Our Story

Strange and wonderful things can happen at conventions. 

On the final day of WorldCon Seattle, we accidentally started a business. 

It began when authors Alyc Helms and Fonda Lee happened to meet up at a publisher mixer. Alyc, fanning herself in the overly warm room, relayed the story of trying to find a place to buy a hand fan and joked about putting book-themed art on fans, which would be…fan art. Ha ha! 

Fonda was tickled enough by the punny idea to mention it to another group of friends over coffee in the closing hours of the convention. Sleep deprived and operating on fumes, we not only latched onto the idea but realized that between us, we possessed skills and experience in procurement, promotional merchandising, website development, convention booth running, business operations and administration, art direction, and writing books. In short, we could actually do this. After the con was over and we’d returned to our homes and caught up on sleep, we remained excited and committed to turning the delightful idea into a reality. 

That’s how “I’m a Fan” was born: as a fun project by creators and fans, for creators and fans. By offering quality accessories that allow people to express their love of stories, we aim to build community and evoke joy through collaboration between writers, artists, and fandom.

Oh, and we have puns. A lot of puns.