Stockport Zine Fair 2025

Saturday the 14th of June was the first Stockport Zine Fair, run by PippyMakesZines! I met her at Barnsley Zine Fair back in February 2024 and followed her and her sister on Instagram. Her sister Lolah lives in Sheffield and dresses in like a goth Lolita style which I really love, so I'm always happy to see her. So when I saw Pippy was doing a zine fair in Stockport I applied for a table and was happy to get one. From our house it's only about an hour to Stockport so it's ideal. 

We set off about 8.15. I was driving because Lee has been having some problems with his knee which makes driving painful. We managed to find Merseyway shopping centre and parked on the top for all day. We went down in the lift and the Stockroom, where the fair was being held, was just near where we came out. We went in and found our table as well as a whole information pack for traders which was really thoughtful and really helped!

We got set up and the fair opened at 10am. There was a steady flow of people all day, it was really busy! I had a ton of conversations with people about what zines are, what I write, the type of zines I like to read, and so on. I traded with a woman maybe a little older than me who had really cool designs of stuff, and with a youngish person who was SO happy to trade with me. I will ALWAYS trade - I love it, it gets my zines into more hands, and it gets me more zines that I might not otherwise have had a chance to read. It's just so lovely. 

Kirsty and Vicky were also trading, Kirsty sells their own zines and Vicky has a distro and sells zines by a bunch of people, so it was nice to catch up with both of them. Jane Claire Bradley attended as a buyer; she was one of the organisers of Grrrl Con which I went to twice in 2016 and 2017 so it was lovely to see her and I happened to have a Grrrl Con 2017 zine that I made that I gave her. 

At lunchtime Lee went out to get lunch for us. I ended up with an egg sandwich and a veggie sausage roll from Pound Bakery; Lee got a jacket potato from a van in the precinct. He also told me that there was a donut van right outside the Stockroom so we decided we would go there when the fair finished. 

I started a new cross stitch - I have been working on other crafts but as we were about to go on holiday I needed something that was more portable than the lace making I've been doing. This is a kit from Caterpillar Cross Stitch that I have had for a while but hadn't started. I love those first new stitches on a brand new piece of cloth. 

The fair finished at 3 and we got packed up. Then we headed downstairs and out into the precinct. We walked to Zizzi to have something savoury. We weren't extremely hungry so we shared a margherita pizza, some fries, and some courgette fries. It was just enough for us. Then we went back to the donut stall and had donuts, ice cream, and chocolate sauce. It was delicious! 

We set off home about 5pm; Lee drove this time. We got home just before 6 and rested for a bit - we had had a very difficult week so we needed it. Then I just watched some crap TV before bed. My last photo is of everything I bought, traded, or was given. The purple post it note was given to me by a small child and while I'm not entirely sure what it's meant to be, I love it! I am going to stick it in my journal soon!

The first few stitches of my new cross stitch, I will try to remember to post it when it's finished!

My stall all set up - we sold out of quite a few things!

Donuts in the sunshine - it was spitting with rain a bit too but we managed to escape it

And here's everything I got - well, I say I, really this was between Lee and I

Barnsley Zine Fair 2025

The 15th of February was Barnsley Zine Fest! I had a stall and Jason at The Civic did an absolutely brilliant job of organising it again. Lee and I rocked up to the space at about 9.30. Chloe was already there and our stalls were right next to each other so that was good. Lee had to go park a way away so I set up most of the stall by myself, but that was fine because when Lee did arrive, he had brought coffee. The fair started at 10 and it was fairly quiet for the first hour or so, so I wondered how busy it would actually get, but then it really picked up.

There were loads of people who had been there last February too, and at the Makers Fair in August, so it was nice to see some of the same people. And of course to meet new people! I bought a bunch of zines and traded some too which was lovely. I always love to trade zines because you just never know what you'll get. I bought a bunch of stickers, too. Lee went out and got sandwiches for lunch for us and he most likely went in the record shop too. Who only knows!

