Dear Rebels

This week I’m celebrating six brave humans who decided to share their art with the world, wrestling with the fact that my brain is currently a raccoon fighting for its life in a dumpster, and reminding myself that our voices matter more than we think they do. We’re talking social media, mental health, community, and the tiny acts of rebellion that make the world a little kinder. If you’re hearing...

This week I’m exhausted, fresh out of spoons, running behind and hanging on by a thread but I’m showing up even if I have to Weekend at Burnie’s this shit. We’re talking chronic illness, punk rock street preachers, and building a movement that outlives the founder. If you’re hearing this dispatch, send up a signal flare 🐦‍🔥 🔥 Use your voice, join the resistance, become an affiliate https://fash...

Some weeks you work your ass off, pour your heart into something you believe in, and all you hear back is crickets. This week we’re talking about what happens when your goals don’t go according to plan, why building something meaningful takes more patience than most of us want to admit, and how to keep showing up when the results aren’t showing up yet. If you’ve ever felt discouraged, overwhelmed,...

Dear Rebels, This week I have a confession. I’ve been trying way too hard to make this podcast sound professional when the entire operation is basically being run by three kobolds in a trench coat. So we’re doing things differently. We’re talking about getting beat up for being weird, my brief and disastrous attempt at becoming one of the cool kids, why there is absolutely no statistical reason I...

Dear Rebels, This week we’re remembering why the f*ck we started FRN in the first place. It’s time to get creative, take up space, and build something truly revolutionary: of the rebels, by the rebels, and for the rebels. This publication and this community exist because your voice matters, your creativity matters, you matter. And we all deserve a space where we feel seen, celebrated, and supporte...

Dear Rebels, This week we’re going all in with the fashion part of Fashion Rebel Nation. The actual clothes. The meat suit decorations. The weird little thrift store treasures and outfit combinations that make you feel the most like yourself. Somewhere along the line society got a little too comfortable telling people what they’re allowed to wear and how much space they’re permitted to take up in...

This week on Dear Rebels , I’m unpacking the chaos of putting together Issue 5 of Fashion Rebel Nation. We’re talking creative burnout, executive dysfunction, overthinking, aggressively millennial design choices, and what happens when you try to build an entire magazine in two weeks while chronically ill and fueled entirely by panic and stubbornness. Also: dumpster fire quizzes, sticker sheets, an...

This week we’re ripping back the curtain and talking shop about the community-powered part of this whole shindig. If you’ve ever wondered how all this sh*t actually works, this episode is for you. Because I know you’re back there, hovering over that “share your work / get published” button like… is an alarm going to go off? Are goblins about to pop out and demand a blood sacrifice? I promise you,...

Some weeks we plan. Some weeks we overthink. This week, we let it be messy. In this episode, Deedre gets real about perfectionism, creative burnout, and what it actually looks like to build something before it’s polished, funded, or “ready.” We’re talking messy progress, the “if you build it, they will come” mindset, and why creative freedom matters more than getting everything right. We also get...

Some weeks we’re surviving. Some weeks we’re dreaming bigger. This week on Dear Rebels, we’re doing both. Fashion Rebel Nation is a community-powered queer fashion and activism magazine built for the margins, by the margins. In this episode, Deedre answers a big question: what does FRN look like 20 years from now if everything goes right? We’re talking print magazines you can actually hold, buildi...

Dear Rebels, This week we’re remembering to take a deep breath when s**t hits the fan with this quote by Robert Brault, “Optimist: someone who figures that taking a step backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster, it’s more like a cha-cha.” Not everything has to get done today, and not every day is going to be unicorn farts and rainbows. But, we just take a deep breath, swear liberally...

Dear Rebels, This week kicking over a table and remembering who the f**k we are with this gem I found on Pinterest, “May you find the courage to disappoint people who expect you to stay small.” Sometimes you forget yourself for a hot second and try to shove yourself into ugly pants that don’t fit, and then you remember, wait a minute, I don’t even like these pants. I am, in fact, a meatsuit made o...

