Play Nice Press

Play Nice Press is the kind of creative partnership that could only have bloomed in a city as DIY‑spirited as Dallas. Run by illustrator/print‑maker Jacob Vasquez and music‑industry‑maven‑turned‑maker Allison Belcher, the independent studio operates a pair of vintage Risograph duplicators that churn out eye‑popping zines, art books, and small‑run prints in fluorescent pinks, electric kelly‑greens, and every layer‑on‑layer experiment in between. 

Jacob and Allison launched the press in 2020—right in the middle of the pandemic—as a way to keep collaborating with friends when gallery shows went dark. What started as a kitchen‑table side hustle quickly became a community hub for North Texas artists who still craved the tactile thrill of ink, paper, and mis‑registered serendipity. 

True to its name, Play Nice welcomes illustrators, designers, zinesters, and first‑time tinkerers with the same open‑arms ethos. Jacob brings a decade of spot‑color know‑how (screen printing background included) and a fondness for off‑beat manga, JRPG nostalgia, and comic‑book splash pages—motifs that surface in signature prints like Crystal Fantasy and Stomp Stomp. Allison—when she’s not advocating for musicians by day—handles the press’s publishing arm, tufting rugs and embroidering prototypes that bleed her love of texture into the studio’s multi‑disciplinary collaborations. 

Beyond their own titles (Soft Spells, Looping Goodbye, and the cult‑favorite Yerba World) the duo regularly prints limited‑edition projects for emerging creatives across the U.S., ships worldwide, and speaks on riso panels like Riso‑Rama and festivals such as Paper Trail SA. 

In short, Play Nice Press is less a print shop and more a neon‑ink playground where happy accidents are celebrated, every color pass tells a story, and community is built one squeaky drum‑rotation at a time—perfectly aligning with We Are 1976’s love for bold, imaginative, artist‑driven work.