Yesterday I was browsing the magazines at Booksmith in the Upper Haight. I felt a little bad because I didn’t intend to buy anything. I was just there to page through all their glossies and write down the ones to which I might be able to send press kits. But then I stumbled upon an awesome publication called Venus Zine: Emerging Creativity (women in music, art, film, fashion, d.i.y. culture) and I finally had something to justify using an independent bookstore as my personal research library. The perpetually surly counter clerk looked especially pissed that after half an hour of standing around I put $4.50 on my business Amex, but I didn’t let it get me down.
I don’t know why I’d never even heard of Venus Zine. It’s apparently been around since 1996 and it rocks–quite literally. This issue’s cover stories include a run-down of the best female guitarists of all time and how to start a DIY business. Though I’m a little beyond many of the most basic suggestions (yes, I have already read Craft, Inc. from cover to cover) there were enough informative tidbits for even an experienced business owner to get something from the articles. For example, I learned about indiebizchicks.com (which has some great articles even if the site is not super well maintained), Sublime Stitcher Jenny Hart’s monthly “Crafting a Business” column, and various free communal workspaces for when you want to get out of your home office. New York’s Jelly (now also at other locales), Philadelphia’s Cream Cheese and San Francisco’s Citizen Space all sound like great places to work somewhere productive (and collaborative) without having to spend $3 an hour on coffee and pastries.
So if you’re an artist, musician, businesswoman, DIYer, or like me, you consider yourself a little of everything, check out an issue of Venus Zine. It’s both informative and inspiring to the woman who’s trying to make her own way.
Biz Miss 