A Decade of Augusts

When Martha Stewart Living became a monthly magazine in 2001, the publication began offering two new seasonal issues: a January issue and an August issue. Prior to 2001, MSL published ten times a year, sandwiching July and August into one summer issue and December and January into one holiday issue.

The monthly appearance of the magazine in mailboxes and on newsstands kept the magazine vital all year round and gave the editors a chance to broaden their focus by giving them two more issues in which to discuss seasonal lifestyle topics: new projects, new ideas and new Good Things.

As I've stated here before, the August issue ranks as my favourite among the three summer issues, though not my favourite of the entire year, which is usually reserved for one of the fall/winter issues. I read less during the summer so it takes a great issue to really grab my attention. Historically, that has been the August issue of Martha Stewart Living.

There is often an element of the sea in the August issue (pressed seaweed, found sea glass, sea shell crafts, a dockside picnic) and usually a focus on delicious summer desserts, like fruit-filled pies and no-bake treats. The bounty celebrated in the issue almost always gives me incentive to take stock of the overflowing produce at the market and compels me to enjoy all that 'High Summer' has to offer before she slips away.

Below is a roster of the ten August issues Martha Stewart Living has so far published. Each one is a treasure! Any particular favourites?

2001 and 2002

2003 and 2004

2005 and 2006

2007 and 2008

2009 and 2010

Martha Stewart Living Thailand

As some of you may have read, Martha Stewart Living is expanding its readership to international audiences. One of the most recent forays is in Thailand. The magazine now publishes there, monthly, with a circulation of 20,000. It is issued by The Post Publishing Company. Below are images of each of the issues that have so far been published in Thailand. Martha Stewart Living now publishes in several countries around the world in languages other than English: Poland, Mexico, the Philippines and Brazil among them. Martha also published magazines in Japan and Israel but those ventures did not succeed.

The October issue is Volume 1, Issue 0. It was released on newsstands in Thailand last September to get readers excited about the magazine. The November issue is considered to be the first subscriber issue, as noted on the cover: Volume 1, Issue 1.

The cover for the March issue is one not yet seen by North American subscribers!

This is the latest, the April issue.

January Genesis

There hasn't always been a January issue of Martha Stewart Living, as many of you know. Prior to 2001, this coldest of cold months was sandwiched, unceremoniously, with the December issue, incorporating various winter themes into one, big, shiny holiday issue. I am very thankful, these days, to have a January issue, separate from the holiday issue since it allows for the exploration and celebration of winter activities, themes and projects that are not connected to holiday fare.

For those of us who collect every issue of the magazine, various January themes have become evident over the years: breads, beds and closets among them. The January issue of Martha Stewart Living began in 2001 with an anniversary issue, celebrating 10 years of Martha Stewart Living content. The following year, the January content became more evident and focused. The first few years of its appearance on newsstands, the issue paid homage to celebrations with articles on anniversary traditions, birthday cakes and card-making.

There have been ten January issues of Martha Stewart Living, two of them anniversary issues. Next year's issue will be the 20th anniversary issue!

I also began noticing a trend towards the subtropical with articles on entertaining or gardening in California or Florida, visits to pineapple farms, desserts made of tropical fruits or articles on caring for tropical plants. This was likely an editorial decision to not only incorporate a sense of American regionalism but also to provide a sense of escape for the bulk of Martha Stewart's readers, who are mostly based in the frigid northeast and midwest. (The cooking articles also played up the availability of seasonal produce, much of it from the southern states, something I've always deeply admired about the magazine's food editorials.)

Gradually, the January issue became more about 'the comforts of home' with a focus on clutter-clearing and cleansing, healthy eating and organizing: a clean-slate approach to living. Closet or storage organization is a staple feature of the January issue now (pantries, etc.) as are articles on bedrooms, whether it's making or collecting quilts or redecorating and updating your nest for a cozier night's sleep.

I've always loved the January issue of Martha Stewart Living. It's slim and clean and so refreshing after the baroque December issue with its rich recipes and glamorous crafts.

There are two January issues that are 'must-haves' for collectors: the 10th anniversary issue (2001) and the 15th anniversary issue (2006.) Anniversary issues of any magazine tend to be more collectible. The 10th anniversary issue has a wonderful retrospective of the previous ten years of the publication with Martha Stewart Living trivia and history. The 15th anniversary is less of a retrospective, but does have a compilation of 15 years of Good Things, the best seasonal cakes and a great article on scrapbooking. Both are available as back issues through Martha Stewart Living or on eBay.

The Decade In Review: 2000 - 2009

How does one even begin to describe the last decade in Martha Stewart’s life? I don’t think it’s outrageous of me to call it a turbulent one. Looking back over the last ten years of Martha’s evolution, it really is remarkable how much she and her company endured and accomplished. As we usher in the New Year, I felt it was fitting to glance back at the last ten years of drama, upheaval, change and triumph in Martha’s world.

TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS:

Obviously, the event of most glaring importance over the last ten years in Martha’s world was her indictment, trial and subsequent prison time. It caused such a massive outpouring of emotion and debate among every journalist, commentator, biographer and pop-culture hound in America – and beyond!

Between 2003 and 2005, it was impossible to avoid the name “Martha Stewart.” Every television channel, every tabloid, every news magazine was flashing her name and face with a furor not seen since the OJ Simpson trial. Her alleged crime: lying to federal investigators about an ill-timed, personal stock sale of ImClone worth $45,000, which she allegedly conspired to cover up with her stock broker, Peter Bacanovic. (Note that “insider trading” appears nowhere in the indictment!)


One phone call to her stockbroker in 2001 eventually cost Martha over a billion dollars in personal wealth (lost stock value in her own company, legal fees and lost company revenue due to the scandal) as well as her personal freedom. No one would have guessed in 1999, when Martha became a self-made billionaire by taking her eponymous company public, that just five years later she would be sitting in a prison cell in West Virginia. It was a horrible time.

