Virtual Browsing: Buffalo Small Press Book Fair
Visitors at the Buffalo Small Press Book Fair under the stained glass windows of the Karpeles Manuscript Library
Hello, Real Pants wearers! For the last month, my column here has treated the fascinating topic of “what happens when a small-press publisher/editor/book designer takes on way too many bookfairs and freelance projects during National Poetry Schlep Month.” Which is to say: the column has been nonexistent! I haven’t posted here since April 2.
Yeah, sorry about that.
Now that I’ve had some time to recover, I thought I’d do a looky-loo post about one of the many events of April, the 2015 Buffalo Small Press Book Fair. Bloof Books was there both days, and it’s way less intense (in a good way) than the AWP bookfair we did the week before, so I actually had a few chances to walk around and talk to other book artists and publishers and take a bunch of pictures.
On the way up from Bloof Books headquarters in New Jersey, we stopped for lunch in Scranton, PA, where we noticed a letterpress studio on the main street downtown. Alas, it was closed, but I smudged up their windows peeking in. (It’s called The Workshop / Crow Designs Studio and here is their site.)
Driving along 20A there are dozens of huge spinning wind turbines
We have a preferred back-road route into Buffalo, which is generally how we roll anyway, but also so we can visit these massive wind turbines in the hills to the east, as we approach the city via 20A. I dunno if they are adored or afeared locally, but they are pretty striking to look at.
By the time we arrived Friday night, Patti Smith was doing her thing (which I heard was great) but we were hungry, and we didn’t have tickets anyway. So we went out to dinner and then back to the hotel to take it easy (and finish making some chapbooks for the fair the next day).
Dusie’s assortment of poetry
Dusie, Nous Zot & Black Radish table. (Photo: Susana Gardner)
The fair opened Saturday at noon and was instantly peopled. Lucky me, I got to sit next to Susana Gardner of Dusie and Marthe Reed of Nous-Zot & Black Radish Books.
On my other side were the lovely folks of Chickpea, a swank vegan magazine out of Rochester, NY, that I’ve been subscribing to since I met them at the fair a couple of years ago. This is a beautiful periodical, y’all. The seasonal recipes and regional articles are always fantastic, the photography is delicious, and Cara Livermore’s hand lettering and calligraphy throughout means the mag looks like no other. Mouth watering.
Some of our stuff at the Bloof Books table: new chapbooks, BOUND, some broadsides.
The BSPBF draws so many great presses, book artists, cartoonists, crafters, &c. there’s no way I can do them all justice even with the briefest blurbs, and it got busy quickly. So I’m going to give you the gist with a handful of my notes-in-the-form-of-photos and a linked list of vendors to browse at your leisure. No, it’s not the same, but yes, you will find something must-have you did not previously understand was missing from your life and bookshelf.
More photos
Local publishers Bon Aire Projects, aka Amanda Montei & Jon Rutzmoser.
The unknown is my compass. —Anais Nin
Robin F. Brox offered several one-of-a-kind trinketed tins for Saucebox: Book Arts, Poetry & Performance. (< More at the link. Formerly of Buffalo, Robin came in for the fair from West Lima, WI, also home to mIEKAL aND’s Xeoxial Editions.)
Cabbage & Kings Stationery by Susan Peterson showed off a varied and colorful array of ephemera and paper goods. (They are also based in Rochester.)
The Itinerant Printer hosted a table of various artists works, including these letterpress posters & cards. (More about the Intinerant Printer project in a bit.)
Chapbooks by Furniture Press/Christophe Casamassima, who came up from Baltimore.
Great Moments in Western Civilization had great comics…and an envy-inspiring hand-appliquéd banner.
Lots of cool stuff from Perro Verlag.
Newish alt newspaper of Buffalo, The Public.
ETCETERA.
If you’ve never been to the BSPBF, I highly recommend the trip. In addition to the vendor market, there are readings and workshops and other events. And it’s all free to attend. The DIY focus and manageable size mean it’s had a folding table and banner set up in the center aisle of my heart for several years now. And next year is going to be even more special, because it’s the tenth anniversary of the fair! Mark your calendars now. (Approximately, anyway. Dates to come).
