Edgecliff – BTS Book Launch and Signing

Flashback to mid-March. I was getting poetry merch ready for the launch of Angelina Sáenz‘s book of poems Edgecliff at Avenue 50 Studio in Los Angeles. Angelina messaged me about how the LA Times wanted to feature Avenue 50 Studio in an upcoming article, and they wanted to take photos of Angelina’s launch to use in the story. They wondered if I could fill the room with my illustrations in Angelina’s book. Yes. Yes, I could.

Angelina got me in contact with Jessica Ceballos, Ave 50’s Literary Program Coordinator. She sent me photos of a very large room with very large walls.

I got to work transforming the illustrations into 11″x17″ and 24″x36″ prints to fill the space. For the smaller prints, I included type with Angelina’s Instagram captions and both of our names plus the date of the event. I didn’t get a chance to do that with the large prints, which is disappointing, but such is life.

I used hemp rope and a lot of little clips. I set up my merch table and t-shirt rack.

I tried to make the signage clear, the art affordable, and the payment methods accessible.

The launch and signing was March 20, 2022. It was standing room only and featured a lineup of incredible poets who each hold great meaning to Angelina.

There are a few shirts left. They’re available on my Etsy store.

There are a bunch of prints, too. I’m not sure the best way to get them out there. Here’s a look: