What Do I Need to Table at a Zine Fest?

How to not go broke trying to display your zines at events

When I started off with tabling at zine fests 10 (!!!) years ago, I didn't even have a table cloth.

This was my very first table set up, at my very first zine fest, which was in 2015 at OC Zine Fest in Santa Ana. Just some zines, tape as a business card stand, an alien head I made out of cardboard and some paint, and blank cards and markers because I had a deal where I would draw whatever people wanted me to draw for free.

While this bare bones approach was fine, and still is fine, over time more and more zine fests have become full of flashy, eye catching displays. I knew I needed to up my game.

My table display is ever-evolving. Fitting as much as possible within 3 feet of space on a shared table is a fun challenge. I also don't want to spend a lot of money on my display, only for it to constantly change. Having different pieces that I can alter and move around as needed is definitely the way to go for me personally. Of course, everyone is different. But here are my tips and tools of the trade.

THIS is what my table set up has looked like recently. This was my set up at LA Zine Fest a couple weeks ago, and will likely be my set up for the rest of the season. Let me walk you through how I got here.

Toy Machine

I got this little capsule machine at Target in around November 2023? It was a Christmas toy they had for kids, all of the capsules came with little toys inside of them which was fun for me, but I have had tons of success with this at my events! I can change whatever I put into it. Right now I have TINY itty bitty zines and hand drawn pins I made from Shrinky Dinks. You can see the remnants of some foam tape, I have a sign on the machine depending on what's inside that has the price and images of what people might get on their lucky turn. The machine itself was about $35, and I know they sold out of it pretty quick. Not sure if they bring it back for every Christmas. But worth looking for online if you can and if you are interested in a fun "blind box" feature at your table!

Standees

The metal grid in the background, that the toy capsule machine is on for the LAZF set up, I assembled with materials from Daiso. If you do not have a Daiso near you, I feel bad for you because they are my saving grace when it comes to tabling. Nearly everything I have to table with comes from Daiso. There is one right around the corner from where I live, so I'm super lucky.

If you're not familiar, Daiso is a Japanese homegoods store, but they have super affordable prices and are kind of like the Japanese version of Dollar Tree. Their prices are usually $1.50 for items, but some items can be a little bit more and are priced anywhere from $3 to about $7.

Everything in the photo above was purchased from Daiso: the wire grid, the plastic magazine standee, the little standee that has my info in it, a business card holder, and the plastic "shopping basket". The shopping basket is collapsable, it can be folded for easy storage. I usually use it to tote items that I can't fit into my rolling suitcase (more on that in a second) to bring to events.

I've used wooden sticker and magazine holders that come in little kits from Amazon, but honestly they kind of suck. I still love the plastic Daiso magazine stands instead. I just put some colorful tissue paper on the bottom of the sections so that the zines stand a little taller and can be grabbed easier.

These options are super cost effective, and give me lots of different pieces that I can configure within my space as needed.

The wire grid is great, you have to get a couple of different pieces to put it together, but Daiso has the wire panels, little pieces that hold the wire together, and hooks that you can place on there as well. It looks really nice if you have a bagged item to hang it from the hooks like a little shop! Daiso has bags too, I am telling you, they are an all stop shop for all things zine making and vending. I also got my plastic table cloth there.

Rolling Suitcase

I try to fit as much as I can into a rolling suitcase for events. I can usually fit all of the big items in here, like the wire frame, and the larger standees. I got this suitcase for cheap at Walmart years ago. I do use it as a regular suitcase if I happen to go on a trip (rare), but I primarily use it for events. Anything that doesn't fit in here gets carried in the little foldable green shopping basket from Daiso

Zine Storage Box

This is one of those things where I didn't realize how much it would make my life easier until I had it. I store all of my minizines in this photo storage box I got from Michaels. You can likely find one at JoAnn, especially now they are closing and are having sales. I saw a similar box there the other day that even had a handle on the top, mine doesn't.

This is a box designed to store photographs, but it's the perfect size to cram a surprisingly large amount of minizines and items and have them sorted for events. I keep all of one title in each little smaller box, or two related titles if there is enough room. This makes it much easier to keep track of how many of each zine I have, and restock easy. Plus it protects the zines super well. I bring the entire box with me to each event.

Sticker Displays/Storage

If you are wanting to sell stickers as well, these little boxes from, again, Daiso, are perfect. They store stickers but also make it easy to display the stickers and if someone wants to buy them they slide open with ease. I swear, Daiso is not sponsoring me (although I'm open to it, Daiso!)

Sticker Paper

I'm so sorry, it's another Daiso item. I print most of my own stickers, unless it's something like a bumper sticker or I want to be sure the sticker will be durable and waterproof. A majority of my stickers now are printed with this paper though, it's a label paper that you just run through the printer and it works BEAUTIFULLY. I sometimes get an occasional smudge, but for the most part these work great as fun little stationery type stickers. For $1.50 per pack it can't be beat.

Printer

That brings me to my printer, which is essential for printing zines and stickers and anything else I need for zine fests. Look, I know NOW that HP is a terrible company. And would look elsewhere for a printer now. However, this thing is a really great printer. I highly recommend getting an ecotank printer. I was a little worried about the quality at first, but it's fantastic. I can do full bleed prints from my iPad, which makes my zines look really good. Refilling the ink is a breeze and so much cheaper than any other printers I've had. Having a printer has been a life changer. I'm not kidding, for YEARS, like the first 7 years of vending, I would print everything at Kinkos/FedEx Office. It was soooooo expensive. Buying a printer was one of the best life decisions I've ever made. This also scans well, my boyfriend uses it to scan all of his photographs (he's a Polaroid photographer)!

Cowboy Bubblegrunge

Some children asked me where I got my little possum friend that hangs out at my table.

"He just showed up one day," I replied.

"Was it Christmas?" they asked me.

"No."

"Was it your birthday?"

"No."

"Was it near your birthday?"

"No. He just showed up one day. And now we're friends."

The kids fully bought it. He was a Christmas ornament I found at JoAnn's. RIP.

The cowboy hat was supplied by fellow artist @jayciekim who happened to have the exact size cowboy hat I needed???? Now THAT is magical.

You don't have to go all out for your table set up, or spend a ton of money on it either. It's ok to piece things together over time, or to just lay your zines out and let them speak for themselves. Remember: there's no right or wrong way to present your zines or make your zines. <3