✷ greetings from burnout ✷

uhhh it’s only fitting that my september newsletter goes out in october. i’ve been moving at a snail’s pace lately, overcorrecting for doing Too Much in august! 

finish this sentence: i know i’m burned out when ________.
for me, it’s when every little thing feels like a chore. any interruption to my routine or bid for my time feels like a major inconvenience. my bed is the only place i wanna be.

that’s where i’m at right now. the last time i burned myself out this terribly, was the summer before the pandemic. i started watching the show lost for the first time (late to the party) and did the bare minimum for 3 months. this time, in keeping the theme, i'm re-listening to back to the island from the beginning. it's a lost podcast hosted by jeff rosenstock and chris farren, in which they watch episodes of lost out of order, discuss them, and then rate them based on the cursed numbers in the show (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42). it’s absolutely ridiculous and i love it. i’m trying my best to take it really easy, which isn’t much of a struggle, given i have approximately zero energy. i’m a little worried about how long this is going to last, but i know from experience that i just have to give it as long as it takes. i didn’t take a break and now the break has taken me. i’m hoping i can at least see the light at the end of the tunnel later this month, because i’ll be flying solo for the first time ever to visit pennsylvania.

✷out of office ✷

a black & white photo of algernon cadwallader i took at first unitarian church in philly. some of the crowd has gathered on the stage and one demented looking crowd member is helping peter (singer/bassist) drink from a comically large bottle of champagne. text described in paragraph below.

i’ll be out of office october 18-25, orders placed between the 16th & 25th will ship after the 25th. algernon cadwallader is reuniting and my friend nick got us tickets to their philly date (october 22nd). i’m excited to relive my early 20s and hopefully have a good time traveling alone, despite how anxious i am to do it. i’ll be renting a car (also a first), so i can go wherever i want. and i wanna walk around my old neighborhood in lancaster, i wanna go to hippies rock or house rock in pequea. i wanna sleep at whoever's house i want. i wanna eat a roburrito. i’m excited! even though i’m also terrified!! i just got a flu shot and my covid booster, but i haven’t been in a plane since mask mandates have been lifted. there’s no shortage of things to worry about. if you wanna see me while i'm around, let's make plans!

✷ zine news ✷

i was recently interviewed by ryan from pocket thoughts and craig from five o'clock zine for their youtube series, behind the zines! i haven't watched the interview because i am embarrassed to hear myself talk, but i had a really nice time talking shop with them.

i'll be hosting my very first workshop in december for zine lunch! more on that later. gimme workshop planning tips!

cane begonia care mini zines have gone off to patrons, and it's now available in my shop (in the plant zine listing and mini zine bundle listing). 

there's a lot of zine ideas rattling around in my brain right now, we'll see which one gets finished first. i have a zine about chest dysphoria all written out, it just needs illustrations (but i've abandoned more fully-formed zines in the past, so we'll see!). i kinda wanna make my own version of the relationship anarchist smorgasbord and make a zine about that. i have a 'how to support artists in the aftermath of the etsy strike' zine on the backburner.

a zine submission call designed to look like a recipe in a vintage recipe book, text described below.

i'm casually putting out a call for submissions for a family recipes zine- i'm looking for any kind of recipe, so long as it has some familial significance (chosen fam and family of origin both count). folks can also send me accompanying photos and/or stories related to the recipe(s). no deadline for now, email questions/submissions to alyssa@craftordiy.art :) (you can reply to this newsletter too).

✷ august events report back ✷

the gig: my first time playing a show since before the pandemic went surprisingly well. i've never played a show with a dedicated sound person before lol, might have been the best tender perennial has ever sounded. it was very wholesome and lots of sweet folks from near and far were in attendance. all the bands killed it (i love dogbreth!) and i love talking to other diy lifers. also, more early parking lot shows please.

punk rock flea market: i've already made a post about this on instagram, but prfm round two was kind of a mixed bag for me. it was slow, and i made a fraction of the money i made last time. hosting events is tough, and i have a lot of trouble not feeling personally responsible when things don't go swimmingly. one of my partners (who is a secret artist) sold a bunch of their art and was thrilled, which made me really happy to see, and reminded me that vending is a subjective experience. i just hope everyone had an okay time.

oly zine fest: zine fest was sick. i got to table next to my friend kc, trade zines with the anemone studio folks, met a lot of nice people and sold a lot of stuff! i'm eternally grateful for the zine fest crew, tabling oly zine fest is always a good time. also i love not being responsible for how it goes anymore! lol.

✷do diy dot org ✷

i did some spring cleaning in september! jfc the site is so sparse right now. i've been doing some digging and reaching out to spaces. please, if you know of any diy spots/organizers that would be a good fit for the site, or you're a person who is involved in diy/touring and you wanna be a point person for me, drop me a line! do diy is a group project.

✷ fucking hurray ✷

✷ i now own an adjustable desk (it has a hand crank lol) and it's been a game changer for making buttons (a task i previously did on the floor)
✷ kyle and i scooted some stuff around and we have our own rooms now, it's been so good to have a place of my own to retreat to, since i've basically been hibernating all month
✷ amelia cry til i die put out a new album and it's lovely. new mantra just dropped, "nothing bad ever happens, nothing sad ever gets to me" (please send me more music that will make me feel shit, thank you)
✷ i feel like the hurray section is usually longer but This Is It!

thanks for reading, if you made it this far! til next time.

love,
alyssa

~ past perzine newsletters ~