Make the thing
Irony Stinks, burned CDs, Flagstaff open mics, and a belief that artists did not need permission to publish.
The archive · 2005–2025
It started with a
stapled poetry chapbook.
In 2005, Aaron Johnson made Irony Stinks (My Life is Irony), paired it with a hand-burned spoken-word CD, and sold copies around Flagstaff—including at the Applesauce Teahouse, where he hosted a Monday open mic.
That handmade experiment grew into Lawn Gnome Publishing: a zine shop, small press, bookstore, coffeehouse, stage, and stubbornly independent home for Arizona artists.
How a zine became a place
Four chapters. Twenty years.
Build a shelf
A zine shop inside Firehouse Gallery turned a bedroom publishing project into a physical home for independent work.
Open the door
A successful Kickstarter helped open the first dedicated bookstore at 905 N. 5th Street in Roosevelt Row.
Open the archive
After bookstores, pop-ups, multiple homes, thousands of events, and a final Roosevelt Row chapter, preservation became the next mission.
More than retail
A bookstore was only one room in the house.
Lawn Gnome sold books, published writers, served coffee, hosted poetry slams, storytelling, comedy, music, workshops, open mics, festivals, and strange experiments that did not fit anywhere else.
01
The Houses
Firehouse Gallery, 905 N. 5th Street, Central and Camelback, the homeless years, and the return to 912 N. 5th Street.
Visit the locations →02
The Archive
Search preserved events, public posts, photographs, old site artifacts, books, flyers, and recovered digital history.
Browse the boxes →03
The Press Record
Contemporary reporting traces the project from its DIY roots through Roosevelt Row, community events, closures, and returns.
Read the coverage →The archive is already alive
History you can actually browse.
The first public-safe import contains 933 public posts, 318 event records, and 180 web-ready archive images. More books, flyers, houses, memories, and ancient website backups can be added without rebuilding the foundation.
Search preserved events →The Lawn Gnome spirit
Make things. Share space. Stay weird.
This site preserves a twenty-year experiment in books, poetry, DIY culture, music, coffee, performance, free expression, and community.
Read the Philosophy