Zest Books Internship, Day #19: A little bit of editing, a little bit of Facebook-ing, a little bit of photoshopping, and a little bit of mailing.
Saturday, April 6th
Hanging out with family today. Went to see Oz: The Great and Powerful, which was pretty bad except for the opening credits and the Danny Elfman soundtrack.
Finished working on notes for The Man Who Never Smiled.
Wednesday, April 10th
Zest Books Internship, Day #20: Worked mostly on mailing today… I think I put together over 60 packages. Wrote a blog post for the Zest Books official blog about upcoming titles Little Fish and Super Pop! with an accompanying illustration — can’t wait to see this go up online!
Thursday, April 11th
Ran some errands and worked on some preparation for the Cannes/London trip.
Made an account with Storenvy and am beginning to set up my own online store.
Went with Wes to an event at San Francisco Film Society. Talked with some of Wes’s former employers and met a filmmaker named Joey who will also be at Cannes.
Friday, April 12th
Zest Books Internship, Day #21: Worked on some cover designs for an upcoming Zest Books title. Everyone really seems to like what I’ve done!
Invited to be an illustrator for an upcoming collaborative project with a small publisher. More details to come!
Worked on some upcoming blog posts.
Worked on setting up the online store.
Saturday, April 13th
E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
Went to North Beach to eat really tasty Italian food. ( ´◔‿ゝ◔`)
Sunday, April 14th
Date with Wes! Went to see The Place Beyond the Pines, which was interesting. Ate Vietnamese food afterwards. (・∀・)
Ran some errands and worked on some preparation for my Cannes/London trip.
Thinking of investing in a professionally printed preview zine of The Poet and the Flea to sell online and at expos. Looking into various local printers!
Zest Books Internship, Day #23: Sat in on staff meeting. Created a blog post for Earth Day. Worked on WordPress, editing some content.
Worked on some upcoming blog posts.
Saturday, April 20th
E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
Helped mom prepare for the art show next weekend.
Did some research on local printers.
Sunday, April 21st
Elias’s 1st birthday party! Bit of a strange day… Wes and I went to Gabe’s house to celebrate his son’s first birthday. Unfortunately, we didn’t actually get to see Gabe since he had to take his father to the hospital for a broken leg. Later, Wes and I went to The Ice Cream Bar since it was so hot outside and we needed to cool off. Then, we ended up eating at Sunflower Vietnamese for dinner and later had dessert with my folks and Nikki the shiba inu.
Zest Books Internship, Day #24: Put together some interview questions for Dan. Worked on some button designs in Photoshop.
HOLY MOLY MACARONI! I just received the most amazing e-mail. (A secret for now…)
♪(┌・。・)┌
Thursday, April 25th
Working on Blake Society talk!
Friday, April 26th
Wow, received another awesome piece of news. Can’t really say anything yet, but everything is really coming together it seems!!
Zest Books Internship, Day #25: LAST DAY! Finished button designs and ordered them online. The office ladies took us out for lunch, which was very sweet.
Spring Cleaning: Wanted to clean up my room and get rid of a lot of junk before leaving for Cannes/London trip! Now that most of the junk is gone, it should be easier to pack.
Monday, April 29th
Feeling under the weather today.
Tuesday, April 30th
E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
Helped mom with some photos I took of her work for various purposes.
Wednesday, May 1st
E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
Even put together some important snail mail today!
Finally got my hair cut! Now I feel like I’m almost ready for my trip. (◕‿◕✿)
Correspondence with a recruiter for a potential job.
Friday, May 3rd
Ran around EVERYWHERE today to finish up errands for the Cannes/London trip. Utterly exhausted!
Jotted some more ideas down for a future screenplay.
Saturday, May 4th
Today’s motto: 七転び八起き= Nanakorobi yaoki. Fall seven times and stand up eight.
Family Bonding Day! This is the last weekend before I leave for Cannes/London, so spent time with the folks. Ate lunch at a great Puerto Rican restaurant. Finally got to see Girl with a Pearl Earring and Rembrandt’s Century at the de Young.
Sunday, May 5th
Date with Wes! Went to see Iron Man 3, which really wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. Ate tasty Japanese dinner at Sanraku. Hopefully will see Wes one more time before I leave!
Monday, May 6th
New suitcase arrived in the mail.
Finalizing Cannes/London trip plans.
Continued correspondence with a recruiter for a potential job.
