Today we’d like to introduce you to Zoe Rita.
Hi Zoe, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
PLUR Kingdom was founded & established by me, King Zoe PLUR (Zoe Aries Rita)! This all started as a dream to bring back kandi*, artistry & music diversity to the rave scene in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We all start somewhere; my start was with a kandi & flow-focused, multi-genre house party on a cold December 1st night in 2018.
*Kandi is a beaded craft made & traded by ravers. Usually, it includes bracelets and necklaces, but can also include more intricate projects.
Originally going by the name PLURsburgh, I began hosting house parties at any house that the local ravers let me use (thanks for that by the way). On November 16th, 2019, I hosted my first rave at an official venue. Coming up with names for events is always something I’ve really enjoyed. I had to bring it in the new beginnings with a bang, so I deemed my first official rave: Clap Them Alien Cheeks. Remember the Area 51 raid memes going around? Yeah, it was a play on that. I figured the party people I wanted to bring out should be silly and fun – and it worked.
I sold over 300 tickets and packed a rundown venue with inadequate heating & 1.5 working bathrooms. Ravers danced & traded kandi on 2 stages, playing every genre from jungle, dubstep, hardcore, drum and bass, house to trance. People who hadn’t gone to a rave in almost a decade were gathered by the kandi Korner* & video games, socializing with the new generation of ravers. The PLUR dreams were alive that night, and I knew I couldn’t stop there.
*The kandi korner is what I named the kandi-making station I provide at all my events
I began hosting annual raves, including LUB-DUB: The Sound of Love & PLUR Kingdom Pride Picnic (originally PLURsburgh Pride Picnic). After hosting the first LUB-DUB, I had received offers and opportunities from some of the talent booked who came from California. Spoiler alert: those things would never end up happening due to the pandemic.
Either way, I wanted to change my name to make it more inclusive to other areas other than just Pittsburgh, and I wanted to make it something more meaningful to me. Through brainstorming, I realized, “Hey, my rave name is already KingPLUR. Why not just call my promotion company PLUR Kingdom?”
So that’s what I did! Even after the transcontinental plans fell through, I was really glad to make the change. I love Pittsburgh, and I love representing talent from where I grew up. But I also put together events to create a dreamlike state, a ravers fantasy. The name PLUR Kingdom fully encompasses the feeling I want my parties to give off.
Then, we were all left in our homes for almost 2 years & just like everyone else – I was making a ton of art. I used to sell my art when I was younger just because I made so much of it. I thought maybe I can sell art at raves make some extra money to put towards the events. I’ll be going out to events to promote or to party anyways, so why not make money while doing what I love!
The name KingsNewCraft comes from one of my favorite storybooks when I was a kid. It’s called Emperor’s New Clothes (no – not Emperor’s New Groove, but that’s also a piece of nostalgia from my childhood that I also really love appreciate). I wanted something that was obviously tied to PLUR Kingdom & I didn’t want to just go by King Zoe PLUR or Zoe Aries Rita; I knew I wanted my art to be a separate thing. When I talk about the things I’m doing – I like to say, “This is for PLUR Kingdom, this is for KingsNewCraft ” & people just know I mean “Raves & Art”.
I wanted most of my artworks to be made with upcycled materials in order to be as sustainable as an art business that’s just starting up can be. I decided early on that even my online orders would be shipped using upcycled packing. All of the bubble wrap I use is from packages I have received, boxes are upcycled from local stores, & the confetti in my boxes is made from gift-wrapping materials that I shredded up – just to add a little fancy touch!
Selling art started very similar to how I started hosting events; it all starts at the house party.
I noticed people would always show up to afterparties, raves, house parties, wherever there was music & drunk people – and they would just pull out some of their art and sell it with no problems. AT the beginning, all I had was some inventory of earrings and pendants.
One night for a house party at my friend’s place, I put them in little bags and pinned them to a bulletin board to bring out. I sold at least 3 pieces that night! I was shocked that it really worked! From there, I would bring some inventory to festivals to sell unofficially at my campsite. The first event I officially sold art at was a local festival called Family Campout (2021), and after that, I vended at the first-ever Fall Daze (2021), which was also the first Festival that I Co-Hosted!