In the few years of the decade prior to her indictment, things at MSLO were going beautifully. The magazine was boasting its best subscription rates ever with incredible newsstand sales and the stock value was steadily above $20 a share. The TV show was still a big hit, winning numerous Emmy Awards each year. Merchandising deals were proving to be lucrative and the company had begun to expand overseas with new ventures in Japan. In publishing, the company had developed several new special issue publications, including one called Baby and one called Kids. A new digest cooking magazine called Everyday Food was also launched in 2003. The company had all the appearances of a prosperous and thriving media business.

But all of that changed in the wake of Martha’s trial: the television show was cancelled, dozens of employees lost their jobs, the magazine suffered from a loss of ad revenue and poor newsstand sales. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia looked more like a sinking ship than a thriving company. To counteract some of the negativity, Martha launched a new website called MarthaTalks.com. On the site, she could post favourable articles about her case while also rallying her fans to write letters of support. Fans, it seems, didn’t need much urging. A new site called SaveMartha.com emerged. Founded by New Yorker John Small, it quickly became a national hit, with millions of people buying “Save Martha” t-shirts, mugs and baseball caps. (I wrote for the site for several years, in partnership with John, shown below. It was a blast to be a part of it!)




But the trouble for Martha and her company did not just exist in the media. Internally, too, the company was fraught with change and difficulty. Several corporate lawsuits emerged in the wake of Martha’s charges (as well as a civil suit against Martha by the SEC) and nothing at Omnimedia, it seemed, was without legal scrutiny. Corporate restructuring was necessary after Martha stepped down as Chairman and CEO of her company. Sharon Patrick, who was then president of the company, took over the CEO role while Jeffrey Ubben assumed the role of chairman while Martha was in prison.

Before Martha was released, however, Sharon Patrick resigned amid rumours that she had become something of a black sheep at the company, taking it in a direction that was not in line with the values and needs of the shareholders, employees and its founder, Martha Stewart. Patrick was replaced by the amazing Susan Lyne, founder of Premiere magazine and a former programming director at ABC. (She resigned in 2008 and was replaced by co-CEOs Wenda Harris-Millard and Robin Marino. Harris-Millard stepped down in 2009.)



Jeffrey Ubben, too, departed swiftly from the chairman’s seat. He was replaced by Charles Koppelman, formerly the CEO of EMI music. Also brought on board to help resurrect the television department at Martha Stewart Living was producer extraordinaire Mark Burnett, producer of Survivor and The Apprentice.

With the new partners securely in the driver’s seat, Martha was poised for a successful return to business after her house arrest expired in September, 2005.

BROADCASTING:

First on offer were two new television programs. One was a talk show taped live in front of a studio audience in a new studio in the Chelsea district of Manhattan. The other was a reality TV series, a spinoff of Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice.” Both programs got off to a rocky start with mixed reviews from audiences and critics. “The Apprentice: Martha Stewart” fared worst of all. It was met with disastrous ratings and television executives were not even sure it would last the season. The Martha Stewart Show, on the other hand, climbed steadily in the ratings and has been renewed five years in a row.




The talk show played two important roles in Martha’s post-prison comeback: to get her back in the public eye in a way that was flattering and disconnected from her trial and to portray her as someone likeable and interactive, someone hands-on who could also make the occasional mistake and laugh about it with her guests in front of an audience of her fans. On both counts it was successful.

Many of Martha’s long-time television watchers expressed concern about the quality of the programming in the beginning. They missed the instructive tone of the Martha Stewart Living television show and were not entirely comfortable with the new, live format. The hurried pace of some of the segments and the bevy of celebrity guests proved unpalatable for some viewers. Still, Martha gained new viewers with the new format and the loyal core of her supporters would watch Martha no matter what format she appeared in. People could also now listen to Martha, all day long, on the company’s new Sirius Satellite Radio station, Martha Stewart Living Radio. With original lifestyle programming and a chance to speak one-on-one with Martha several times a week, it proved to be a huge success.

PUBLISHING:

On the publishing front, Martha released her first memoir of sorts in her post-prison afterglow. The Martha Rules, released just a month after her release from jail, was a book that outlined a pattern for entrepreneurial success, according to Martha. A new kind of ‘how-to’ book, it attempted to teach passionate people with an idea for a product or a business how to realize the dream. Following closely on its heels was The Martha Stewart Baking Handbook, a large tome on baking filled with beautiful photography and excellent recipes, reminding everyone why we turn to Martha first.

The company also developed a new, glossy magazine for younger readers called Blueprint. Issued twice in 2006 and then bi-monthly in 2007, it promised Martha Stewart content with a younger edge: decorating, cooking and gardening components were all there, as were fashion and beauty articles. Sadly, the magazine did not last and it published its final issue in February, 2008.



The company also acquired Body + Soul magazine in the spring of 2005. Implementing a full redesign of the health and lifestyle magazine, the company expanded its mandate to include healthy and happy living, gaining a new audience in the process. The company’s flagship, Martha Stewart Living, saw several redesigns during the last decade as part of its continuing evolution and it remains the company’s most popular offering. Supporting publications, such as Martha Stewart Weddings and Everyday Food continue to be highly successful.

RETAIL:

On the retail front, Martha’s biggest new launch was the Martha Stewart Collection at Macy’s. With over 2000 new products bearing her name, it marked a significant stride forward into merchandising for the company, even as her lucrative, 23-year deal with Kmart expires in 2010. After her direct-commerce catalog, Martha By Mail, folded in 2004, Martha was keen to bring her company’s unique housewares back to market. The Macy’s line answered much of the demand but Martha also developed several new furniture lines with Bernhardt furniture makers, new house-plans and housing developments with KB Homes, new lines of rugs and carpets, lighting, and a hugely-successful new line of craft products (Martha Stewart Crafts) available at Michael’s and Walmart.



