Hey there, lovelies. MC Sunflower Jones is a kitschy-chic production consisting of the of us, two lovebird zinesters, Deirdree Prudence & Steven Hughes Purkey, making zines non-stop ‘cause zines are our lives & we adore it. We make zines for us & we make zines for you. With you. For us & for you.
We started this campaign because we’re the epitome of starving artists – what we lack in funds we make up for in an inspiring creativity that overflows with motivation & non-stop love. We want to make the greatest zine ever & have it in the hands of as many people as possible – a grand adventure but we need your help! Join us on this ride & we will show you a crazy artistic blast like no other!
This zine, What’s Your Damage? – Mental Illness & Shit!, will be the talk of the town. There have been other mental health zines out there, there will be more, but this, dear reader, will be “it”. A pop-culture bonanza of psychotropic drugs, interviews from shrinks, profiles on the insane, reviews of other mental health zines, hilarious tales of depression, personality disorders, you name it, if it pops it’s in. The cherry on the top, however, will be the companion microzines detailing each of the most popular disorders from Schizoaffective to Borderline Personality. A glorious comp zine filled with international contributors straight outta the psych ward accompanied by microzines that will only make you smile. A demented smile. A smile shared from us to you.
We love zines. We love you. We want to share our love with you. But, dear reader, it’s expensive. It takes money & we need your help! Take a peek into the backstage creative monster of a madhouse, of the zinester creator:
MC Sunflower Jones is the name of our copy machine. Every true zinester needs one to call their own. Fuck Kinko’s. But we need toner. Lots of toner. Toner to print this batty gem of a project!
We need paper. Lots & lots of paper. White paper galore. & for the cover? Here’s a sneaky peek: a dream would come true with you help – cardstock the color of psych ward walls. This zine deserves only the best, the contributors deserve only the best, the readers deserve only the best & a heavy cardstock cover is where it’s at.
Staples. Metallic blue staples. Only the best for this zine.
Buttons. We need buttons & they’re cheap to make but remember, dear reader, the starving part of ‘starving artist’. Buttons would be awesome. We want the stark raving mad smiles of What’s Your Damage? to be carried around on your lapel even after the brilliantly cracked pages are put down.
Stickers. See above & replace buttons with stickers.
Once the zine is done, hot off the press, distribution is insanity. It takes cold hard cash but those smiles, smiles from contributors & readers & you, those smiles are needed in this world. Postage & postal supplies. We want them everywhere. We want the post office gang to hate us. Or love us. We want to know them by name.
With every donation there comes a present from us to you. Every single donor will get a smile in return. We have gifts! They will be in the form of some of these things: a copy of the zine & microzines, a button, a hand-painted postcard from Deirdree, MC Sunflower Jones zines aplenty, handwritten love letters, stickers, & your name in print within the zine!
We want the world to enjoy the madness that is What’s Your Damage? – Mental Illness & Shit! Because people need to feel the love & comfort of flashy solidarity in what can be a lonely existence when coping with psychological issues. We want people to laugh at depression. Smile at the silliness of their anxiety. We want you to enjoy the lunacy that is you you you.
We want the zine at every zine library. Every retailer that carries zines. Across the world. The contributors deserve it - & you deserve the thrill that comes with their words & art.
MC Sunflower Jones has been called prolific & inspiring & all that jazz. We really live the life of the hardcore zinester. We have sold our zines at large zine fests. We have sold our zines at smaller events. Shops that don’t even carry zines display MC Sunflower Jones’ shit with pride. We can do this. It’s a magical adventure & we want you to tag along. With your help we can make this happen.
We def understand that not everyone can donate cold hard cash (or numbers on a computer screen). If you can’t, don’t fret ‘cause your anxiety is our anxiety in this rode paved with Prozac. We still need your support! Contribute some art! Tell us a tale of your love affair with your therapist! Rip out your journal pages from Cognitive Behavior Therapy daze & send them to us!
We also need your support by sharing this campaign with your friends…if you know of anyone who might need the light-hearted security blanket of this zine, send them our way & we’ll make new friends. Sharing is caring, said the Care Bears in the ‘8Os. Sharing is caring & we care a lot.
Join us on this escapade – we’ll have a good time.
