Meet Bre Upton | Artist & Zine Maker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bre Upton and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bre, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
“Take the risk, or lose the chance” is a saying I love and say to myself often. Risk is all about the long-term feelings you’ll sit with, to me. If there is something I really want and I don’t take the risk to go for it, I’ll always think about it with regret. An author I really admire named Mel Robbins once said something along the lines of: when it comes to dreams you have two options, to go after them or be haunted by them. I love that! Because you never really forget a dream, do you? And when you decide to not take the risk and build towards that dream, it’s always gnawing in the back of your head.

That happened to me when I was jumping from one retail job to the next, trying to make ends meet but feeling depleted at the end of my day. I worked full-time at a job I hated when I realized those hours were being taken away from my creativity and art. My dream had always been to be a full-time artist but here I was making art my part-time gig, if I even had time for it at all! So one day I just made the choice. I quit my job with the faith that it was never meant for me, that I needed to take the risk to get something even better. Now I’m a full-time artist with my own shop, I make content for brands, zine for musicians, it’s the life I wanted and that could have never came to fruition if I didn’t take risks.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I make a lot of different things, but I am most popularly known for my zine work. Zines are so cool because unlike magazine, they are self-published for a smaller circulation. They can be about the silliest things in the world, or they can be about activism…the spectrum is so colorful and wide. I’m super proud of the zines I’ve made over the past 5 or 6 years and so happy they’re getting some recognition online since I went several years trying to get more people to read them.

My road to where I am now was not easy, but I doubt anyone’s path is as an artist! I overcame the challenges the only way I knew how, and that was to roll with them. Some days are better than others, but there’s not sense in me giving up because I know deep in my bones this is the only thing I want to do: make art and be creative. Although there will be a lot of changes in my career, I’m open to all of them as long as they allow me to be myself.

I’m learning new things all the time as an independent artist but I’d say the biggest lesson in my life was learning to step into the person I’ve always been. I think when you’re young, you know exactly who you are you just don’t have the tools and resources and maybe vision to stay that way. You’re such a malleable sponge and adults give you guidance, but sometimes it can cause unintentional harm. From the earliest memories I always knew I loved being creative and working with my hands, but over time I lost that due to my surroundings, peers, self-doubt, whatever. Returning back to that person, that pure Bre from my past, was one of the hardest but most necessary lessons of my lifetime.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m based in Long Beach so if a friend found their way to my hood I’d definitely take them to Shoreline Village, which is this nice little outdoor strip near the beach. I’m inspired by nature, so Shoreline has not only the beach to enjoy but an aquarium, a lagoon, and other “California” type things to see. It’s totally capitalistic too, so there are malls and a Nike Store (laughs) but the nature surrounding those things…the nature that found a way to exist with our human-built shit is pretty incredible to look at.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
It would be a disservice to not should out my family who, despite all our differences, have always supported me in the ways I needed. I also want to shout out my friends who buy my art and shout ME out as much as humanly possible, they know who they are (hint: close friends list).

And nothing about my career would be possible without the serendipitous friendship I have with graphic designer, Berenice Ashikian. She gifted me my first Cricut cutting machine, and with it I designed and made my first stickers to open my shop back in June 2020. I had no idea the impact that small gesture would have on my life, but I think about it all the time and just so glad I said yes.

Website: www.brestinyprintshop.com

Instagram: @brattyxbre_

Youtube: www.youtube.com/brattyxbre

Other: TikTok: @brattyxbre