Chicago: Show Us Your Stacks; Online! Free! Zoom info on quimbys.com; 7:30 p.m. CT Tuesday, February 18, 2025”

  • Recommended Reading: Vibrant Voices on the Page

    A pile of books and zines that tell personal stories, available at Quimby’s Bookstore in Chicago.

    The world is a flaming mess right now. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, I’m right there with you. Whenever I’m struggling, I know that I can find respite in personal narratives. Reading about another person’s challenges, triumphs, sorrows, and joys reminds me that, as Adrienne Rich wrote, our stories flow in more than one direction.

    Our shop is, of course, packed to the brick walls with vibrant voices on the page. Here are a few of the tales in which I’ve taken solace lately.

    Every single issue of Lucinda J. Williams’ Bookshelf Voyeur series is a pure delight. Her latest release, #8: On Scrapbooks, delves into the fascinating lives that the zinemaker first encountered within a collection of turn-of-the-century ephemera.

    Anxious Critters #1 and #2: I adore this pair of sweet zines about the relationship between creator Alex O’Keefe and her housemate: A very cute bunny named Ivy.

    Although I’m a native Chicagoan, I’ve lived a good chunk of my life in small Midwestern towns, each with its own unique DIY community. Punks in Peoria: Making a Scene in the American Heartland by Jonathan Wright and Dawson Barrett takes a compelling look at how the hardcore punk movement played out in one central Illinois city in the ’80s and ’90s.

    When someone I know returns from a trip, the first thing I ask is what they ate during their journey. April Malig chronicles her culinary adventures, with words and gorgeous colorwashed images, in April’s Eating Zine #5: Everything I Ate in Japan (Part One: Toyko!) and April’s Eating Zine #5.5: Everything I Ate in Japan (Part 2: Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka, Atami!).

    I love a pocket-size zine, since I like never want to be without a story to get lost in. Ker-bloom! always delivers a perfect bite-sized tale presented in a beautiful letterpress package. Issue #171 begins with the epic statement: “Sometimes it pays to be a known Lord of the Rings nerd.”

    So perhaps you’d like to add your own story to the glorious chorus of voices in this universe? We’ve got two of my favorite books about writing in stock right now. 1000 Words: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round by Jami Attenberg and many of the writer’s literary friends — including Carmen Maria Machado, Roxane Gay, and Kiese Laymon — just came out in paperback. Body Work: The Radical Power of Personal Narrative by Melissa Febos is the book I would put into the hands of any storyteller who wants to deepen their own practice.

    If you do decide to share your story with the world, please consider putting it into a zine and consigning it with us! You might want to grab a This is Going in My Perzine sticker to give folks a heads-up. 🙂

    —   With love and solidarity, C.E. Hanifin

  • Looking for a Unique Gift? Send a Qustomized Quimby's Zine Package!

    Not sure what to get a certain tough-to-shop-for someone on your gift list this year? May we suggest a Qustomized Quimby’s Zine Package? You choose the denomination (we offer $25, $69, and $100 options) and tell us a little something about what your recipient is into, and our zine specialists will choose a unique assortment of self-published delights! Oh, and our Qustomized Quimby’s Zine Packages make a great lil’ treat for yourself, too.
    Here’s an example: The person who will receive the $25 Qustomized Zine Package in this photo loves animals, resisting our robot overlords, travel, smart cultural analysis, and slice-of-life stories. Look at that awesome selection of ziney goodness that will be arriving in their mailbox, along with some free Quimby’s bookmarks!
    Qustomized Zine Packages are available right here on our website only. If you’d like some help putting together a customized gift while shopping in our store, we’ll be happy to assist you in person! And yeah, if you prefer to let your gift recipient choose some fun new zines on their own, we’ve got gift cards available online and in-store, as well.

  • Recommended Reading: Adam Gnade and his Great American Novels

    As of late, I’ve been deep into Adam Gnade‘s pocket sized novels ever since we received a large box of them from Kansas, where the author resides. Gnade (pronounced GUH-NAH-DEE) writes about coming of age in America, friendship, and being involved in alternative music scenes in the early aughts, a time when smartphones hadn’t been invented and the world felt less chaotic and broken.

    After Tonight, Everything Will Be Different drew me in with its cover: a picture of a hand pouring hot sauce on a giant burrito inside a taqueria. Maybe I was hungry that day, but something nudged me to buy it (we sold two other copies in the same day, perhaps there was something in the air). After Tonight… is set in San Diego, CA centered around the main character’s memories of growing up in the beachy California town where his parents owned a seafood restaurant. Each chapter is centered around a specific food memory and how the meals or snacks comforted James and his pals after late nights at punk shows, bars, and nights out when the only thing that mattered was being in the moment and escaping reality with chosen family. Despite each chapter being centered around food, the book reads more like an autobiography filled with visceral memories and the pain of early adulthood when you and your friends move on, go to college, or stay put in your hometown and waste time trying to figure out who you are and what you want to be. Gnade has a poetic way of retelling memories that pull the reader into his world by making them relatable and tender.

    When you make sense to someone it is a lovely thing. What you are doesn’t tire them or make them nervous or scare them off. They see you and you make sense. Your weird shit makes sense. Your fears and delusions make sense. The things you love make sense. If you don’t make sense, it’s like a bitter flavor in a thing that should be sweet and it’s confusing to people. They don’t get you, and because they don’t get you, you’ve got no chance of being their friend. At 16 I want nothing more than to make sense to people, but I don’t make sense to anyone.

    This beautiful paragraph is from the chapter titled “BURRITOS, VARIOUS.”