Worked on some upcoming blog posts.
Tuesday, May 7th
Ran some errands for the Cannes/London trip.
Finalizing Cannes/London trip plans.
Working on Blake Society talk!
Wednesday, May 8th
Ran some errands for the Cannes/London trip.
E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
Finalizing Cannes/London trip plans.
Working on Blake Society talk!
Jotted down some more ideas for a future screenplay.
Dinner with Wes!
Thursday, May 9th
E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
Finishing up odds and ends of Cannes/London travel arrangements.
Packing for trip!!
Worked on some upcoming blog posts.
Friday, May 10th
E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
Finishing up odds and ends of Cannes/London travel arrangements.
PACKING!!!
Saturday, May 11th
Finishing up odds and ends of Cannes/London travel arrangements.
Flight leaves San Francisco at 7:05 p.m. Will arrive in Nice, France at 6:10 p.m.
Etcetera
The Poet and the Flea: 63 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-30 completed, and 31-36 in progress) of illustrated work.
The First Reich: about 1-10 pages of illustrated work in progress.
First Zine: 8 pages of illustrated work completed. Zine production pending.
Spoke with my high school friend Tina L. about SPX (Small Press Expo) in Maryland. We (Tina, some of her friends, and I) are going to try to get a table there this September! Also, Tina may share a table with me for this year’s APE!
Wednesday, February 20th
Zest Books Internship, Day #7: Super busy with some editing/fact-checking work! Also, sat in on a Teen Advisory Board meeting, which was interesting. Going in again tomorrow instead of Friday to sit in on a meeting and meet a tight deadline!
Thursday, February 21st
Sent Hannah some follow-up answers.
Zest Books Internship, Day #8: Came in Thursday instead of Friday. Managed to complete a big project before the deadline. Finally met Dan in person (had only talked on phone before). Going to help Hallie with a photoshop project on Wednesday. Busy, busy, busy!
First skype meeting with film director Josh! He’s interested in my short script The Man Who Never Smiled. Soon, he’ll be scouting locations and creating a shot list. Wants me to write detailed notes about the script and eventually create a simple storyboard. Set filming date for July. Extremely excited!!!
Zest Books Internship, Day #11: Worked on a graphic-novel-related marketing research project.
Thursday, March 7th
Meeting with Gabe! Hoping I can finished illustrations for Elias in a few weeks, scan them, then meet with Gabe to get everything prepared to send out to publishers!
Zest Books Internship, Day #12: Continued to work on a graphic-novel-related marketing research project. Received some very interesting advice about publishing.
Zest Books Internship, Day #15: Worked on research for London Book Fair and literary agents. Put together a bunch of packages to be mailed. Image research for computer/internet-related ebook.
Saturday, March 23rd
E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
Date night with Wes. Saw The Incredible Burt Wonderstone — actually much more entertaining than we were expecting. Bought David Bowie’s new album!
Yay!
Sunday, March 24th
E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
Received reply from a potential job — interview on Thursday.
Passover trip — had Passover and stayed overnight at cousin’s house outside of Sacramento. Would be perfect location for filming Death Is No Bad Friend.
Received e-mail from local production company. Interview scheduled for April 11th!
Tuesday, March 26th
Return drive from Passover trip.
Wednesday, March 27th
Zest Books Internship, Day #16: Worked on image research and fact checking! Fact checking is definitely one of my strong suits — I have so much random knowledge stuffed away in my brain that I can immediately sense when something is off.
Beautiful but deadly pollen!
Thursday, March 28th
Interview with potential job unsuccessful, but that’s fine by me. Looking forward to next interview on the 11th!
The Poet and the Flea: 63 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-30 completed, and 31-36 in progress) of illustrated work.
The First Reich: about 1-10 pages of illustrated work in progress.
First Zine: about 6-8 pages of illustrated work in progress.
Prepared for tomorrow — the first day of my new internship!!!
Wednesday, January 30th
Zest Books Internship, Day #1: Wonderful first day! Having an easy time getting into the flow of everything. Staff is extremely friendly and excited to get to know them better. Get awesome sneak peaks of upcoming titles. Friday, will be working on Tumblr and possibly doing some image research — can’t wait!
Thursday, January 31st
Not ready to announce anything yet, but amazing news (from January 20th) continuing to develop!
