This week my wife and I flew to Boston to visit our friends and attend the Multiple Formats art book fair and symposium.
1: My table setup
I brought about 70 zines (!!!) in my suitcase. Good thing they’re flat and relatively light. Along with the zines I had paper monster trucks and bookmarks made from old screenprints and etchings.
My favorite part was meeting all the people that came up to my table. They would say, “You’re from Wisconsin?! What are you doing here?!” Or “Oh my gosh I also ride my bike in the suburbs!” Or “My nephew will LOVE this monster truck!” Or (while reading my wife’s Mom Brain zine) “Wow I’ve totally been there.”
Doing this type of thing is a nice way to invite people into your world and discover common interests and feelings in a low pressure sort of way.
I’ll try and put digital versions of the zines in my newsletter next week.
2: Live font making!
I wasn’t able to attend any of the super cool workshops on Friday because I waited too long to register, but I did get the chance to make a letter “E” for a Multiple Formats font. The event was organized by Body&Forma and they might use it as part of the visual identity for the fair next year.
The photo doesn’t show the 37 people in the room watching this font get made one letter at a time. I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of my final “E” design but I tried to recreate it on the flight home.
While I was working on it someone walked into the room and said, “What letter is he supposed to be making?” It was as funny as it sounds.
3: Art overload
There were so many incredible artists, designers, illustrators, publishers, printers and zinesters at the fair! Absolutely packed to the brim with talent. Click here to see a complete list of all the exhibitors.
Here are some of the wonderful folks that were sitting near me:
WHAT-THAT is a graphic arts duo based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Most of the people at the fair were from the Boston area so it was very cool to meet people from my neck of the woods. They gave me a I’m listening to Ska bumper sticker.
Adventures in Self-Publishing is a class at Yale and they were giving away “Mystery Packs” that contained 15 prints made by students in the class. What a cool way to get student work out into the world! Plus, people love free stuff.
DesignInquiry is a collective of artists and designers that travel to different places around the world and then make a publication based on the trip. It seems like a great way to connect with creative people in an unconventional and unique way.
Tyler Rico is a designer and printmaker based in Austin, Texas. His work combines poetry and design into beautifully produced publications. Super nice and talented guy!
Other things we loved: the Making Books with Kids book and everything Alex Luciano touches.
4: Prixel press kit
About halfway through the fair my wife comes over and says, “You HAVE to come see this!” and takes me over to see the Prixel press kit.
It’s a postcard sized print kit that includes a bunch of modular shapes so you can design and print custom illustrations, phrases, shapes or whatever you want.
We’re so excited to actually use this and hopefully get our kid involved. More to come!
5: Exploring Boston
Our friends moved to the North End about seven months ago so we were able to spend some great time with them and also explore Boston.
The whole place looks like a movie. We went to Beacon Hill Cafe and Bookstore (the door to the cafe was WAY too short for me), Acorn Street (a group of women walked by the cobblestone street and one of them said, “It’s cute, but other parts of Beacon Hill are cuter”), the Boston Common and our friend made us his soon-to-be-world-famous pizza.
It’s hard to limit our entire experience to just five things, but I’m sure other Boston things will come up in future posts.
ALSO:
“Knock knock.” “Who’s there?” “Justin.” “Justin who?” “Justin in the neighborhood.”
Thanks for reading! See you next week 👋
The art overload energy is contagious 🤤
Looks like such a great trip! So much great stuff to take in all at once. I'm trying my best to attend a collage festival in June, hoping that its this cool. Thanks for sharing!