The fair finished at 4pm so we packed up and said goodbye to Chloe and some others, and headed to Market Kitchen for some tea. Lee was going out to play a gig but he had time to eat with me so we went there. I had Massaman curry which yes I had had the week before but I really like it and I don't care. I think Lee had pizza, but I can't be certain. Anyway. 

He took me home and then went out again so I just relaxed for the rest of the evening. I had been wearing my rainbow Topsy Curvy dress because it's perfect for a zine fair, and with it I wore the crop top jumper that I crocheted. I got a lot of compliments on it! I had a couple of nice conversations with other crafters about it, too. I was wearing new blue tights from Snag. I'm not sure about the colour of them. I think they're called Peacock and I thought they would be greener than they are. But I wore them and am still deciding whether I like them or not. Chloe did say she would happily take them off me if I decide I don't like them, so we can see! 

I sold quite a lot of zines which I'm happy about. The last photo is of what I bought. 

Getting my stall all set up

In full swing

Massaman curry, I had rice with it too 

Tights and boots. Like I said, I thought they would be greener than they are

Rainbow dress and jumper

And here's my haul!

Lincoln Zine Fest 2024

The beginning of October saw this year's Lincoln Zine Fest! I think I've been to every one of them and I'm so glad we could go. I've been by myself, and with Lee, with Sam and Jac, and last year my mum went with me because Lee was playing a gig somewhere. This year he was sort of getting better from being unwell, but he was determined to go. As it was, I drove there and he drove back, so at least he didn't have to drive both ways.

We got there about 10am and got all set up and stuff. We went down to the cafe when it opened and I got a latte and a vegan sausage roll. Lincoln Zine Fest isn't huge but it's always nice to see people and talk to them. We saw Lou and Si of course, and Chris who lives in Barnsley was sitting next to us, and we got talking to some new people too. I bought a couple of zines and I also got Lele to buy me a piece of artwork for Christmas, which I will totally have forgotten about by then. 

I had a toasted teacake in the afternoon and probably another drink too? Lee went to look at a record shop which was of course fine. We packed up at four and drove to the waterfront where there are a bunch of restaurants. We actually ate at Wagamama there several years ago. But this time we had a gift voucher for Ask so we went in there. It was only about 4.30 so it wasn't very full. We shared some bread to start with, and then I had vegetarian carbonara! I really miss meat carbonara so I was really excited when I saw this on the menu! It tasted really nice. I also had a strawberry margarita which was lovely. 

We finished about 5.45 and set off home. There was a lovely sunset on the way home, so I snapped a picture. I like the drive to Lincoln, it's never that stressful and just always nice to do. I was wearing my Topsy Curvy galaxy print dress and I got several compliments on it! It is nice. 

Here's my stall all set up and ready to go! The museum is a really nice venue, with a lot of space and light, perfect for a zine fest

Down on the waterfront after the fest

My cocktail

My meatless carbonara, it was really nice!

Lovely sunset on the way home

And my dress when we got home

Barnsley Alternative Makers Fair

On the 10th of August Barnsley Alternative Makers Fair happened in Barnsley. After the success of Barnsley Zine Fair in February Jason decided to do a bigger fair with zinesters and other makers, in the main room of the Civic. In all there were over forty makers which was really amazing! My friend Tukru had got a stall and had asked to stay with us, which was of course fine. So Tukru, Lee and I set off to go just a few minutes down the road into town to get set up. 

My stall was next to Chloe's, which was really nice as it meant I could catch up with her. My friend Lou who does Lincoln Zine Fest had a stall, so she was there with her fiance Si. There were some other people I knew, too, as well as a bunch of new people to meet! 

Lee went for a wander round town and my friend Gemma came. She had been borrowing my car for a bit and needed to give it back, so she came to the fair to chat to me for a bit. It was nice to see her! She brought me a chocolate orange brownie from Dolly's Desserts. The fair was sponsored by The Old Ivy Cheesecakery which is in town but which I've never been into. They had vegan sausage rolls and cupcakes, among other things, so I had one of each of those for lunch. 