Currently, I host Fall Daze with Diversity Productions every year, and we just added Metamind Artistry to the team of Hosts for Fall Daze 2023. My inventory has also expanded a lot over the years. Currently, I sell a wide variety of crafts, including but not limited to: jewelry, upcycled pins, paintings, key chains, hand-painted rocks, hand-sewn bags & wire-wrapped bubble wands.
I love selling art at festivals, but I think that’s just because that’s where I mainly sold art to begin with. I’m finally getting more used to selling art at shorter events like raves & craft shows. It’s been a couple years of selling art & now I do this full-time! I’m so thankful to be living this life; I couldn’t do it without supporters like you 🙂
Thank you so much for existing and for reading my story 🙂
Online shop: https://www.kingzoeplur.com
Instagram: kingsnewcraft Facebook: kingsnewcraft
Instagram: plurkingdompromo Facebook: plurkingdompromo
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The most interesting part of the journey is coping with the issues that arise along the way & most of the struggles I’ve encountered were completely different than I expected. I’ve learned to listen to the advice of those in the industry around you, especially if you can tell it’s coming from a place of love & support. There are surely a few things I can think of that I was told early on in my career that I wish I would have taken more seriously.
Networking with the right people and getting yourself out there is so important, and I feel like a struggle I have faced was surrounding myself with the wrong people or not believing in myself and ending up missing a great opportunity. Making money isn’t always the goal – you never know when you’ll meet a future customer or find someone to collaborate with; always keep your mind open to new opportunities.
Something that has helped me improve over the years reflecting on past events I’ve vended or hosted. Seeing where I could have done better & how I could have achieved that in the circumstances I was given and even in harder circumstances is important to helping me succeed and grow.
Don’t let people tell you you’re too young to achieve greatness. Early on in my journey, I either let the comments and negativity from older folks around me get to me, or I allowed older folks in the industry to take advantage of the ideas I had & looking back, it was all because of my mindset. I just assumed I didn’t know what I was doing & that I needed all this help to succeed & achieve my goals. It’s an easy trap to fall into; Any other 18–19-year-old wouldn’t know how to effectively manage promotional team, 12 DJs, lighting guy, sound guy, art vendors, venue, stage crew, security, & a crowd of 50-250 people; all while making sure everyone stays safe & everyone who needs to get paid, gets paid.
That’s the thing about passion – it’s crucial to creativity & there’s no age requirements on passion.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
On the event planning and party end of things, I specialize in promoting musical talent under the hard dance genre of electronic dance music. I have also hosted punk and folk-rock bands at festivals that I’ve been involved in. Something that really sets me apart from other rave promoters in my area is that I bring a free kandi-making station that I call the kandi korner to all of the events I host. The beads are my personal collection & part of the reason I started hosting parties was to bring back kandi in my area so that I had more people to trade with! I even make tutorials on how to make kandi & videos documenting my events on YouTube under the name KingPLUR. I’ve always been interested in music, specifically harder genres of dance music and rock. Everything just fell together so perfectly when I started hosting raves and music festivals.
On the art end of things, I specialize in crafting upcycled artworks because I enjoy giving things a second life while also incorporating sustainability in my daily activities. I’m always making new artworks, so anything I can do to make the process more Eco-conscious is put into effect once I figure out something new. Vending events in person is one of my favorite things about my career as an artist. Meeting new people making jokes and memories is part of the fun for me!
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Passion, keeping an open mind & the desire to turn a negative mindset into a creative one.
Pricing:
- Pins- $5 each
- Paintings- $10-$50
- Earrings- $10
- Bubble Wands- $10
- Rave- $10-$20
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kingzoeplur.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kingsnewcraft
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/plurkingdompromo
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/kingplur
- Other: https://instagram.com/plurkingdompromo
Image Credits
Pockets photography