Received e-mail from follower Hannah Meiklejohn (bellusmundus.wordpress.com) asking if she could write an article for a magazine about The Poet and the Flea, yay! Excited to learn more details about the article and magazine. (^-^)
Zest Books Internship, Day #2: Worked on historical-themed image research for most of the day, which was mostly a lot of fun! Started working on Zest’s Tumblr (zestbooks.tumblr.com). Ate lunch in nearby park, which is very pleasant and relaxing and will definitely be repeated.
Saturday, February 2nd
Happy Groundhog Day!!
Filled out the rest of Cannes paperwork and made a checklist for what to bring (I’m Going To Cannes!!!).
Went to see Warm Bodies with Wes! Not the most brilliant movie, but adorable and a lot of fun. (︶ω︶)
For those of you watching the new Netflix series House of Cards, I highly recommend watching the original BBC version starring the brilliant Ian Richardson also available on Netflix.
Ran into a neighbor on the bus to work today, and she’d like to hire me to help her with her WordPress. We’ll see what happens… (^-^)
Zest Books Internship, Day #3: Worked on creating prom tips for Zest’s Tumblr as well as a mailing project. Getting to know everyone in the office better — everyone’s super easy to talk to. Took home a copy of Zoo Station to read.
Wow, I adore this new FX show The Americans! Amazing character development and really scary/exciting. Can’t wait for the next episode.
Zest Books Internship, Day #4: Continuing work on Tumblr! Sat at Ann’s desk today — she happens to have a David Bowie paper doll (with multiple outfits) taped to her computer, which brings me endless joy. Got to know fellow intern Olivia a bit better. Extremely excited to proofread/edit the back cover blurb for an upcoming book. Also got to share my opinion on some cover art!
Today’s constant companion: David Bowie!
Saturday, February 9th
Went to see Lewis Black with Wes and the folks! Stomach hurts from laughing so much!
Sunday, February 10th
Finally got to talk with my good friend from high school Tina! Talked on the phone for over 2 hours! (^-^;;)
Worked on TOP SECRET project.
Monday, February 11th
Went downtown today to pick up some more supplies from Britex for The Flea plush toy.
Did a little shopping in preparation for Cannes. A lot more shopping to do in the next few months.
Finished writing responses to Hannah’s questions. Just have to edit a bit and then send them to her.
Worked on TOP SECRET project.
Wednesday, February 13th
Zest Books Internship, Day #5: More historical-themed image research and Tumblr. Asked to do some brainstorming for book ideas. Ended up walking all the way home today since the bus skipped a lot.
A few days ago, e-mailed the Tate Gallery about information on their William Blake collection. Today, received response with good news. Will talk about this more in upcoming post.
Received e-mail from Hannah! She sent a draft of the article, and it looks really wonderful so far. Just have to answer a couple follow-up questions. \(^-^)/
Zest Books Internship, Day #6: More historical-themed image research and Tumblr. Also, talked about a potential book idea I came up with, and some of the staff seems interested! Next week, will be attending the Teen Advisory Board on Wednesday and a staff meeting on Thursday. Very excited!
Saturday, February 16th
Ordered a beautiful dress to wear at Cannes. I needed a maxi dress for pool parties, etc. and couldn’t find the right one in stores. So I browsed Etsy and found the talented Nicole Lebreux! Not only does Nicole have really fun designs, but also she was extremely helpful in answering my questions. So go ahead and check out her shop!
Went to see a simulcast of the new Met production of Verdi’s Rigoletto. The opera is usually set in the 16th century, but this production cleverly reimagines the story in 1960s Las Vegas. Wonderfully creative and engaging production with incredible singers! Preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-zXLKd76fk.
Sunday, February 17th
Worked on some upcoming blog posts.
Date night with Wes!
Etcetera
The Poet and the Flea: 63 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-24, 27-30 completed, and 25-26, 31-36 in progress) of illustrated work.
The First Reich: about 1-10 pages of illustrated work in progress.
First Zine: about 6-8 pages of illustrated work in progress.
First and foremost, I’ve been working on goal #1, making progress on some of the finished illustrations for Elias & The Cityof Cats. I’m hoping to make a bit more progress in the coming days and then meet up with Gabe on Friday to show him my work.
In the meantime, I’ve been brainstorming on goals #6 and #7, my first self-printed zine and my online storefront!
Possible envelopes for first zine.
The other day, I decided that my first self-printed zine will be an illustrated poem.
