April Update
Our rescheduled pop-up in South Orange is this weekend!
Since Jersey Collective launched a decade ago, we’ve put our logo on lots of things—stickers, buttons, koozies, and t-shirts. Whenever I’ve made anything for this project, I’ve prioritized using New Jersey-based vendors if possible. The buttons were made in Bayonne, the t-shirts were screen printed in Mullica Hill, I did have stickers printed in Jersey City once but that company has since folded, and the koozies were printed across the river in Philadelphia (but by someone from New Jersey).
Recently, Anthony from Ascender Engraving reached out and asked if he could put our logo on a pint glass, travel mug, cuff bracelet, and wooden sign—so now all of those things can be added to the “made right here in New Jersey” list.
This was just for fun, but I love how everything turned out and would definitely go straight to Anthony if I ever decide to make and sell more stuff like this! I dread the thought of shipping something as fragile as pint glasses, but they’re super cool and maybe you’d want one? Let me know if there’s something with our logo on it that you’d like to buy, and if enough people say the same thing, maybe I’ll actually do it.1
As always, be sure to scroll to the bottom for some good links! We’re sharing information about some unique calls for art, a Jersey Devil-themed theatrical event, a Cape May-themed board game, and more.
New Jersey Fan Club
Patrick Lombardi, author of The New Jersey Food Truck Cookbook, a book that often shares shelf space with mine, recently sent me a nice note and included this line, which I immediately asked for permission to publicly quote him on: “New Jersey Fan Club is an outstanding tribute to New Jersey—a power-ballad-rock-opera epic for the greatest state in the country.” Thanks, Patrick!
A few weeks ago, I dropped by The Collective Bookstore in Verona with a friend, and I was thrilled to see a few copies of New Jersey Fan Club on their shelves! I signed them! If you haven’t been to their beautiful store, it’s worth a visit.
Upcoming Events
Markets & Vendor Events
Find me at the following markets this spring! I’ll have stickers, books, Go Fish! decks, and other merch, along with the sticker machine stocked with Series 2 designs (until they run out—stay tuned for news about S3!).
Pop-Up @ Co-Lab South Orange
*NEW DATES*
April 6 & 7, 2024 from 11:00-6:00 on Saturday and 11:00-5:00 on Sunday
The Co-Lab: South Orange, NJ
This is rescheduled from a few weeks ago—I’m looking forward to spending my time at The Co-Lab this weekend and I hope you can stop by. There will be a Girl Scout troop selling cookies there on Sunday, too!
Geek Flea
April 20, 2024 from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
First Presbyterian Church of Arlington: 663 Kearny Avenue, Kearny, NJ
Montclair Literary Festival
May 4, 2024 from 3:00-5:00 PM
Outside in tents at First Congregational Church, 40 S Fullerton Ave, Montclair, NJ
Please note that I will not be bringing the sticker machine for this event. Event is rain or shine!
Denville Garlic Fest
*NEW*
May 9, 2024 from 12:00-6:00 PM
Todd Johnson Field: 102 Riverside Drive, Denville, NJ
This is a ticketed event: early bird tickets are $5 until May 5, then they are $10 online or at the door. You can also bring new toothpaste, mouthwash, or a toothbrush kit to benefit the Denville Food Pantry for a $5 discount at the door. Get tickets here.
Can’t make it to a market? Shop our online souvenir shop! New Jersey Fan Club is also available wherever books are sold—if your favorite local shop doesn’t have it, ask them to order it!
Jersey Collective Reads
Come to the release party for Courtney’s novel Welcome Home, Caroline Kline at Thunder Road Books in Spring Lake on April 16th! Or check out one of her events at another city if you’re not local to Monmouth County.
Courtney and I spent last year interviewing the author of a different Jersey book (almost) every month, and I’m proud of the literary archive we have created! You can watch (or just listen) to our previous author events on our YouTube channel.
Sticker Club
Stickers from our Series 2 are going fast! I’d recommend coming to an event sooner than later if you really want one of these designs. Read more about the artists and find links to more of their work here.
I’ll be looking for more art for Series 3 soon, stay tuned! I’ve been thinking of doing a themed series just to mix things up.
Shop Update
I’m currently dreaming up some new things, but in the meantime I added a new bundle to the shop. Pick up a signed copy of New Jersey Fan Club and associated stickers along with a deck of New Jersey Go Fish! cards for a discount. Perfect to give as a gift, or keep half of it for yourself, or keep all of it for yourself—I won’t tell!
I also wanted to thank everyone who has placed an order recently. It’s been a wild ride with the New Jersey Go Fish! cards so far—we’ve sold through more than half of our initial inventory. Since we are selling on our own platform and not somewhere folks can leave reviews, we’re really relying on word-of-mouth and social media to get the word out about this unique, artist-designed game. Thank you to everyone who has shared the cards with friends and followers!
New Jersey Round-Up
I’m really looking forward to seeing The Devil and Daisy Dirt next week! It's a theatrical event, a concert, an art show about the Jersey Devil, complete with live music and an eight foot-tall Jersey Devil puppet. “Think Pine Barrens Our Town meets E.T., with a shoulder-shot cryptid instead of a stranded extraterrestrial, deer hunters instead of federal agents, and a portal that opens above the Apple Pie Hill fire tower after a midnight lightening strike instead of an alien mothership.” Through my job as a librarian, I’ve known writer/director/lead Alex Dawson for a few years—I’ve booked some of his radio plays and writing workshops. Those have been some of my favorite programs to bring to my community and they’ve always gotten rave reviews. You can get tickets here.
The Greetings from the Garden State podcast (listen to my interview episode here!) is hosting Jersey Fest at White Eagle Hall, a show featuring five New Jersey-based bands and beers from different breweries in the state. I am donating a gift basket of Jersey Collective goods that will be raffled off at the event, so if you’re going, you might be the lucky winner!
I’m a big fan of
's project Pedestrian, and I really enjoyed his recent post about the Bayonne Bridge:Does anyone know anything about this Cape May board game? I’m intrigued!
Opportunities for NJ writers and artists
Zufall Health, a nonprofit that runs community health centers around our state, is curating a group show that will be on display in their Dover medical facility. The show will be titled “Opening Access: Exploring the Artistry of Entryways,” and they are seeking submissions “that capture the essence of doors, gateways, bridges, roads, paths, and beyond. These symbolic representations magnify Zufall Health's dedication to widening the door to healthcare for underserved and vulnerable communities across New Jersey.” Submission information, in English and Spanish, can be found here.
Atlantic Highlands Arts Council and The Out Agency have posted a call for submissions for “LGBTQ+ and BIPOC artists working in all mediums” for a show called Colors of Courage.
Flemington DIY has a new art vending machine launching soon and according to this post they will be looking for work to feature.
This section features links to things we think our community will be interested in, that have strong New Jersey ties, and that have as few barriers for entry as possible (we aren’t fans of submission fees but will sometimes include opportunities with them if they are negligible or sliding scale or fund a non-profit organization). We do not run advertisements!
That’s it for now!
-Kerri
See you on Instagram @jerseycollective & @ksulphoto!