For its successes and failures, triumphs and losses, I will definitely have to qualify the first decade of the new millennium in Martha’s life as the most crucial. What I think it all proves is that Martha can really survive just about anything. It also proves that optimism, persistence, drive and sheer will can get a person through the darkest of times. Martha’s openness to change, too, has been instrumental to her lasting success. Her post-prison motto sums it up nicely: “When you’re through changing, you’re through.”

Below are various lists of the happenings in Martha’s world between 2000 and 2009:

COMINGS AND GOINGS AT MSLO, 2000 - 2009:

·Editors-in-Chief of Martha Stewart Living:
Stephen Drucker (1997 – 2001), Douglas Brenner (2001 – 2002), Margaret Roach (2002 – 2007), Michael Boodro (2007 – 2009), Gael Towey (2009)

·New Magazines:
Martha Stewart Baby (2000 – 2002), Martha Stewart Holiday (2000 - present), Martha Stewart Kids (2001 – 2006); Everyday Food (2003 – present); Good Things (2004 – 2008), Blueprint (2006 – 2008)

·Chief Executive Officers:
Sharon Patrick (stepped down in 2005); Susan Lyne (2005 – 2008); Wenda Harris Millard (2008 – 2009); Robin Marino (2008 to present)

·Chairmen:
Martha Stewart (stepped down in 2004), Jeffrey Ubben (2004 – 2005), Charles Koppelman (2005 to present)

·Martha Stewart Television:
Martha Stewart Living TV show (cancelled in 2004); The Martha Stewart Show (debuted September, 2005); Martha Stewart Apprentice (debuted October, 2005, and was not renewed for a second season); Petkeeping with Marc Morrone (2003 – 2006); Everyday Food (debuted on PBS in 2005); Everyday Baking with John Barricelli (debuted 2009)

·Merchandising Deals:
Over the last decade, Martha launched new product lines with the following retailers: Macy’s, Michael’s craft stores, Bernhardt, KB Homes, Flor, Safavieh, Murray Feiss, Wedgwood, Waterford, Lowe’s, Walmart, Home Depot, Kirkland, 1-800-Flowers, Grandin Road, Kitchenaid, SVP Worldwide, QVC, Warner Bros. Home Video, Emeril Legasse (MSLO acquired the rights to his business assets in 2008.)

MARTHA STEWART BOOKS, 2000 – 2009:

Martha Stewart's Dinner at Home
Published October 13, 2009

Martha Stewart's Cupcakes
Published June 2, 2009

Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts
Published March 31, 2009

Martha Stewart's Cooking School
Published October 21, 2008


Martha Stewart’s Cookies
Published March, 2008

Martha Stewart’s Wedding Cakes
Published December, 2007

Martha Stewart Living Cookbook New Classics
Published October, 2007

The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook Original Classics
Published September, 2007

Everyday Food Cookbook
Published May, 2007

Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook
Published October 31, 2006

Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook
Published November 1, 2005

The Martha Rules
Published October 11, 2005

Martha Stewart Living Recipes 2005
Published November 2004

Simple Home Solutions
Published July 6, 2004

Martha Stewart Living Recipes 2004
Published November 18, 2003

The Christmas Cookbookwith Martha Stewart Living
Published September 30, 2003

Martha Stewart's Keepsake Wedding Planner
Published August 26, 2003


Good Things for Easy Entertaining
Published March 25, 2003

Martha Stewart Living Recipes 2003
Published November 28, 2002

What to Have for Dinner
Published October 8, 2002

Classic Crafts and Recipes Inspired by the Songs of Christmas
Published August 27, 2002

Good Things from Tag Sales and Flea Markets
Published May 21, 2002

Decorating with Color
Published March 5, 2002

Martha Stewart Living Recipes 2002
Published November 12, 2001

Gardening 101
Published October 1, 2001

Handmade Christmas
Published September 25, 2001

Classic Crafts and Recipes for the Holidays
Published September 11, 2001

Halloween
Published August 28, 2001

Good Things
Published July 27, 2001

Favorite Comfort Food
Published July 27, 2001

The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook
Published October 10, 2000

Parties and Projects for the Holidays
Published September 12, 2000


BOOKS WRITTEN ABOUT MARTHA:

Martha Inc. The Incredible Story of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc.
By Christopher Byron

Being Martha
By Lloyd Allen

Martha: On Trial, In Jail and On a Comeback
By Robert Slater

Martha Stewart’s Legal Troubles
By Joan MacLeod Hemmingway

Resilience: Living in Prison with Martha Stewart
By Rhonda Turpin

ON THE WEB:

·Martha by Mail – The Catalog for Living shuts down, spring 2004.
·MarthaTalks.com is launched in 2004. It shut down in 2005.
·MarthaStewart.com is redesigned and relaunched in 2006. (Numerous blogs are formed, including the Crafts Department, Dinner Tonight, The Bride’s Guide, etc.)

REAL ESTATE:

·Martha purchases her 153-acre farm in Westchester County, New York, in 2000 for $25-million. Extensive renovations begin with architect Allan Greenberg.

·Martha sells her Gordon Bunshaft-designed home in the Hamptons for $9-million in 2005. It is later torn down by the new owner, Donald Maharam.

·Martha sells her Richard Meier penthouse on Perry Street for $8-million in 2005. (She never actually moved in.)

·Martha purchases a Richard Meier penthouse for $16-million in 2006 but gives it to her daughter, Alexis. (Alexis is currently moving in.)

