The Accidental Titles

Published May 30, 2012 by craftyweetzie

I’ve been taking a class on photo books for the last three months, and while I have been working on a hand-bound hardcover accordion book (more on that later) I became inspired and made two small paperback photo books.

The first title, The Cartography of Farmers’ Wives: Photography from 1915-1976, is a short paper-back book with sampling of photography from my great-grandmother and my grandmother. Many of the photographs are landscapes from eastern Washington, although there are a few portraits as well in this contemplative story of one families relationship with the land. I look at this book as a small meditation on a much larger project that I think will probably take me the next 2-3 years to complete. Now that I know I can complete a small project with some of the information and items I have in this collection of family history that has been handed to me, I feel ready to embark on the larger journey.

The second book, A Traveling Song is a small paper-back of Hipstamiatic images I took on my phone on the road-trip my wife and I took when we moved across the country from Washington, D.C., to Seattle, Washington, in 2009. We pretty much drove straight through, and most of the images were taken from the car window while passing through middle America.

xoxo,

Colleen

We’re Going to Europe

Published May 21, 2012 by craftyweetzie

Ok, we’re not really going to Europe (though I wish we were), but Mend My Dress is now available on Amazon UK and Amazon Europe. So now, if you live in Germany, France or anywhere else Amazon has infiltrated, you can buy the book directly from Amazon. Which means if you’re ordering something from them anyways, you should just throw the book in your cart and have some great reading headed your way.

Of course, you can always buy the book directly from us as well, we’ll still continue to ship anywhere.

In other news, Publishing Intern Jyoti at Bitch Magazine wrote about Mend My Dress in their most recent newsletter, saying “My favorite zine collections are ones that keep the original layout of the Xeroxed zine intact yet still package it within a perfect-bound book format, preserving both the DIY integrity and the shelf life of a zine. This collection offers a beautiful, well-designed, glossy cover with perfectly scanned pages from Neely Bat Chestnut’s Mend My Dress.” Thanks for the mad props, Jyoti, it means a lot to us!
More soon, as we are busily wrapping up, in the middle, and starting on projects,

Colleen

As of late

Published April 25, 2012 by craftyweetzie

Well, Neely and I have spent the last month or so scheming upcoming projects, and I’m excited to say we’ve got the rest of the year (and then some) planned! We can’t say anything yet, except that we are very excited for what the rest of the year has in store for Mend My Dress Press. We’ll let you know some of our plans in the near future, but in the meantime, if you haven’t picked up our flagship book yet, you should.

It’s getting great reviews, and is available through Amazon, Etsy, Doris Press, Fight Boredom Distro, Ms. Valerie Park Distro, Stranger Danger Distro, at Left Bank Books in Seattle, and Quimby’s in Chicago. Cool, huh?

oh, and we’ve registered for our table at the Portland Zine Symposium. woot!

More soon,
Colleen

We <3 Chicago!

Published March 12, 2012 by craftyweetzie

We just got back from the windy city, and we both just fell ass over teakettle in love with the place. The city, with its houses and apartments stacked atop one another, riding the train, seeing friends, and sharing fantastic milkshakes at the Chicago Diner are just some of the things we fell in love with, and we can’t wait to go back.

And then there was the Chicago Zine Fest. Which was totally fucking awesome. We sold some books, traded some zines, met a lot of cool people, and ate lunch from the Soul Veg truck (total score!). We also cemented most of our project for the next year and a half (stay tuned–very exciting stuff coming up!). In short, it was totally amazing and it was really, really hard to leave.

Our booth at Chicago Zine Fest was cute!