Before I sign off with the full vendor list for you to browse, I also want to point you to BSPBF-founder Christopher Fritton’s new traveling project, The Itinerant Printer. If you’re into book arts, letterpress, or road trips, you’re gonna be into what he’s doing. He’s blogging about his stops here, with lots of great studio photos. And he’s about to get on the road again, starting May 20, hitting stops in Arizona and New Mexico through June.
More to Browse
- The Itinerant Printer
- Ferrum Wheel
- One Lane Bridge Productions
- B2GS Books
- The Public
- Western New York Book Arts Center
- Just Buffalo Literary Center
- Block Club
- Broken Pencil
- City Dining Cards
- simplesong studio
- Sinead Tyrone
- Discomfort
- Karen Faris
- Steve Delmonte Studio
- Last Dollar Comics
- Buffalo Heritage Press
- Palettes and Quills
- Poetic Effect
- Sandy Barton
- Papercraft Miracles
- Albarella Media
- Emma Percy
- Cathrina Constatine
- Resume-In-A-Day
- Chelsea Victoria Photography
- Sunnyoutside Books
- Outriders Poetry Project
- C Designs
- FC Press
- Clever Art and Books
- petrichor paper
- Deborah Madar
- Earth’s Daughters
- Green Girl Press
- Pretty Dirty Press
- In the In-Between
- Perro Verlag
- Chickpea Magazine
- Cabbages and Kings Stationery
- Ink Publications
- By Rocket to the Moon
- Lauren Blair Print & Illustration
- Saddle Road Press
- Issue Press
- Kristin Chambers
- Just Terrific
- uncaffeinated PRESS
- Amy Lynn Duengfelder
- JCW Design
- Psychic Readings Company
- Dryadart Studios
- Steve Ardo
- Invisible Publishing
- Coach House Books
- A.T. Baron
- Pat Kewley
- BlazeVOX
- Habenicht Press
- Lily Pickford
- Vintango
- Visual Studies Workshop
- Publication Studio Hudson
- Bloof Books
- Dusie
- Bon Aire Projects
- Steel Bellow
- Megan Luongo
- Great Moments in Western Civilization
- Manatee Power
- Emily Churco
- Rust Belt
- Sophie Labelle’s Books and Comics
- Xexoxial Editions
- Kevin C. Martin
- Junco Press
- Writers & Books
- Pski’s Porch Publishing
- Cool Sports Stories for Kids
- Goosefish Designs
- Papersafe
- PS Guelph
- Annelidical Books
- Angel and A Dream Publishing
- MetaMorePhases Inc.
- Alternating Current
- Buffalo State College Alumni Writing Group
- The Second Reader Bookshop
- Linoleum Press
- Buffalo Legacy Press
- POPPress
- Mason-Dixon Publishing
- Fairfield Press
- Bone Bouquet
- Melinda Gregory
- Furniture Press Books
- Raindrop Remedies
- Blowfish Bookbinding
- National Teen Set Outsider
- Olden Designs
- BookThug
- Rob Falgiano
- Leapfrog Press
- Santino’s World
- Musterni
- Upper Hand Press
- Garage Editions
- FinnFest USA 2015
- Back Home Books
- Villa Maria College
- The Poetry Collection of the University Libraries
- pressboardpress
- Fly Rabbit Press
- Sugar City
- Westside Stories
- The Panoptic Press
- Queen City Gallery
- Jeremy Stock
- Damfino Press
- Leapfrog Press
Shanna Compton's books include the poetry collections Creature Sounds Fade, Midwinter Constellation (coauthor), Brink, For Girls & Others, Down Spooky, and several chapbooks. She's the founder of the Bloof Books collective and works as a freelance book designer for several of your favorite small presses.
Latest posts by Shanna Compton (see all)
- Virtual Browsing: Buffalo Small Press Book Fair - May 14, 2015
- Virtual Browsing at the NYC/CUNY Chapbook Festival - April 2, 2015
- #chapfest (next week at CUNY in NYC) - March 26, 2015