·Martha sells her beloved Turkey Hill estate in Connecticut for $8-million in 2007.

Martha Stewart Living: My Annual Review

Another year, another twelve issues of Martha Stewart Living magazine sent and delivered to millions of addresses across North America. I have all of mine neatly stored in their matching white magazine holders, spanning the lower row of my bank of book shelves. (Will I have room for another fifteen years worth? Eeek!)

As regular readers of this blog know, I've been doing an annual roundup of the year's MSL magazines since I started the site. I make some observations about any changes in the magazine, note some points of interest and also rank the year's best and the year's worst issue. A reader left a comment last week about this; she was wondering if I liked all the issues, since I so rarely seem to criticize any of them on the blog. All I can say is that MSL is clearly my favourite magazine and that I am appreciative of and grateful for every single issue that arrives in my mailbox. That said, there are definitely issues that I love more than others. I do pick favourites. I do spend more time with some. I am discriminating.

So, without further adieu, let's have a look at the year that was at Martha Stewart Living.

A grouping of the year's covers reveals a lovely spectrum of bright colours and beautiful images: lots of warm tones and interesting compositions on the 2009 covers. Martha took the cover three times this year (January, September and December), which has been the standard over the last three years.

OBSERVATIONS:

This year was a fairly big year for Martha Stewart Living magazine. The publication brought numerous new features to the fold while maintaining its consistent presentation of ideas for cooking, crafting, decorating, gardening and entertaining. The photography remains the centerpiece of the magazine and is likely the main draw for most of its readers. Acting as the vehicle that carries the editorial ideas and concepts to spectacular realization, Martha Stewart Living's award-winning photography remains unparalleled in the lifestyle magazine industry, in my opinion. It is, hands down, the best.

NEW CONTENT: There were several new additions to the content of Martha Stewart Living in the April issue, as well as an overhaul of regular columns and the reintroduction of old ones. Martha's Calendar returned to the pages with this issue, one that had been sadly missed by so many readers after it vanished in 2003. (I had never read the calendar, to be honest, and still don't to this day. Maybe I'm just too overwhelmed by my own schedule to bother reading someone else's!)

The Gentle Reminders column, as well as Dessert of the Month and Object Lesson all got the axe in this issue.

The new columns were made to help incorporate some of the content that was lost when Blueprint folded the year before, primarily content focused on the recommendation of commercial items, such as beauty products, books, furniture, fashion and accessories. The content was divided into three new sections: The Briefing, The Apothecary and a section on Fashion.

The Briefing promotes various objects of desire, from decorative home accessories to books, new computer software and gadgets to brand-name gardening clogs. It also offers interesting tidbits of information, such as ways to use lemon as a cleaning agent and air freshener, while also promoting gallery exhibitions. The Apothecary is exactly what you think it is: the promotion of beauty and hygene products for women, from perfume to make-up to toothpaste. Both of these columns are still ongoing and have been met with enthusiastic reader response.

The Fashion section, however, only ran for six issues and stopped with the printing of the September issue. Its primary focus was on a particular fashion theme or 'must-have.' The first issue was about mid-length trench coats while subsequent issues focused on scarves or on regional style elements. I enjoyed the column but I have to admit that I don't actually miss it. It only dawned on me recently that it hadn't appeared in the last four issues.

The April issue also heralded a new periodical column by Martha Stewart called Travels With Martha. So far, the April issue has held the only example of this column, although it is likely to reappear in subsequent issues. It was not set up as a regular column. Also in the April issue, the "Cookie of the Month" column on the last page of the magazine was renamed "The Last Course." This was quickly changed to Save Room For in the May issue.

September saw the debut of Kevin Sharkey's new column, Home Design. The column will ostensibly follow the renovation and decoration of his new Manhattan apartment. So far, the column has made two appearances in the magazine. A much more immediate version of the column is available on his blog by the same name at marthastewart.com. Kevin frequently updates it with new treasures and discoveries. I read it regularly!

Also in September, a new column on Historic Homes made its debut. (The Martha Stewart Show will also be featuring the chosen historic home on its programming.) The houses that have been chosen so far have been spectacular examples.

HEAVY ON CRAFTS: Each year, I find there is a predominant core-content area that gets the most focus in the twelve issues of Martha Stewart Living. Some years it is very clearly food that takes center stage on the pages month after month. Other years it is decorating. This year, 2009, I found that crafts played the most significant role in the pages of the magazine. Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts was released in the spring, and it just seemed to take off from there.

The April issue saw page after page of whimsical, inventive and truly remarkable Easter crafts - some that will no doubt go down in the company's history as being among the best ever conceived. This craft theme continued as the months went on. A lovely article on sea-print crafts for fabric and paper made a strong case for staying indoors and crafting in the summer months. July saw Independence Day decoration crafts and August was all about beading necklaces. Naturally, the October and December issues were loaded with craft ideas for Halloween, Hanukkah and Christmas - too many to mention here, really.

I have to say that I was so impressed by the way the magazine incorporated the magazine content into the web content. It was a lovely marriage this year. The website was beautifully linked to the magazine's ideas with free, downloadable lists and templates, clip-art and instructions. It was truly beautifully handled this year, clearly and effectively cross-promoted in both web and print platforms. It was synergy at its finest!

NOTABLE DEPARTURES:

Just a year after signing on as co-CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (a position she shared with Robin Marino) Wenda Harris-Millard left the company on somewhat tricky terms. She had been hired, along with Marino, to fill the CEO role after Susan Lyne's departure in 2008. There were rumours that Harris-Millard, as president of media, did not see eye to eye with Martha, nor with Marino, who is president of merchandising. Harris left MSLO in April to head up Media Link. Robin Marino is now the CEO of the company, with a focus on merchandising.