Bettie and Jen arrived at about 3pm which was really nice because I haven't seen them in forever. I went into the Graphic Novel Reading Room which was visiting and which was really cute to see. Chloe's books were there in the LGBTQ+ section which was lovely to see. 

The fair packed up at 4pm and Lee, Tukru and I went home straight after. Lee cooked cacio e pepe pasta for tea and we watched a film and I did some crafting as we did. 

For the fair I had been wearing a peach Simply Be dress which is lovely, and was cool in the building. I also was wearing grey Snag footless tights, and my red Saltwater sandals. They seem to have stretched a little bit after their dip in the sea in Norfolk, which has actually made them more comfortable! 

The last pictures are of everything we got at the fair, including zines and an art postcard of Blackbeard in Our Flag Means Death. 

My stall all set up and ready to go. That crochet bunting was one of the first things I ever crocheted and it is still so cute!

Chloe's books next to Heartstopper, which is so good!

Red sandals and grey tights

Peach and polka dot dress

Art postcard

And everything else I got

Trip to Edinburgh - Day 3

On the Sunday of my trip to Edinburgh Lucinda made me some breakfast again and then I walked up to the tram stop and got the tram to St Andrew's Square. I walked through the train station to Fruitmarket. I had been able to leave all my stock so it didn't take me very long to get all set up. 

There were fewer people through the doors on Sunday, but still a lot. I will say that people in Scotland were really into asking for trades, and I never say no to trading zines! I came home with loads! On Sunday my friend Het popped in so it was nice to see her. Oh and also, I had met my friend Hannah on Saturday when she popped in for a bit! I've known her online for a while but hadn't ever met her. There were some different people there on Sunday so I did a few rounds of the place too. It was really exciting to me to have a ton of new zinesters to choose from! 

Cinders came back about 4pm and she did another round of stalls too. She helped me pack up at 5pm and then we walked over to Dishoom back on St Andrew's Square. I've been to the one in Manchester and really wanted to go again, so when I saw there was one in Edinburgh I asked Lucinda if she would go with me! We were prepared to queue but actually we got a table straight away. 

We shared a bunch of stuff including the house chaat and the black lentil dhal which is literally so nice. We also had paneer tikka and chole puri, and some raita and naan bread. I had a lychee and rose bellini which was completely delicious. We had food leftover so we took it back with us. We got back to Lucinda's flat at about 7.30 I think, and we sat down in our pyjamas and chilled out for the evening. We had a fascinating conversation about fangirls and fangirling and fanboying with Cinders' partner Linden, which was interesting. 

I was wearing my old purple Scarlett & Jo skirt which you've seen a billion times, but a new t shirt that I got recently off Etsy. It's of Wednesday from the new series which I really loved. I like the t shirt, I think it's really cool! 

All these stickers were on the coffee machine in Fruitmarket and I liked them

Lucinda and I in Dishoom - she looks adorable but I look like I'm not really too sure if I want to be there - but I promise I did!

My lovely bellini

Chaat! It was everything I want chaat to be

Everything else we had - the black lentil dhal is so creamy and delicious (that's on the left on the plate)

Here's my outfit before I put my pyjamas on

Here's what I got at the zine fest on Saturday. I traded some of these, but bought most of them 

And here's what I got on Sunday. Again I traded some but bought a lot too!

Trip to Edinburgh - Days 1 and 2

In the middle of February I took myself up to Edinburgh to stay with my friend Cinders for a few days. She and I bought tickets to see The Libertines in Leeds a few days later, and then I was offered a table at Edinburgh Zine Fest so I thought I would go up and see Cinders as well. Plus of course I could stay at her flat for free, which was good! As it was half term she wasn't able to take the whole week off, so I knew I would have a few days in Edinburgh by myself which was fine too. We decided to put her on our car insurance so that she and I could share the driving on the way back to mine, which is really helpful for me. So I just had to get there by myself. 

