To be an independent printer and publisher in Miami is to set yourself adrift on the Caribbean during peak hurricane season with no life jacket or provisions. Your chances of survival are, in a word, slim.
And yet, local indie print shop and gallery space Dalé Zine has been providing a platform for Miami’s multimedia artists and designers for more than a decade. They haven’t just weathered the storm; Dalé has created their own little island where the water’s warm, the community is friendly and the views are pretty out of this world.
Considering their backgrounds in advertising and design, and their passion for propping up Miami’s creative scene, it’s not surprising that Steve Saiz (a senior art director) and Lillian Banderas (a stylist manager) founded Dalé Zine. Back in 2009, the couple created Dalé with one simple goal: to showcase this city’s independent voices in a fun, approachable environment through the “most low-key format ever,” the zine.
Typically printed in small, limited batches and with roots in punk subculture, a zine (like maga-“zine”) is scrappy and DIY with a distinctive point of view. At Dalé, the concept has broadened over the years to become an open cultural hub for the Miami community, with offerings ranging from all-ages zine workshops to an online radio show, pop-up events and most recently a storefront and gallery space transplanted from Little River to Design District.
“We've had great opportunities, from working with Sesame Street to HBO, but we love the moments we get to make something fun together,” says the couple.