A NIGHT IN LOS ANGELES

STRONG FACED, SOFT HEART

Today is the annual L.A Zine Fest. There will be hundreds of creatives hanging out and handing out their good work. I've never been able to attend but that doesn't lessen my appreciation for the zine culture.

A zine –in case you didn't know– is a self-published booklet that ranges from a variety of topics. They were really popular during the 70's in the punk rock scene and in the 90's for the riot grrrl movement. As of lately the zine movement has proven that it's still alive and thriving with more of them being spotted in bookstores and some  even included in art exhibits. There are bands, such as Skaters NYC, that still produce their own zines.

I was personally introduced to zines by my friend AJ Floresca. She first started by producing her own personal zines fall of 2014 and has since made a few of them public.

Strong-faced, Soft Heart is the title of the up and coming zine. It offers a collection of wonderfully curated doodles along with her own photographs and inspiring quotes. The zine ranges from music playlists, travel pictures, and stories with positive vibes.


On her website it states that SFSH is a zine with "no real purpose" which I don't believe. While reading her zines or going through her website I can't help but feel motivated by all the creativity it took to put it together and feel inspired by her words. AJ has a positive-mantra going in her work that mix well with her quirky drawings and words which I think can really resonate with people.

She also does a lot of calligraphy. You can take a look at that on her Instagram! We actually used her original design as our very first blog logo! She's also done other titles for our YouTube videos as well. She also happens to be very dedicated to journaling – otherwise known as the cooler way of scrapbooking– which can be quite inspiring since I can't even seem to finish an entire notebook. You can see a lot of that work here.

AJ is a creative that will continue to express herself through pen and paper so I suggest if you like being motivated and cheerful that you check her out.

Her zine is still a work in progress but you can read her first zine edition here!

Connect with AJ Floresca!