I was doing some research on The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and came across the perfect poem for my first zine! I think this poem will be unexpected and exciting while still tying in with The Poet and the Flea. The poem will remain a secret for now, but I’ll give a free copy of my zine to the first person who can correctly guess which one it is. Hint: The Seven Deadly Sins. I’ll be truly impressed if anyone gets this!
As far as production goes, I’d like to keep this zine relatively simple since it’s my first: about 6 to 8 pages, black and white with simple lines, a number of special hand-watercolored copies, all packaged in a lovely envelope. I’ll probably print about 25 or 30 copies, but I’d love to know if anyone is seriously interested in purchasing a copy so that I can figure out if I need to print more or less.
I’ve been planning my online storefront for a while now, but I’m waiting for the right time to set it up and launch it.
I’ve decided to use Storenvy, because it seems user-friendly and stylish. And it helps that it’s free.
Other than my first self-printed zine, I’d like to offer a wide range of products including The Poet and the Flea merchandise (prints/posters, t-shirts, tote bags, badges/pins, etc.). For prints, I’d like to keep them high-quality but made-to-order so that one can request any page of The Flea or whatnot.
The most ambitious product I’d like to see in my store is a The Flea plush toy. I’ve been playing around with many ideas for this, but know it has to remain relatively simple. The plush toy will definitely be handmade in black fabric, possibly with buttons for eyes and silver/gold (maybe glow-in-the-dark) fabric paint to add texture/scales. It will take me a while to get to this project (and I might recruit some help for it), but I’m excited to see how everything turns out.
Also, I’d like to offer commissioned illustrations, but I have to work out the details on that!
Again, feedback is very welcome! Just leave a comment below or send me an e-mail at gegallas@hotmail.com!
***
For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.
Sent out some more fellowship/internship/job applications.
Worked on The Flea script.
Received e-mail informing me I have a phone interview, yay!!
Worked with client on translation job.
Etcetera
The Poet and the Flea: 53 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-24, 27-30 completed, and 25-26, 31-36 in progress) of illustrated work.
The First Reich: about 1-10 pages of illustrated work in progress.
Coming soon! — Meeting with the Bay Area Film and TV Connection (Connect with Others in the Film and TV Industry).
Etcetera
The Poet and the Flea: 49 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-24, 27-30 completed, and 25-26, 31-36 in progress) of illustrated work.
The First Reich: about 1-6 pages of illustrated work in progress.
Continuing to work on some upcoming blog posts and project ideas.
Friday, October 26th
Meeting with Gabe went very well as always. Gabe took the time to cut and paste his entire story, Elias & The City of Cats, into a children’s book format to give me a better idea of what I need to illustrate. From this prototype, I’ll start working on a rough sketch storyboard!
Completed submissions package for Fantagraphics. Now, I just have to put in the mail!
Scanned character preliminary design for Elias and Ignis of Elias & The City of Cats. With this design, I was just experimenting with some Commedia dell’Arte (Pierrot & Harlequin) costumes which most likely won’t appear in the final children’s book. But Gabe seems to really like this image and wants to make some t-shirts. Any interest?
Saturday, October 27th
Last night and today, working on rough sketch storyboard for Elias & The City of Cats.
Did some experimenting with animation app on iPad.
Sunday, October 28th
Worked on figuring out the crazy California ballot (so many props!) so that I can vote early tomorrow.
Had a wonderful time with Wes today! Ate dinner at The Corner Store — both had these amazing “Grasshoppers” (crème de menthe, absinthe, chocolate, and vanilla ice cream). Can’t wait to see him again on Halloween! （○゜ε＾○）
Monday, October 29th
I voted today!!
Dropped submissions package for Fantagraphics in the mail!
Applied for a part-time writing job. Wish me luck!
Tuesday, October 30th
Working on rough sketch storyboard for Elias & The City of Cats.
Discovered that my short screenplay Death Is No Bad Friend made it to the Kaos Films British Short Screenplay Competition 2nd Round Qualifiers (announced earlier this month). I have no idea how many rounds this competition is, but does that mean that judge Sir Kenneth Branagh has read my screenplay? (｡♥‿♥｡)
Responded to a film director on Craigslist looking for a short screenplay, and got an almost immediate response of interest. Hoping this will be successful!
Sent an e-mail to Scout Books enquiring about collaboration and their Good Ink’s literary line.