Another key departure in 2009 was Michael Boodro, who was the editor-in-chief of Martha Stewart Living between September, 2007, and March, 2009. Speculation is that he was fired from his role, although it was announced that he had 'stepped down' from the position. Stepping in to take his place temporarily was Gael Towey, chief creative director for the company. It was announced just last week that Vanessa Holden, who had worked for Martha Stewart Weddings, will be the new editor-in-chief of Living.

SPECIAL ISSUES:

In years past, the average number of supplemental special issues that Martha Stewart Living releases on newsstands is six. This year, with the economy in the state that it is, we only saw two special issue magazines from the publisher. The first was released in September and was devoted to the subject of Halloween. This is the fourth special issue by Martha Stewart Living focused on All Hallows Eve but is the first one to actually be titled "Halloween." The second special issue was a special "Holiday" issue - the eleventh of its kind. Both are beautiful examples of advertisement-free publications of previously-published content, featuring ideas on a similar topic gathered together and printed under a new title with a beautiful new cover. If you are not a regular collector of the montly magazine, these are great supplements to collect. (If you're a collector, like me, you simply must have them all!)


Gone this year are the Good Things digests, which had a steady run between 2006 and 2008. They were small magazines, in the style of Everyday Food, devoted to crafts for kids or kitchen techniques or decorating DIY ideas, organizing and homekeeping. I enjoyed most of them, but they were not my favourites and I did not collect them. What I sincerely missed this year was another edition of the Outdoor Living publication that debuted in 2007. Only two issues have published so far and I am hoping for a third in 2010.


THE BEST AND THE WORST:

As I've stated here before, it is so hard for me to pick the best and the worst issues of Martha Stewart Living. What I should technically be calling it is the worst of the best, since I do think each issue has its virtues. As mentioned above, I am happy for any and all issues that arrive in my mailbox.

But, I am a purist and I know what I like and dislike. I know when a magazine holds my attention and when it does not. And most of the time I know why. (I am fully conscious of my expectations and disappointments.) So, here we have it:

THE BEST: APRIL I simply could not stop reading this issue when it first arrived. It has a definite edge over all the other issues in that it played host to all sorts of new content and fresh ideas, which is what keeps me motivated as a reader. I loved the new content. I loved (and still love) the Briefing. I generally read it first before reading anything else, even Martha's column. My favourite article of the year was also in this issue: the redecoration of Susan Lyne's apartment in Manhattan by Kevin Sharkey. What a fabulous place!

Along with the introduction of the new content there was a revitalization of design and page layout that felt so fresh and vibrant to me, as a reader. It was exciting to turn the pages. Above are examples of the page layouts for these new columns. (Even the "Good Things" section of the magazine got a makeover with a new layout.)

Above and below are examples of the layout for the Briefing column, which touts the latest in books, gadgets, exhibits, tools and homekeeping tips.The Apothecary pages, below, are not really something a male reader, such as myself, tends to linger on. Having said that, I feel the introduction of this column really does round out the "Living" concept nicely, extending the lifestyle genre to also include beauty and hygene. (It also likely means some added product-placement revenue for the magazine. Let's not kid ourselves.)The Fashion section of the magazine was something I did tend to read when it first appeared in the April issue. It lasted only six issues before it was cut. I thought it was a nice addition. It felt Blueprinty to me, which is a good thing.

The Good Things section, shown above, got a nice facelift with a fresh, new layout, bigger, brighter photos and lots of great links to the website for templates, clip-art and instructions.The Easter ideas in this issue were truly extraordinary. I bought a second copy of the April issue simply to cut out the pages shown above to place in my scrapbook. I think these egg crafts are amazingly innovative and beautiful.

THE WORST: MAY When I first saw the cover of the May issue I knew I wasn't going to like it, despite the old adage about not judging a book by its cover. First of all, it looked recycled. It looked like the leftovers from the September, 2008, photoshoot with Martha standing on a red ladder against a yellow wall. There was just something unimaginative about it, unoriginal. Inside, too, the content felt a little lackluster. There wasn't an article that I felt compelled to read, a recipe I felt compelled to try or a craft I was particularly wooed by. I suppose, for me, that's what my rating really comes down to: Does it engage me and it is compelling? In this case, the answers were no on both counts.

An all-too-convenient replay of colours: September 2008 on the left, May 2009 on the right.

This is not to say the May issue was completley without virtue. I did like the column on ornamental grasses. (I had suggested this article to the editors a couple of years prior to its publiction, so maybe I had a small hand in bringing it to fruition.) I also like the use of heading font in both the gelatin and pizza features at the back of the magazine. But that was not enough to get me to browse long through these pages.

It's certainly my hope that Vanessa Holden, the new editor-in-cheif of MSL, will continue to uphold all the wonderful things we all adore about this great magazine. I'm sure 2010 will prove to be fruitful and exciting! What were your favourite and least favourite issues? I'm curious.

My friend Kenn did a marvelous job reviewing the business developments at MSLO in 2009: the new mergers and acquisitions in merchandising and publishing. He also some makes some fun predictions for 2010! Check out his review at House Blend.

Everyday Food's New Look

I read Martha's magazines for all kinds of reasons. There are the usual lures: great recipes, creative craft ideas, beautiful decorating projects, all kinds of information on the domestic arts and, of course, those momentary glimpses into Martha's homes and gardens. I also read them to study their aesthetic: layout, font, photography, page design and graphics. Each of Martha's magazines has won awards in design categories and these publications are truly leaders in the magazine publishing industry. When I got the July/August issue of Everyday Food recently, I was so pleasantly surprised by the beautiful new look of the magazine. It seemed cleaner, brighter, fresher and more vibrant, with added punch and vigor. I produced some tear sheets below to demonstrate:

The cover did not change much. It's still impacting and bright, but I still find it too cluttered. And I'm still not convinced we need three reminders on the cover that it is a Martha Stewart publication: "Great Food Fast From Martha Stewart", "A Martha Stewart Magazine", and Martha's smiling face on each issue, in a changing spectrum of pastel blouses. We get it: Martha has a hand in Everyday Food.

