We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Bre Upton. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Bre below.
Bre, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
A lot of my optimism comes from my spirituality. I like to meditate and journal, which helps me express any pessimistic thoughts that may naturally invade my thoughts. After doing practices like this I find that my spirits are much higher, I make room for positivity, and I can look forward to my future despite any obstacles that I may face.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Hi, my name Bre and I am a Black and Polynesian zine maker living in SoCal.
My main motivating factor is getting people to express themselves in a way that’s affordable, fun, and free from rules — that’s why zines are a big part of what I do. Not only do I make and sell my own zines, I love to make YouTube videos, TikToks, and Instagram Reels that show people how they can make and sell their own zines!
The zines I tend to gravitate towards making are about my personal experiences, which I think it very relatable to most people. Almost everyone can tell a story about their background, what they’re passionate about, or what excites them, and with my zine tutorials I hope to inspire them to channel their life into art.
If anyone wanted to know about my process, my zines, or about the medium in general I’d love for them to check out my online store called Bre’s Tiny Print Shop! Or any interested readers can check out my YouTube Channel, Instagram, and TikTok for lots of other zine and paper craft content (my username is brattyxbre across all platforms!)
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The three qualities that were the most impactful in my journey was being an early riser, maintaining discipline in times of hardship, and keeping an open mind. Waking up early really helped me utilize more time throughout my day, being disciplined pushed me to get things done no matter how lazy or tired I got, and keeping an open mind allowed me to stay motivated towards my goals.
The advice I’d give to someone starting their creative journey right now, whether that’s running an online shop or just making art in general, is to remember your purpose. Why are you doing this? What are you hoping to achieve? My purpose is to help people express themselves, so as long as I remember my drive to help others I will keep being motivated to achieve that goal. Always remember why you started, because somewhere down the line when things get hard you will need to remember your driving force. That driving force, that goal, or that REASON for starting your journey will push you through the hard times.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
One of the most important books I’ve ever read is called “Psycho-Cybernetics” by Maxwell Maltz, which is a book that helps you transform your self concept. When you have a good outlook on yourself, like yourself, and take care of your mind, you are better able to achieve success in anything you do — that’s what this book has taught me about myself. I would recommend this book to everyone!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.brestinyprintshop.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brattyxbre_/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@brattyxbre