Wednesday, October 31st
Completed rough sketch storyboard for Elias & The City of Cats.
Happy Halloween!!! I had a great time at Wes’s house’s pretty dorky party, even though I don’t think anyone recognized my Daria costume (even though Shannon Woodward and Katy Perry dressed as Daria and Jane without my prior knowledge). Plus, Wes gave me a belated birthday present — meet Charles, the British alpaca!!
Thursday, November 1st
Recovering from last night!
Ran some errands…
Also, my mom’s (Irene Zweig) new postcards (see below) came in the mail!
Etcetera
The Poet and the Flea: 49 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-24, 27-30 completed, and 25-26, 31-36 in progress) of illustrated work.
Meeting with Gabe: went very well (as usual) since Gabe is great to talk to/work with/bounce ideas off of! He liked what I’ve done so far with my character designs, but I need to go back and tweak them, which is an very interesting process and great creative practice for me. Our tentative schedule: finish mock-up of Elias by end of December; begin working on The Blanks screenplay in January.
After APE, hung out with Wes in Japantown. He showed me around the New People center (home of h. Naoto and Baby, the Stars Shine Bright), which I’ve been meaning to visit. Meandered around the area, visiting my favorite Kinokuniya Book Store and more. Ate dinner (chicken pot pie for both of us) at this really cute restaurant called The Grove Fillmore, which has a ski-lodge-type feel. Saw some strange sights, including furries and men in lederhosen. Such a fun day!
Went by Christopher’s Books in hopes of a part-time job for the winter. We’ll see what happens!
Wednesday, October 17th
Working on character designs for Gabe.
Etcetera
The Poet and the Flea: 49 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-24, 27-30 completed, and 25-26, 31-36 in progress) of illustrated work.
Entered The Poet and the Flea into the UnHate Unemployee of the Year contest!
Saturday, October 6th
The Poet and the Flea was approved by the judges on the UnHate Unemployee of the Year website. Now all you have to do is vote!
Busy promoting my IndieGoGo campaign.
Went to see Frankenweenie and LOVED IT!!! (｡♥‿♥｡)
Sunday, October 7th
Went with Wes to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park. It was quite a culture shock! But I had a wonderful time. (^-^)
Monday, October 8th
Working on character designs for Gabe’s children’s book. Looking forward to further discussion with Gabe on Friday.
On Craigslist, responded to a post — a production company interested in short screenplays. Wish me luck!
Continuing to promote my IndieGoGo campaign.
Tuesday, October 9th
The wonderful Infernal Reviewer wants to make a post about my blog and The Poet and the Flea. I’m so excited!!! (ﾉﾟ▽ﾟ)ﾉ
ComicKick, “…a community dedicated to promoting comic book and graphic novel projects on Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, and other crowd funding sites,” has promoted my IndieGoGo campaign! Thank you so much!!
Continuing to promote my IndieGoGo campaign.
Wednesday, October 10th
E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
Drafting ideas for The First Reich last-minute DIY postcards for APE.
Working on some upcoming blog posts and project ideas.
Interested in eventually creating a “zine” — brainstorming ideas!
The Poet and the Flea: 47 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-24, 27-30 completed, and 25-26, 31-36 in progress) of illustrated work.
Today, did some research about various production companies on IMDbPro.
Worked on inquiry letters. Dropped one in the mailbox and will be sending out a few more soon!
Thursday, September 27th
Continuing work on The Flea.
Went on a date with Wes to the California Academy of Science: Nightlife at the Academy. Saw some amazing sights (jellyfish, baby ostriches, etc.) and had a wonderful time with Wes.
Friday, September 28th
Today, met with Gabe and his friend, Masa — a film director. They asked me to collaborate with them on a screenplay called The Blanks. The concept is really interesting and I feel that I can use my expertise to really flesh out the characters and story. But I think I have to discuss everything further with Gabe and Masa to figure out exactly what they want.
Discussed children’s book further with Gabe. Scheduled next meeting for Friday, October 12th.
Watched the short film and read the short script that Gabe and Masa want me to collaborate on in order to expand it to feature length. Brainstorming ideas!
Reworked my résumé since it needed some updating.
Saturday, September 29th
Worked on opening scene and ideas/notes for The Blanks. Sent to Gabe for feedback.
Sunday, September 30th
Today, scanned all completed pages of The Poet and the Flea!!!
