A vague timeline of workshops, zinefests and poetry competitions.

TL;DR: 2026 was the year of the workshop. Mark your calendar for the next workshop: Jan 10th, and book your ticket now.

Back in February, while working a cushy job with a car and an iPhone, I got very bored. So, on a whim, after searching for a creative workshop to attend and coming up with nothing in the zine/poetry realm at the time, I wrote a funding application. I submitted it, thinking, “I wish there was something out there like this. I wonder if other people do, too?”.

Then I forgot about it, carried on with my project at the time (MOTHER zine @mother_zine_), and started looking forward to Kirikiriroa Hamilton Zine Fest (KHZF) in May. Before I heard back about the Creative Communities grant, a dear creative friend involved with organising KHZF got in touch to ask if I’d like to run a Zine Workshop in May.

I LOVED the workshop - and was thrilled to see a few faces from my dance community come along.

Then, in April, I ran a free to attend workshop in a meeting room at Hamilton Central Library in the same room I’d attended a zine workshop with Ninu (@theycallmeninu) in 2024. Her workshop was thanks to Creative Communities, and this Journaling for Joy workshop was also thanks to funding from Creative Communities NZ and Hamilton City Council. It felt poetic.

Alongside public workshops, that month I picked up a Friday morning volunteer hour at a secondary school. I worked with young people referred by the school counsellor. On the surface it seemed like we sat around and played with glue and paper (which is not an inaccurate read tbh), but it went so much deeper than that. The therapeutic benefits of creativity are bountiful, and the process of collage and zine folding helped me to subtly teach about perfectionism, anxiety, and resilience. The thematic thread of these workshops was joy - finding calm, before finding a spark of joyful play.

In July, I travelled to Palmerston North for Zine Fest. I arrived an hour late after having a car nap at 3am at a gas station forecourt in some tiny town en route. This workshop was a highlight because I got to meet Victoria Armstrong (@ilovescreamingmonkeys), who is an absolute creative inspiration to me. Peep her talons in the picture below:

I arrived to the workshop 5 minutes late (with a takeaway coffee) after sleeping through my alarm. I was a fortnight away from hitting burnout at this point…

The next week, I presented a workshop entitled Evoke: Visceral Nervous System, and judged the annual Waikato Writers (branch of New Zealand Society of Authors) poetry competition.

Then there was radio silence on the public workshop front. I slept for a week before applying and interviewing for jobs. I turned one down, another came along, and I quit the nice job that was making me miserable. I pulled out of Auckland Zine Fest, but accepted the remote judging role for Best of the Fest (Best Poetry category) because ya girl cannot say no to the chance to share her two cents.

After I’d recovered, I ran my first pay-to-attend workshop. 9 people bought a ticket. I was thrilled my little project was worth paying something for in the eyes of other creatives.

I worked out my notice, continuing to volunteer at the high school, and ran a session at the school’s boarding house with all year 9 and 10 students.

I also ran two zine-based craft workshops at women’s retreats with a charity organisation based in Hamilton.

And then there was the lucky last workshop of 2026: Dreamer Woman, Dreamer Woman.

For this workshop, the theme was a little different, rather than grounding into the now, and thinking back to things to be grateful for, we looked forward, to the future, and made a Vision Zine.

One thing I suddenly noticed about my audience demographic with this workshop was the gendered positioning. The word “woman” occurs in the title of this workshop twice, yet it didn’t occur to me that I was putting out feminine vibes. Upon reflection, it’s obvious. I’ve met three cis men and one trans man across the 2026 workshops. I’ve had a total of approximately 35 individuals attend public workshops (not including charity, or school-based workshops), and they’ve overwhelmingly been my sisters. Cuuuuute!

Because I enjoyed the concept so much, it’s a workshop I want to repeat in the new year. Except this time, bring your brother, bring your partner, son, or father along, too! Mark your calendars now for Make-a-Vision Zine Workshop, Sunday 10th January - Location TBA.

I hope to see you again soon,