April's Best

The April issue of Martha Stewart Living will soon be arriving in subscriber mailboxes and appearing on newsstands. The April issue will be the company's first 'Best' issue, with a 32-page spread on the best in food, crafting, gardening and decorating, including a look at some of the year's best tastemakers with many of the magazine's favourite sources revealed!

My copy arrived this morning and it is a truly lovely specimen! Like last year's December issue, the 'Best' issue comes with three covers, one tucked behind the other. This is a nice treat. Gael Towey explains in her editor's letter that each one represents something that is very "Martha" and that is certainly true.

The issue feels so fresh to me, not just in terms of its focus on celebrating the best of everything domestic, but also because of its design and content. The pictures feel prettier. The font feels edgier. The layout and composition feel more modern. It's difficult to put one's finger on some of these subtle and quiet changes, but the effect is truly felt by the reader. Below are some 'tear sheets' from this best of April issue. (It may be the best issue of the year for MSL! But you'll have to wait until December before I make my final ruling.)

There are plenty of egg crafts in this issue, with very detailed and simplified instructions contained in a workbook. There is also a lovely look at a shade garden as it evolves from season to season.This incredible quilled-paper splash page to introduce the well of the magazine is frame-worthy. Designed and handmade by Yulia Brodskaya, it is a testament to the standards this magazine upholds.

I am already in love with this article on pressed leaves. I love how these crecopia leaves are overlapped and how they carry through, from frame to frame. The effect resembles cropped and framed vintage wallpaper and yet the leaves are very real.