Working on cropping scanned pages of The Flea and adding to draft posts on WordPress.
★ Goals for the coming days…
Draft character designs for Gabe’s children’s book.
Sketch out cover and first 2 pages of The First Reich. Schedule next meeting with Shannon.
Close out GoFundMe.com campaign and launch IndieGoGo.com campaign.
Monday, October 1st
Disclaimer: I do not own this photograph!!
Happy Birthday, Laurence Harvey! If he hadn’t died of stomach cancer at the age of 45, he would have been 84 today. (Well, at least Larry’s on-screen mom Angela Lansbury is still kicking!)
Tonight, was supposed to attend the h. Naoto Designer Event with Wes, but had to cancel date due to stomach flu. (´Ａ｀。)
E-mail correspondence with Gabe.
Working on design for The Poet and the Flea postcards through Vistaprint in preparation for APE (Alternative Press Expo).
Tuesday, October 2nd
[Still sick... (✖╭╮✖)]
Happy Birthday, Mom! My family will be celebrating her birthday and mine (Oct. 19) together later this month. 〜(^▽^〜)
E-mail correspondence with Gabe.
Completed design for The Poet and the Flea postcards and ordered through Vistaprint.
Happy Birthday, Tetsuya, beloved leader and bassist of Japanese band L’Arc-en-Ciel!! You and the band have been going strong for 20 years now, and your fans can’t wait for more. (´∀｀)♡ [Watch "In the Air" from 20th Anniversary Live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by3axL-3gjM]
Working on adding scanned pages of The Flea to draft posts on WordPress.
Thursday, October 4th
Disclaimer: I do not own this image!!
Happy Birthday, Jeremy Blake! This talented American artist would have been 41 today if he had not taken his life after the death of his long-term girlfriend Theresa Duncan. Read more about Blake and Duncan here!
Working on making plans for APE (Alternative Press Expo).
Working on character sketches for Gabe.
Etcetera
The Poet and the Flea: 47 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-24, 27-30 completed, and 25-26, 31-36 in progress) of illustrated work.
First Zine and Future Shop
★Please Note: Feedback on this post would be extremely appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Only January, and I’m already beginning to tackle some of my New Year’s goals (New Year’s Resolutions, Anyone?)!!!
First and foremost, I’ve been working on goal #1, making progress on some of the finished illustrations for Elias & The City of Cats. I’m hoping to make a bit more progress in the coming days and then meet up with Gabe on Friday to show him my work.
In the meantime, I’ve been brainstorming on goals #6 and #7, my first self-printed zine and my online storefront!
Possible envelopes for first zine.
The other day, I decided that my first self-printed zine will be an illustrated poem.
I was doing some research on The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and came across the perfect poem for my first zine! I think this poem will be unexpected and exciting while still tying in with The Poet and the Flea. The poem will remain a secret for now, but I’ll give a free copy of my zine to the first person who can correctly guess which one it is. Hint: The Seven Deadly Sins. I’ll be truly impressed if anyone gets this!
As far as production goes, I’d like to keep this zine relatively simple since it’s my first: about 6 to 8 pages, black and white with simple lines, a number of special hand-watercolored copies, all packaged in a lovely envelope. I’ll probably print about 25 or 30 copies, but I’d love to know if anyone is seriously interested in purchasing a copy so that I can figure out if I need to print more or less.
I’ve been planning my online storefront for a while now, but I’m waiting for the right time to set it up and launch it.
I’ve decided to use Storenvy, because it seems user-friendly and stylish. And it helps that it’s free.
Other than my first self-printed zine, I’d like to offer a wide range of products including The Poet and the Flea merchandise (prints/posters, t-shirts, tote bags, badges/pins, etc.). For prints, I’d like to keep them high-quality but made-to-order so that one can request any page of The Flea or whatnot.
The most ambitious product I’d like to see in my store is a The Flea plush toy. I’ve been playing around with many ideas for this, but know it has to remain relatively simple. The plush toy will definitely be handmade in black fabric, possibly with buttons for eyes and silver/gold (maybe glow-in-the-dark) fabric paint to add texture/scales. It will take me a while to get to this project (and I might recruit some help for it), but I’m excited to see how everything turns out.
Also, I’d like to offer commissioned illustrations, but I have to work out the details on that!
Again, feedback is very welcome! Just leave a comment below or send me an e-mail at gegallas@hotmail.com!
***
For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.
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Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas
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