Recap: Zine Workshop at San Diego Made Factory
Last Thursday, 25 storytellers, creatives, and changemakers gathered at San Diego Made Factory for the UNFOLDING: Zine Workshop with Hello Barkada. What started as an idea to slow down and settle into our bodies turned into an afternoon that reminded us why creativity + community-building work is so important and necessary.
Radical Construction with Hello Barkada
Christine Pasalo Norland from Hello Barkada guided us through the radical history of zines, sharing how these DIY publications have long served as tools for marginalized voices to construct—not just report—history. From the radical zine FIRE!!, published during the Harlem Renaissance by Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and other luminaries, to today's movement-building publications, Christine showed us how zines have always been about more than just self-expression.
““[W]hile mainstream publications are concerned with reporting history, alternative publications are interested in constructing history.””
Christine's approach went beyond education—she led by example. Twenty percent of the workshop proceeds were redistributed to Indigenous Regeneration as a Land Back action, acknowledging that we continue to live, work, and create on Kumeyaay traditional lands.
Creative Shapeshifting While Making Zines
After learning about zine history, we turned inward. Christine's guided reflection prompts created a focused energy in the room. You could feel the concentration as everyone sat with each question, punk music from Christine's curated playlist blasting through the airwaves.
Then came the shift to creation mode. The energy transformed completely from quiet contemplation to collaborative and creative, with folks sifting through magazines and art supplies for just the right images, shapes, textures, and colors to bring their reflections to life. We vibed along to another dreamy curated playlist, and conversations bubbled up naturally as people shared materials and inspiration.
Defining What Community-Building Means to Us
One of the most powerful moments came when a participant shared that she'd been having a difficult day with a challenging copywriting assignment and almost didn't attend the event. But working with her hands, getting out of her head, and creating something beautiful alongside others completely shifted her energy. As a poet who might be contorting her craft into the rigidity of copywriting, the tactile nature of zine-making helped reconnect her to the creative and free-flowing practice she'd been missing that day. She left feeling renewed and grateful she'd shown up.
This is exactly what we hoped for when we started the SD Comms & Storytelling Network, creating spaces where the personal and professional can intersect, where we can support each other not just as colleagues but as whole human beings navigating this world and the creative work together. For many participants, this was their first time making a zine. Watching people discover this medium and different sides of themselves and their work reminded us why we believe in the power of slowing down and creating with intention.
What Comes Next?
We're already dreaming about what comes next (and we'd love your input). UNFOLDING showed us the need in our community for experiences that blend learning, creating, and genuine connection.
To everyone who joined us, thank you for bringing your full selves to that room. To Christine, thank you for holding space for both the radical history of zines and our own stories waiting to unfold. To Stacey and the San Diego Made Factory crew, thank you for providing the perfect creative space for our gathering and the much-needed A/C on a hot August day! And to our community, thank you for continuing to show up as we experiment with what it means to support each other in this work.
Want to see what we created? Browse event photos and share your own zines here.
Zine-Making Inspiration and Resources
Flip through FIRE!! Devoted To Younger Negro Artists (1926)
Listen to Hello Barkada’s Spotify playlists Make Zines with HB and Give Us the Punk
Follow @HelloBarkada on Instagram
The SD Comms & Storytelling Network is an emerging community of storytellers, writers, designers, creatives, and marketers working in San Diego County's social justice and climate action space. Our goal is to learn from each other and build a culture of care in media and communications as we address critical issues and shape the narrative of our home.
