Valley Cruise Press
This independent publishing house features alternative illustrators and cheeky pins
Valley Cruise Press is basically a giant middle finger to the tired claim that print is dead. With a sharp eye for exceptional illustration stemming from their own strong talent, Valley Cruise founders Ted Feighan and Ally Quandt have created an independent press label that publishes indisputably interesting zines, produced alongside a small but legit cache of prints, pins and apparel. “Ally and I have been sharing artists and artwork we like with each other for years,” Feighan tells CH, “And, both being artists ourselves, we decided to start a label where we could release artists we like—as well as our own work.”
Debuting with an eponymous first edition zine featuring work by the two founders, Valley Cruise Print has expanded in just under a year to become a haven for limited edition publications by alternative illustrators. Feighan and Quandt exercise complete control over who they publish, tapping their favorite artists in hopes of working with them. “Most artists we’ve reached out to have been very cool and interested in collaborating,” says Feighan. Gangster Doodles, whose Post-It note drawings of hip-hop icons have made him a social media star, has published two volumes of work through Valley Cruise Print, and cartoonist George Heaven extended his talented hand to design some of the label’s saucy skater T-shirts and tank tops.
While printmaking is obviously Valley Cruise’s specialty, their cheeky enamel lapel pins are equally charming, with the emoji-inspired BFF brooch a highlight. When not producing fantastic alt material, Feighan and Quant use the Valley Cruise Press blog as a place to interview, promote and play with artists such as Sheryo & The Yok, Jennifer Calandra and Patrick Kyle. “This is going to be a really awesome year for Valley Cruise,” Feighan notes, “We’re expanding into releasing more apparel and art objects. We’re still going to be releasing zines every month, but we are going to be focusing more on larger artist collaborations.”
Check out Valley Cruise Print’s current run of zines and accessories ($9-$45) at their shop, and keep an eye out for developments in the coming year.
Images courtesy of Valley Cruise Print
