Nicole Harring is up next! Read on and check out their Etsy store while you’re at it.
Kindly give us a short description of yourself and the work you do.
My name is Nicole, I’m an avid crafter and textiles enthusiast from North Carolina. My zine Bitch Craft (2011-2014) focuses on the D.I.Y/Vegan lifestyle and the work of female artists. Each issue has tutorials, interviews, short essays, reading lists, and lots of practical knowledge you can actually get your hands dirty with.
I also make a perzine, “Chipped Teeth” with the most recent and third issue discussing my personal experiences with abuse and survival.
How did you get introduced to zines? Were you influenced by anyone?
In 8th grade I started frequenting the used book store in my town, and one day found issues of Slug and Lettuce which was the first zine I’d ever read. The following year when I started going to shows, I met my friend Renee who was basically my mentor for everything awesome and important. She showed me classic riot grrrl zines like Girl Germs and Bikini Kill and encouraged me to make my own. She even contributed to “Panic!” the 5 part zine series I made through out high school.
What does it mean to do “feminist zine-making”? Does feminism appear in your work (explicitly or implicitly)?
I feel that feminism appears explicitly in the majority of my work. I started making B.C. when I was 18 right after moving to the city and my goals were not only to make something craft oriented but also to have an outlet to talk about the issues that affected my life as well as highlighting the work and lives of other women that inspire me. From contemporary artists like Alaina Varrone, to personal heroes such as Lucía Sánchez Saornil. Feminism just naturally became the backbone of the zines.
What is your favorite zine or piece of mail art? Do you like any specific style/part of a zine?
Mend My Dress by Neely Bat Chestnut has been such an important zine to me for years! Her distro also puts out some of my other favorites like Shotgun Seamtress, and Telegram. Bound To Pray/Pasan los dias by Ana Humanleather is also one of the most powerful things that I’ve had read in a long time.
I love typewritten, cut and paste zines and definitely have a soft spot for a hand sewn binding.
If you could sum up your zinester life in a kitchen appliance, what appliance would it be?
A crock pot.
Finally, who are some of the other zinesters you’re excited to see at this year’s feminist zine fest?
Nyxia Grey, Lauren and Aus from Wheelhouse, and so many more it’s hard to choose!!
NYC Feminist Zinefest 