I set off from home about 11.30am. I had some problems with the sound system in the car so I stopepd at Wetherby services and got some lunch there. I then stopped at Lee's brother Andrew's house which is just a bit north of Newcastle at about 2pm. He and his fiancee Libby both work from home so I was able to talk to them both for a bit which was nice. I then carried on up the rest of England and into Scotland. It's a really long way, isn't it? I thought the same last May when we travelled to Edinburgh to see Bruce Springsteen. I finally pulled in to Lucinda's workplace at just before 5pm to pick her up.

We stopped at Lidl on the way back to her flat and then I met her flatmate Cez. They also live with Lucinda's partner Linden, who I have met before but very briefly. We had freezer food for tea which was nice, and then watched TV and relaxed. 

On Saturday we were up early and Cinders made me some breakfast, and then she came with me to the zine fair. We got the tram to St Andrews Square, and walked through Waverley station to get to the Fruitmarket. I had a corner stall and was sharing a table with Chris, from Barnsley, who I had seen just the week before at Barnsley Zine Fair! There were tons of people there which was nice. Lucinda popped out to get her eyes tested and she brought me back some lunch which was nice of her. She then left again to get her hair cut, and popped back in briefly at about 4pm. The fest didn't end until 6pm and those last couple of hours felt longgggg. Cinders left me to cook, so at 6pm I could thankfully leave all my stock at the fest for the next day, so I just took my cash box back with me in my bag. I did the journey in reverse and managed to get myself back to Lucinda's flat without too much trouble!

She made a tofu and aubergine chilli type of thing, and then some rice, which was nice. I cross stitched a bit and we watched some more TV. I was so tired though so I think we all had an early night! I was wearing a new t shirt that I bought at Meadowhall just a couple of weeks previously from one of the little shops in The Lanes. It says Black Cat Club on it and I love it because I love my little black cats! I wore it with my rose skirt that used to be a dress, and new grey footless tights from Snag. I do love my footless tights, especially as the weather gets a bit warmer because I really hate having stuff on my feet! 

It was a good first day and a bit in Scotland! 

I stopped for two seconds to take this photo just as I went into Scotland

My table set up at the fest

Is this not the fanciest water fountain you've ever seen? It was in the Fruitmarket cafe

And this neon artwork was just outside the fest space

Here's my outfit when Cinders and I got back to her flat

And here's my footless tights and these boots - they were from Pavers a while ago and they're really comfy and cute

Barnsley Zine Fair 2024

Saturday the third of February was the first Barnsley Zine Fair and it went brilliantly! I approached the library last year about using some space there for a zine fest, and the person there roped Jason from The Civic in too. Then the library person ended up leaving and Jason really ran with the idea and arranged for it to be at The Civic instead. I didn't have a lot to do with the organising at all, but that was okay because it meant a lot less stress for me. It meant that I could just turn up on the day and have fun! Jason had done brilliantly and advertised it really well, so there were a lot of people there! 

Lee and I got to the Civic just about 9.40. It's only a couple of miles from our house so we didn't need to rush! The space is usually the exhibition space so it's got a few different rooms. I was round a corner and was next to Chloe, who is obviously my friend, so that was nice. I did worry a little bit about the corner, but as it went I think most people made it round to us. If Jason does this again, he will use a different space I think, but this one really did work fine. 

The fair opened at 10.30 and straight away there were quite a few people there! That's always good! I knew some people (and had invited some of them to apply to table when I was at Bradford Zine Fest last September) but there were loads of people who I didn't know, which was great. My mum came for a little bit at about noon, and Lee went to Greggs to buy lunch for us. My friend Ceri from book club turned up with her friend later, too, as Lee had told her about the fair at my birthday party. Now my book club wants to know what a zine is, and wants to read some of mine! They do fascinate a lot of people I think. I genuinely believe that everyone should write at least one zine in their lifetime!