But, all things come to an end, and so did our time in Chicago. But good things and many projects await us in our lush rainy cities of Seattle and Tacoma, and we’re jumping in feet first. oh, and Neely is reading tonight at Left Bank Books with Cindy Crabb (Doris! zine) and Nyky Gomez, so come on by at 7:30 if you are in the area. Hope to see you there!

xo- colleen

Reading at Left Bank Books in Seattle

Published February 24, 2012 by craftyweetzie

Neely will be reading from her newly released zine anthology, Mend My Dress: Collected Zines, 2005-2007, on Monday, March 12, at Left Bank Books in Seattle, WA. She will be joining Cindy Crabb, who will be reading from Doris 29 and her new anthology, The Enyclopedia of Doris, and Peregrine Summerville, who will be reading from Entropy.

Please join us for this night of readings from per-zines celebrating survival, feminism, and anarchism. The reading starts at 7:30 pm.

xo –Colleen

Chicago Zine Fest, Here We Come!

Published February 20, 2012 by craftyweetzie

Well, Neely and I are packing our bags and heading out to Chicago for Chicago Zine Fest! We’re looking forward to seeing other zinesters and publishers, and catching up with some good friends in the windy city. But most of all, we’re looking to finally officially releasing our first book, Neely’s anthology Mend My Dress: Collected Zines, 2005-2007. It’s been a long road, and we’ve learned quite a bit about starting a company and the ins and outs of publishing, but goddamnit, we’ve come a long way, and now we’ve got the pages to prove it. So, if you’re in the chicago area, come check us out at Chicago Zine Fest on March 11th!

xo –Colleen

We Made a Book

Published February 15, 2012 by craftyweetzie

Well, it’s here. After a year of scanning, editing, sourcing, tracking down cut and paste zine flats packed away in boxes and old purple or teal Samsonite valet cases littered throughout Neely’s house, many business meeting over a shared bottle(s) of wine, sewing cover artwork, debating, pricing out printing options, filing a business license application, wading through the library of congress website, and hours of listening to Billie Holiday, Edith Piaf, and of course, Corin Tucker and Kathleen Hanna, our first title has officially been released.

Mend My Dress
Collected Zines: 2005-2007
By Neely Bat Chestnut

Neely Bat Chestnut has compiled her zines put out between 2005-2007, which include the first six issues of Mend My Dress, as well as Dear Step dad and Grit and Glitter, in a comprehensive anthology of early work. Chestnut’s Zines are well respected in the zine community and her zines cover issues ranging from incest, self-harm, the riot grrrl movement, feminism, friendship, fairytale, and healing as she reflects on her childhood and coming-of-age.

Copies may be purchased through Neely’s etsy shop or by clicking here. You can also order through Amazon (paperback or kindle edition). For wholesale opportunities, please contact us at mendmydress@gmail.com

Now comes the fun part: promoting! So, if you have a friend that might like Neely’s book, please tell them about it. ‘Like’ us on Facebook, follow our tumblr blog, and of course, check back here for upcoming events and upcoming titles.

xo- colleen

Well Hello There!

Published February 12, 2012 by craftyweetzie

Hello World!

We’re Colleen and Neely, two ladies who have traded letters, clothes, records and cameras since we were 14 and discovered a shared love of riot girl. Since that fated day in 1995 when our paths first crossed, we’ve both moved around, had adventures, sent many letters, and made art, all while sticking to our DIY and feminist ideologies.

We started working together to self-publish an anthology of Neely’s early issues of her zine, Mend My Dress, and we struck by the obvious need for more women positive small-press publishers on the west coast. So, while deep in the throes of putting together the anthology, we looked at each other and said “Hell, let’s just start a small publishing house!”

Our hope is to open the possibilities for zine writers who are looking to put out their work in anthology format, making it an easier path to navigate, and to work with writers and artists who are looking to publish their work.

We are getting ready to officially release our first title, Mend My Dress: Collected Zines, 2005-2007, by Neely Bat Chestnut, in mid february, so keep an eye out for the release, and check back for more upcoming titles to be released throughout 2012.

And even though we’re both now seasons past 14 we still believe in girl love, 1995 style.

Mend My Dress Press

a small grrrl run publishing house