I love the gigantic font on this page in the electric blue tone. It's a perfect contrast to the rustic image and gives the page so much impact.

Another fantastic use of font and design, mixed with high-contrast photography to create a really powerful page.

This page is reminiscent of a page from Martha Stewart Living, with a streamlined mix of information and photography in a casual glossary format.

The July/August issue is filled with full-page photography, something that used to be a rarity in Everyday Food. Minimal dialogue on certain pages (or none at all) give the eye a needed visual pause and a chance to linger on the delicious-looking completed recipes, which is important to see for the home cook.

The arrival of the April issue in my mailbox today was so eagerly anticipated that I actually gasped a little when I saw it. I was so excited to see the new changes to the magazine's layout and study the new editorial features that have been much applauded by media observers and publishing experts. Seen as a fresh, lively and timely decision, the magazine's introduction of more diverse lifestyle topics (including fashion, beauty and travel) are expected to lure more advertisers to the fold while simultaneously broaden readership to younger women.

Looking through the new issue, I could not help but notice how similar the new content is to the features once found in Blueprint magazine: young women modeling beautiful spring jackets, a study of make-up tools and technique, the best in books and design trends.

Below I've provided some tear-sheet examples of the new editorial features in the April issue of Martha Stewart Living.

The Briefing page promises to focus on an extremely diverse array of subjects with its subheading: food, crafts, design, home, collecting, gardening, books and events. (This section replaces the "Object Lesson" page, which no longer appears in the magazine.) Much more broad in its focus, The Briefing examines new uses for lemons, art books and guides to live butterfly shows and fabric exhibitions around the United States.
The perfect bird seed and a look at some colourful casters round out the section.

In the Apothecary the subjects of health, beauty, skin care and "findings" are examined by the editors: the making of a good make-up brush, make-up storage tips, cleaning tips and sun-damage warnings.

Martha has her say with her favourite product picks. A look at the health benefits of happiness and a simple skincare guide are also included.

The Fashion section offers four pages of spring jackets, modeled by MSLO staffers, including Martha's assistant Kate, shown top left.

Even the Good Things pages have been revamped with bigger, bolder font, fewer items per page and more lengthy instruction.

This is the freshest, most beautiful issue of Living in a while. It also includes a lengthy and beautifully photographed feature on Susan Lyne's Manhattan apartment, which was decorated by Martha Stewart Living editor Kevin Sharkey.

And so we come to the end of another year with the promise of a new year ahead to bring us fresh insights, new opportunities and…new issues of Martha Stewart Living!

(Part of what I try to do here on the blog is archive the achievements of Martha Stewart and her many colleagues, so forgive my slight obsession with her ventures. I’m sure it must seem weird to at least some of you out there!)

Last year I compiled some observations about the 2007 issues of Martha Stewart Living: noting some changes, some trends, some Good Things and Bad Things about the issues at hand. You can read last year's review in the 'magazine review' link at the side. This year, I’ve conducted the same exercise with the 2008 issues.

COVER TO COVER

I began by laying out all of the year's issues on the floor and studying their covers. I took the photograph below of each issue, lying side by side. My first observation is that there was a lot of green in the photography used on the covers this year – an unwitting suggestion, perhaps, of our ecologically-conscious times. The second observation was that Martha appeared on the cover twice in 2008 – three times if you count her tiny image on the little countertop television set in the January issue. She appeared three times on the cover in 2007 as well, including the May and September issues, whose covers she also appeared on this year.

The covers are striking for their simple elegance. Subscriber issues of the magazine are slightly different than the issues that appear on the newsstand. They are particularly spare in their design, since the bar code has been removed and many of the sub-headings that appear on the newsstand covers are not included on the covers that subscribers receive in their mailboxes. I like this very much. I enjoy the more unfettered cover photograph and the magnetism of the unadorned design. Sometimes, subscribers receive issues with a completely different cover than the one that appears on the newsstand, but 2008 had no such double covers. And now for some specific observations...

2008 ‘LIVING’ OBSERVATIONS

*The Ask Martha column moved from the beginning of the magazine to the middle of the magazine in the January, 2008, issue.

*The June issue heralded some subtle design makeovers, including the following items:
1. A revamped layout of the "Gentle Reminders" page
2. Slimmer, quieter heading font for the various articles
3. Bold, different font for the headings in the "Table of Contents" listings
4. A revamped layout for the "On the Web" page
5. A revamped layout for the "From My Home To Yours" column: a large, single photo on opening page instead of two smaller photos.
6. Different department-heading font: Gardening, Homekeeping, etc. The font is smaller, bold and underlined.
7. Dashed lines between the "Ask Martha" segments instead of dotted lines.
8. White background on the "Where to Find Martha" section. (The pages used to be tinted a pale hue to set them apart from the rest of the content.)
9. Larger photographs in the well of the magazine, with particular attention paid to clarity of style and colour harmony.

*More people! Many of the issues in 2008 featured several pages with prominent photographs (some of them full-page) of people, of all ages and both sexes. It was nice to see a man doing the baking in the “Hidden Assets” story in last January’s issue, just as it’s nice to see men who collect and decorate. There’s nothing like seeing a bit of yourself in your favourite magazine.

*The May issue marked the second-annual Color Issue. May, 2007, was the premier Color Issue.
*The February issue saw the debut of a new column called “Object Lesson.” The column is about the latest and greatest versions of a particular object, from candle sticks to lanterns, key rings to notebooks. It’s ostensibly a design article with subtle advertising benefits, since most of the ‘objects’ featured are current commercial items on the market.

