This past weekend I had the chance to stop by Short Run Comix & Arts Festival here in Seattle. I had never been before. In fact, I had never even heard of it until I was invited to a ‘Short Run Beach Party’ on Facebook where two bands I love, The Shivas and La Luz were playing. Having no idea what Short Run was, I did a little research. As it turns out, Short Run is an organization that supports Seattle’s comix and arts community through events, shows and workshops. Each year they organize a curated festival focused on independent artists and self-published, handmade and small press books in the Northwest. Still not entirely sure what this involved but knowing it sounded awesome, I had to go.

So, this last Saturday I made my way over to the historic Washington Hall to find a three story building jam packed full of artists and art lovers surrounding tables overflowing with art, prints, zines, poetry, journals, books and everything wonderful. I could have spent a week in there and still not gotten to look at everything but I only had about an hour. A little overwhelmed by the unexpected volume of art and people and not having allotted enough time in my schedule to look at everything, I skimmed through it all pretty fast but there was one artist that stuck out to me a little more than others.

As I approached their table, a rack of 7″ squares caught my eye. They looked to be 45 vinyl singles.

Being a lover of vinyl and a supporter of the co-habitation of music & visual art, I was immediately intrigued. As I stood there and flipped through each booklet, the artist excitedly told me what each one was about, the concept and the art. I loved his enthusiasm for his work. Most, but not all, had something to do with music and all of them had a very mid-century modern feel to them. The art inside upheld a wonderful simplicity, using illustration, design and color perfectly to tell a story. I knew immediately that I wanted to own these “singles.” I held off purchasing them until I had seen the rest of the festival and about 45 minutes later, I was back to that table, handing over my money. Their beauty didn’t escape my mind for a second. I only bought two but I intend to eventually own all 6 plus any others and come out.

When I returned home and took time to fully investigate my new purchase, wishing I had spent more time talking to the artist at the festival, I turned to the great internet to find out more. These “singles” are created by Coin-Op Books, made up of Peter and Maria Hoey, a brother and sister artist duo. All their art is beautiful. They create comics and design work that carries the same 1950’s vibe in their thin, angular lines, vivid colors and references to old music and movies. I highly recommend you visit their website and maybe spend a couple bucks to purchase something beautiful to support artist such as these. Please also take the time to check out Short Run’s site to find out more about supporting independent, small press and handmade books.

Go to Coin-Op Books

Go to Short Run’s website