There was a lull of people coming through at around 3pm, but still a few. Someone Lee knew came, and the poet Ian McMillan, who's from Barnsley, came too, and bought two of my zines! There were quite a lot of creatives there who live in Barnsley, including a bunch of LGBTQ+ youth, who I am very keen to support. It was so good to meet some local people! I knew they were hiding in Barnsley!

We packed up about 4pm and Lee and I walked down to The Lounge for something to eat. Lee was going out in the evening to play a gig, so we just had a little bit of time and he didn't want much. I had Bang Bang Cauliflower, though, which was really nice. Lee had a fish finger sandwich. Then we shared a caramel sundae which was lush! We got home not too long after 5pm and Lee left about 5.45 to go to Leeds to play the gig. I laid in bed a bit longer reading Twitter, and then had a nap because I was knackered. I got up about 7pm and just relaxed all night by myself! 

I was wearing some new footless tights from Snag. I had seen them and absolutely loved the colour and I do love the footless tights so I was keen to have them. They're a gorgeous blue colour but it hasn't showed up properly in artificial light. I'll try to get a better photo next time! I was also wearing my Be Gay Solve Crimes t shirt (Robin Stevens related, if you're wondering!), a Scarlett & Jo skirt, and my chenille rainbow cardigan from Simply Be. It was a good outfit for the fest I think!

Chris.printed.this did this gorgeous artwork for the fest - isn't it beautiful? I love it

Here's my stall all ready to do! I had a new zine ready, about forty things I wanted to do before I turned forty

These excellent stickers were in the loo in the gallery space

A small child gave me this cute little tissue paper flower that they had made in the workshop that was going on in the middle of the space

I had this cherry cola cocktail in the Lounge but it wasn't too nice - I'll have to remember next time to order something else!

Bang Bang Cauliflower which was spicy and delicious, I'm glad I ordered it

Caramel and brownie sundae

My outfit when we got home

And my new footless tights and Dr Marten boots

Lincoln Zine Fest 2023

It was Lincoln Zine Fest again on the 22nd of October and I of course got a table and was all ready for it. Lee couldn't come because he was playing a gig in York, so I asked my mum to come along with me. She arrived at mine just after 8am and we set off in Lee's car. The week before had been really rainy and a lot of the countryside was flooded, but fortunately we were able to get through. We got there about 9.45 and managed to park in the car park opposite the museum. We went in and got my table set up - I was on one end so had plenty of space and a big table. 

My mum had never been to a zine fest before so it was all new for her! She had a walk round as things got underway and she bought some bits. I was sat crocheting which was nice. I had a wander round too and bought quite a few zines! I didn't sell loads but still enough, and it was nice to see Lou and Si and Lou's mum! 

We left about 4.15pm and we weren't sure what to do next as Lee would be out until late and I wanted something to eat. We decided to go pick up my stepdad and go out for some food. My mum suggested that we try the Tandoori Hut which is in Barnsley on Wakefield Road and lots of people have recommended it. We got there about 6.30pm and they had a table which was great. Everything inside is all shiny and marble, giving the whole place a bit of a fancy air. It was really busy which gave it a nice atmosphere. I had onion bhajis and spinach paneer with rice. We all enjoyed the food and we will have to go again with Lee! 

I chilled out for a couple of hours when I got home before Lee got back not too late and it was time for bed! Zine fests absolutely exhaust me so I was glad I got to rest for a bit after I'd had a busy week. Fortunately, too, I didn't do anything on the Sunday so I had a very lazy day!

My stall all set up, doesn't it look cute?

I had some nice food in the museum - a vegan sausage roll, a brownie, and this Halloween themed hot chocolate. It had these cute sprinkles on top and was pumpkin spice flavoured! So nice

At tea time I stole this ring off my mum to try on. It fits me perfectly! She inherited it from my grandma earlier in the year

Onion bhajis - they were nice and quite spicy!

Spinach paneer. I didn't eat it all so I brought it home and ate it later in the week!