SPECIAL ISSUES

There were six beautiful special supplemental issues to feast our eyes on this year. (Six tends to be the average number of special issues MSLO releases each year.) In 2008 we saw far fewer Good Things digests than in previous years. This is not a disappointment to me, since I was never really enamored of them. Two Good Things issues came out this year: Good Things for Kids (the fourth of its kind in the series) and Good Things For a Healthy Home, which I found very helpful and nicely structured.

The Good Things digests are essentially compilations of repurposed content from the vaults of Martha Stewart Living under a new banner topic, like kids or home or organizing. If repurposing is necessary at all, I prefer to see the content more lavishly illustrated in a form that is more luxurious, like the larger special issues I’ll describe in a moment, and preferably mixed with some new content as well.

It’s not clear if the Good Things digests have now been shelved as a concept or if we’ll see new ones in the year ahead. If they do continue, I hope that they will be more in the vein of the Healthy Home issue: a collection of very helpful, green tips and information for making one’s home as healthy as possible. An annual issue with the latest health information, as it relates to house and home, would be welcome.

This year also marked the first year when two Holiday issues were released, back-to-back. The Season’s Eatings issue and the Handmade Christmas issues were beautifully put together and were brilliantly conceived as companion collectors’ editions. Both issues felt fresh, despite a reliance on repurposed content, and they both succeeded in being inspiring and helpful.

We saw the second annual Outdoor Living issue this year as well, and I’m really crossing my fingers that this will be an annual issue we can consistently look forward to. I love the garden and the outdoors, so these Outdoor Living issues are treasures for me. They’re beautifully designed with gorgeous photography and information. They are definitely keepers.

Since 2004, Martha Stewart Weddings has also been periodically releasing an annual special issue. We’ve had Good Things for Weddings (2004), the 10th Anniversary issue (2005), the Special Color Issue (2007) and this year the Collector’s Edition. While it obviously wasn’t advertised as such, the Collector’s Edition is basically a reprint of the 2005 10th Anniversary issue, so it’s not much of a gem for collectors, unless you absolutely adore the new cover.

There wasn’t a special edition of Everyday Food this year, unlike the last two previous years when we saw a special cookie issue and a special baking issue, consecutively.

“RESTRUCTURING”

It was a rather tough year at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, from a human resources point of view. The year marked the departure of some very key individuals from the corporate head offices as well as 100 layoffs across all platforms to help restructure and streamline the company’s mandate. These layoffs were confirmed by company spokesperson Elizabeth Estroff earlier this month.

In March, Margaret Roach, formerly the chief editorial director of MSLO, resigned to pursue her goals and “get back to the garden” (literally) but stayed on in a consulting capacity working on the marthastewart.com websites. She was replaced by three staffers (Kevin Sharkey, Lucinda Scala Quinn and Hannah Milman) who now run the various editorial departments, indicating her tiny yet enormous shoes were not so easy to fill. Among other names to vanish from the editorial masthead in 2008 include Jodi Levine, who was editor of the Kids department for over a decade. Her position (indeed the entire Kids department) appears to have been eliminated, as it no longer appears in the editorial list.

Also gone, of course, is Blueprint magazine, which published its last (eighth) issue in January/February 2008 before shutting down. Many of the staffers there have slipped out from under the MSLO umbrella, including editor-in-chief Sarah Humphreys. Last summer, the Bluelines blog, associated with Blueprint, was also shut down, although it remains up in archive format to peruse. I was very sad to see Blueprint go. I felt that it was just beginning to hit its stride and find its voice and personality. I enjoyed the last four issues of the magazine immensely and I treasure all eight of the Blueprint issues.

June saw the surprising departure of Susan Lyne as CEO, who went on to become the CEO of Gilt Groupe (a luxury goods distributor) in September. Lyne indicated that she was looking for a new challenge and a smaller company where her influence would be more strongly felt in shaping the direction of a young start-up. Lyne was replaced with two co-CEOs, Wenda Harris Millard (president of media) and Robin Marino (president of merchandising) raising some eyebrows on Wall Street about the viability of having two people running the show. The jury is still out on how effective the co-CEOs have been in handling the company. Rumours surfaced late this year about some professional discord between the CEOs and company founder Martha Stewart, but these rumours are unsubstantiated.

The CEOs are also ultimately responsible for the decision to lay off 100 people this year and it remains to be seen whether their HR methods prove to be beneficial to the bottom line. Among the layoffs was Dr. Brent Ridge, who lost his title as the vice president of Healthy Living at MSLO, but who still remains active as a contributing editor to the magazines. A friend of mine who worked in the merchandising department at MSLO was also let go. Since 2007, there have been four rounds of layoffs at the company, something that is both an indication of the economic times at hand and the difficult decisions associated with them.

Another significant departure in 2008 was Howard Hochhauser, who had been the chief financial officer at MSLO for eight years. He resigned to pursue new career opportunities in Arizona as the chief financial officer of The Generations Network Inc., the parent company of Ancestry.com.
For Michael Boodro, however, 2008 marked the first full year as editor-in-chief of Martha Stewart Living magazine, the company’s flagship. He replaced Margaret Roach in that capacity in September, 2007. Under his direction, I feel the magazine has taken on a more fresh and lively personality – dare I say more youthful? The changes to the magazine layout in June, mentioned above, are just one aspect of his influence. I also feel the content is more focused but with a broader range of topics. The inside look at the offices of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia in the January, 2009, issue is an example of his understanding of the readers’ interest in the people who put the content together, as much as the content itself.

BEST AND WORST

I really don’t like this part very much, but it must be done. I have to pick the best and the worst issues of Martha Stewart Living from 2008. Rather than look at the worst issue as “the worst” I simply look at it as the “least best” from a series of excellent issues. There. How’s that for optimism.