Dear Rebels, This week we’re digging in and staying tenacious with this quote from Theodore Roosevelt, “When you’re at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on.” It’s safe to assume at this point, that some fresh hell is waiting for us on the other side of every news report, but we’ve got each other and an insatiable desire to kick some ass. So today we tie that knot and keep on fighting for t...

Dear Rebels, This week we’re rolling with the punches and a quote I found in the Google search, “Sometimes the supply of available curse words is insufficient to meet my demands”. There are weeks where you look on the bright side, and weeks where you just want to drop kick something into a lake. And that’s ok. Let yourself feel your feelings, process that s**t, and then tomorrow, we get back out t...

Dear Rebels, This week we’re holding on to the moving words of Samwise Gamgee, “There’s some good in this world Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.” It feels like every single day we wake up to a new atrocity or human rights violation and sometimes the overwhelm of it all is crippling. But we are living proof that there is still good in the world, and rebels, each and every one of us is worth...

Dear Rebels, This week we’re running a little behind and snort laughing to this little truism from Douglas Adams, “Flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.” I know it sounds a little ridiculous, but after a week trapped on the sofa with Influenza B, there’s definitely some dark optimism hiding in that quote. Sometimes things seem really impossible and we just have to rememb...

Dear Rebels, This week we’re taking time to sit with the simple, yet profound words of Romero Britto, “Art is too important not to share.” In a world inundated by the capitalist grind, we often forget that what we create doesn’t need monetary value in order to be worthy of existence. Here at HQ, we are grateful for those vulnerable enough to share their art. * Check out our open calls for submissi...

Dear Rebels, This week will be short, sweet, and sitting next to the wise words of Michelle Obama, “Sometimes I give myself a break. So I will retreat a moment from the fray, just to breathe.” ✊ Join the rebellion: If you want to help us change the world, but you don’t know where to start, here are some concrete ways you can contribute to the rebellion: * Check out our open calls for submissions...

✊ Join the rebellion: If you want to help us change the world, but you don’t know where to start, here are some concrete ways you can contribute to the rebellion: Check out our open calls for submissions and share your work. Join us on Patreon and be part of the community discussion. Become an affiliate and get paid to share the magazine. Read the latest issue and leave a review. Reviews genuinel...

✊ Join the rebellion: If you want to help us change the world, but you don’t know where to start, here are some concrete ways you can contribute to the rebellion: * Check out our open calls for submissions and share your work. * Join us on Patreon and be part of the community discussion. * Become an affiliate and get paid to share the magazine. * Read the latest issue and leave a review. Reviews...

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fashionrebelnation.substack.com

Dear Rebels, It’s the start of a new week here at HQ and we’re leaning into the wise words of Gloria Steinmen, “Like art, revolutions come from combining what exists into what has never existed before.” We’re tired of the constant barrage of unprecedented events and human rights violations, but we’re also determined to lace up our glitter Chuck Taylors and make a damn difference. Let’s create some...

In this episode, we’re going back to the roots — literally. This is the origin story of Fashion Rebel Nation: a community-powered, crowd-funded movement built on joy as resistance, identity as rebellion, and the radical belief that every human deserves belonging. We dig into how corporations engineered our disconnection, why so many of us feel stuck or out of place, and what it means to build some...

This week, we’re talking about Operation Inflation — the inflatable costume protests that started in Portland and spread worldwide, proving that joy and absurdity are powerful forms of resistance. From frogs to unicorns, people are reclaiming protest through laughter, color, and community. Plus, behind-the-scenes updates on Fashion Rebel Nation: Issue 3, a peek at the upcoming Rebel Roots quiz, my...

This is Dear Rebels, your weekly update from the front lines of Fashion Rebel Nation. It’s been a week of highs and lows: birthdays, vet visits, and big dreams for the future of Fashion Rebel Nation. Join me for an honest check-in about what it takes to keep building a grassroots magazine one beautiful, rebellious brick at a time. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with ot...