It could be a zine is a small, self-published booklet. Handmade by one person, or a few. Whoever made it decided it should exist - could be a need to create, could be at the service of social issues or to represent communities. In any case - someone decided it should exist and then it did.
Cosmic Valentine is an independent creative studio in California - created from the idea of making something. Issue 1 is . Here's what it is for us.
The lineage
The visual tradition behind Cosmic Valentine Zine is a love letter to skateboarding and the art that inspired it. California hotrodders helped build and define the early look of skateboarding - Detroit V8 badges and the creative direction of C.R. Stecyk, pinstriping. The hand-lettering of Rick Griffin, the graffiti of Chaz, alternative comics like Zap with Robert Williams, and punk and skate 'zines that captured the expansion of skateboarding and DIY culture from backyard ramps in California to cities across America and then the world. But the biggest inspiration for this zine - the love that Rich Jacobs put into his community, his work, and his zines. That was the inspiration to make this 'zine.
Issue 1
Three threads: Daily Affirmations, Skate Jazz, and Public Domain.
Daily Affirmations — graphic rips and flips from public domain sources in London, Paris, and Los Angeles.
Skate Jazz — a playlist curated by Ray Barbee. A QR code in the zine takes you to it on Spotify. Ray is one of the most influential street skaters of the 1990s and plays guitar. The playlist is the music that actually surrounded early skating — jazz, soul — before the genre became a marketing category. He's the right person to define it.
Public Domain — the graphic language of the whole thing. Historical imagery repurposed, remixed, hand-numbered, made in a real edition.
The zine sits in a notepad protective cover held by stretchy rubber Heart Strings. A "Break My Heart" breakaway cosmic heart keychain. A glow-in-the-dark peace paper clip/bookmark holds a cosmic jazz postcard and stickers inside. Workshop-made. Hand-numbered. Hope you like it.
Cosmic Valentine is an independent creative studio in California. Experimental art, media, objects... Zines, skateboard hardgoods, and skate jazz.