Today we’d like to introduce you to Haley Cope
Hi Haley, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Jerk Press was founded by Delfina Booth and Haley Cope in September of 2023. We both have a passion for the arts, crafting, and small indie publishing and decided to maximize our joint slay through selling our art at art markets around Atlanta. We started to meet others in the zine community that were struggling to print and distribute their work, which led us to use our knowledge to assist fellow zinemakers and to connect with other zinesters. It has always been in our vision to be involved in political activistism, and we were given that opportunity to assist other activists with their organizations through our free printing program. Jerk Press has grown so much in the past six months from this, along with our volunteer team, consisting of Palmer Rubin, Kate O’Humphrey, Hannah Pence Hubbard, and our newest addition, Cyrus!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Absolutely not! Our growth in the past six months has been unprecedented and we’re still trying to match the pace. We struggle a lot financially still, Jerk Press is very much supported by donations from the community, parental “loans” and our own pockets, but to us it’s our future and we want to support wherever this train is taking us. Our goal is to fully become a registered business and generating enough funds for our team to no longer have to work at our 9-5 jobs. For now, it’s a very entertaining hobby.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We love our community! Zine people are some of the most diverse, brave, and creative people I’ve met in the art world, and they continue to be the least gatekeeping artists’ community I’ve encountered. There is a general understanding that to be self-published and self-distributing is an act of bravery and generosity and that really reflects with the general culture and attitudes of zinesters. My own work is very personal and surrealist, but I have been so accepted and supported in this community, which has encouraged me to create more art. Everyone can and should make a zine.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
A lesson that persists in my mind is “anyone can do what you do, but many people don’t.” Anyone can do what I do, but often ego gets in the way and prevents us from self-expression for fear of retribution, mockery, or most importantly, failure. I have spent so much of my life trying to create but failing to do so due to my own self-limiting beliefs around being a creative. Self-censorship is something I see a lot in the world around me and I wonder what life would be like if everyone had the self-confidence to put themselves first. Art is not truly egoic in nature and it takes so much effort to remove the ego (which keeps us safe) and create something worthwile. Everyone is entitled to make art, even if it’s bad!
Pricing:
- Full-Size Zines- $7
- Mini Zines- $4
- Stickers- $4
- Mystery Collage Packs- $5
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jerkpress/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/andalgalaxytours/
Image Credits
All images taken by Haley Cope (me)