    The second book in Gnade’s pocket sized series of America is The Internet Newspaper. In the sequel, we follow James for three days in the year 2000 as he temps for a local internet newspaper in San Diego writing clickbait articles about cats and listing local music events. At night, he’s raiding the alcohol cabinet of a stranger’s home with friends while they house sit and driving to Tijuana with his coworkers for a press junket and getting drunk on the company dime. The Internet Newspaper captures a time when the internet was a place where information was less available and more casual, not all encompassing like it is today. The book is not just about the internet and the experience of having your first grown-up job, but about the main character’s life as a twenty-something punk having fun with friends while battling debilitating depression and suicidal ideation.

    As I savor the last few pages of The Internet Newspaper, I look forward to reading I Wish to Say Lovely Things, Gnade’s follow up novel about love in all its many forms.

    tl;dr Adam Gnade makes reading fun, inspiring, accessible, and cool with his badass autofiction novels.

    *xo~Angel~xo*

    @angel.xoxoxoxox

  • Zine Club Chicago: Zine Valentines Hangout, Jan. 20th!

    A red-and-blue infographic flyer, with an image of several vintage valentines and text that reads: “Zine Club Chicago: Zine Valentines Hangout; In Person! Free!; Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave.; www.quimbys.com; 3 p.m. Saturday, January 20, 2024”

    Zine Club Chicago: Zine Valentines Hangout!
    3 p.m. Saturday, January 20, 2024
    Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave.
    Free!

    Zine Club Chicago is kicking off the season of love in all its incarnations with a heart-shaped invitation: Come make zine valentines with us about your self-publishing passions!

    We want you to pour your admiration for your favorite zinemakers, most beloved art supplies (who doesn’t love a long-arm stapler?), or whatever else you adore about DIY culture into the pages of a mini zine. We’ll also have postcard supplies on hand so you can send a sweet note to our out-of-town zine pals.*

    Please join us at Zine Club Chicago: Zine Valentines Hangout at 3 p.m. Saturday, January 20 here at our shop. Free!

    We’ll provide zinemaking supplies, blank postcards, and snacks. Zine Club Chicago is a mask-supportive environment; we’ll have masks available if you’d like to wear one.

    *Out-of-town friends, Zine Club Chicago would love to pair you up with a zine pen pal! Fill out this Google form by 10 p.m. CT Tuesday, Jan. 16 if you’d like to receive a postcard from our in-person event: tiny.cc/ZCCZineValentines2024

    Zine newbies and longtime enthusiasts alike are always welcome at Zine Club Chicago. This free monthly event series is produced by Cynthia E. Hanifin and sponsored by Quimby’s Bookstore. Anna Jo Beck designs our monthly flyers, created our logo, and made our Zine Club Chicago Shout-Outs site, where folks can peruse and recommend zines we’ve discussed at our events.

    Facebook event link here. More info on the Zine Club Chicago social media channels: @zineclubchicago

    Image description: A red-and-blue infographic flyer, with an image of several vintage valentines and text that reads: “Zine Club Chicago: Zine Valentines Hangout; In Person! Free!; Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave.; www.quimbys.com; 3 p.m. Saturday, January 20, 2024”

  • Zine Club Chicago Online: Ain't No Party Like a Zine Party!

    A red-and-blue infographic flyer, with the image of partygoers looking up at a sky full of festive stars, and text that reads: “Zine Club Chicago: Ain’t No Party Like a Zine Party! Featuring a Zinemaking Activity Led by Liz Mason; Online! Free!; Zoom info on quimbys.com; 7:30 p.m. CT Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023”

    Zine Club Chicago Online: Ain’t No Party Like a Zine Party! Edition
    7:30 p.m. CT Tuesday, December 12 on Zoom
    Free!

    This month, Zine Club Chicago is pairing up with our pals at Zine Party! to say farewell to 2023 with a festive online gathering! Our own Liz Mason will lead us in a fun zinemaking activity focused on celebrating our personal highlights of this year.

    Grab your zinemaking supplies*, BYOH(ot)C(ocoa), and join us on Zoom for Zine Club Chicago Online: Ain’t No Party Like a Zine Party! at 7:30 p.m. CT Tuesday, December 12.

    ** RSVP required ** We want to make sure that our online Zine Club Chicago events are a safe space, so we won’t be releasing the Zoom link publicly. If you’d like to attend, please email zineclubchicago@gmail.com to RSVP by 9 p.m. CT Monday Dec. 11 (the evening before our event). We’ll email you the Zoom link by 5 p.m. CT Tuesday, Dec. 12.

    Zine newbies and longtime enthusiasts alike are always welcome at Zine Club Chicago. This free monthly event series is produced by Cynthia E. Hanifin and sponsored by Quimby’s Bookstore. Anna Jo Beck designs our monthly flyers, created our logo, and made our Zine Club Chicago Shout-Outs site, where folks can peruse and recommend zines we’ve discussed at our events.

    Zine Party!, a monthly Zoom hangout for folks who make zines, is hosted by Michael Verdi on the second Tuesday of each month. Find out more at zine.party

    Facebook event link here. More info on the Zine Club Chicago social media channels: @zineclubchicago

    * You’ll need a few sheets of 8.5×11” paper, a pair of scissors, whichever implements you prefer for writing/drawing/etc., and your creativity! If you’ve never made a mini zine before, here’s a quick video tutorial (and we can provide any assistance you need at the event, too): How to Make a Mini Zine

    Image description: A red-and-blue infographic flyer, with the image of partygoers looking up at a sky full of festive stars, and text that reads: “Zine Club Chicago: Ain’t No Party Like a Zine Party! Featuring a Zinemaking Activity Led by Liz Mason; Online! Free!; Zoom info on quimbys.com; 7:30 p.m. CT Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023”