The worst issue of the year was the July issue. I traditionally don’t enjoy the summer issues as much as I enjoy the fall/winter issues to begin with, but the July issue stood out to me as being just a tad lacking, or perhaps a bit unsure of itself.

The cover is summery, but not particularly celebratory or patriotic. My favourite July issues of years past have always been the ones that tout the old Red, White & Blue – which is strange, considering I’m not even American. But I do love Americans, so there you go. Canadians keep their national holidays on the quieter end of the spectrum, so I rely on Americans to really pull out all the stops and toot all the horns. The July, 2008, issue was disappointing primarily for its lack of Americana and its somewhat generic content. The subheading on the cover reads: “The easiest entertaining ever.” This falls below the “Summer Made Simple” tag.

I suppose this vocabulary is the magazine’s answer to its ever-growing number of competitors, like the derivative Real Simple magazine, which consistently relies on keywords like ‘easy’ and ‘simple’ and ‘no fuss’ and ‘relaxing’ on its covers to thwart Martha Stewart’s more hands-on approach to living. It gives over-worked consumers at the newsstand a guilt-free exit strategy when they feel too pressured to take on a project or a recipe in DIY fashion. But I never like seeing “easy” on the cover of Martha Stewart Living. That’s not why I buy it.

The features in the magazine were good enough, but a tad predictable. There was the requisite article on grilling and barbecued hamburgers, saved only by the incredible photographs by James Wojcik. There was also the typical article on ice cream desserts. (Ice cream in July? Wow, that’s different!) The “Swedish Accent” article was sort of a blend of decorating and entertaining technique, but neither pursuit seemed adequately observed in this feature.

The same is true of the “Shore Dinner” feature. It was a lovely place in Rhode Island with a lovely family celebrating a lovely holiday. But there was something lackluster about it. Perhaps it was the continued use of words like “relaxed” and “laid-back” and “lifestyle.” I have no problem with relaxing or being laid-back. But I don’t want to read about other people relaxing or being laid-back, thanks.

There were some saving graces in the magazine. One of my favourite articles of the year was found in the July issue: a feature on one of my favourite flowers, the astilbe. Martha’s column was delightful and so was the Object Lesson on pitchers. But, overall, the July issue just fell short of the month associated with traditional Americana.

A magazine as lasting as Martha Stewart Living, which has many longtime subscribers, must struggle to balance its reliability with the precarious peril of predictability. The magazine must offer reliable content while not disappointing with too much retread and regurgitation. It must surprise without straying too far off course. It’s a difficult task.
The Best issue was the December issue. It was, hands-down, the most exciting issue of the year for me. Its cover is so striking with that plethora of holiday cookies against a vivid green background. The content behind the cover matches that vibrancy. This December's issue was a magazine heavily devoted to crafts. Many of the past December issues have relied very heavily (too heavily) on food and entertaining. The 2008 issue was more for crafters. Hannah Milman and her team came up with some wonderful projects in this issue, from gift tags to paper Christmas trees, from wrapping techniques to table decorations.

I loved the article on making cameo ornaments and the article on homemade natural beauty projects felt fresh and updated. Doily crafts were updated in a beautiful article about using them as decorative motifs on cushions, cakes, wreaths, cookie tins, picture frames, table cloths and ornaments.

What made the craft projects this year all the more accessible and modern was the very helpful link to downloads and instructions on the website, marthastewart.com. I’m a total sucker for beautifully-designed templates and the December issue heralded dozens of these! All of them could be easily accessed and downloaded at the website, printed up in the various colour schemes that were offered and used for the projects at hand. These also came with very clear and detailed instructions about how to put them all together with new photographs that were not featured in the magazine.

It was all a triumphant example of the synergy concept at work: projects conceived in the magazine could be realized via the website, and even demonstrated on the television show. It was very useful.

As always, the December issue is filled with beautiful photography and wonderful ideas, but this issue felt fresh while still managing to pay tribute to the classicism and elegance of holiday issues past. Definitely a job well done!

The arrival of the December issue of Martha Stewart Living is always an event for me. It represents the culmination of the year for my favourite magazine and I tend to judge this yearly issue the most harshly because of this. It's the peak of Martha Stewart Living's annual offerings and it ought to be the best showcase of the imagination and creativity of the people who make the magazine happen. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it isn't. There have been December issues in the past that have blown me away and there have been issues that have left me feeling more than a little underwhelmed.

I'm happy to report that the 2008 holiday issue is a dream come true!

It is filled (and I mean filled) with new ideas - ideas that feel fresh but that still manage to pay tribute to the classicism and elegance of holiday issues past. Crafters, I think, will be especially pleased with this issue. There is a lot on offer here, including wreath making, soap making and crafts for setting the holiday table and for making decorations and ornaments.

Oh, and there are templates and downloads galore!

Visit http://www.marthastewart.com/december-crafts to download all kinds of beautiful gift tag designs and packaging for homemade gifts. Cooks will be pleased with more cookie recipes (although I'm personally over the whole cookie phenomenon) and delicious old-fashioned candies. The cooking segments in this issue, though, are not as plentiful as past issues have been, with more of a focus on crafting and decorating, which I love. Cooks have the special Holiday issue (Seasons Eatings) to turn to for their favourite recipes, not to mention a new cookbook to explore.

The new issue looks so happy on my nightstand. It will remain there for weeks, I'm sure, as I pore over it, absorbing all the details.

A lovely article on using vintage green ceramic ware for festive decor.

Learn how to make old-fashioned holiday candies and visit marthastewart.com to download the pretty vintage packaging and labels you see in the photos.

A story on growing and displaying the beautiful amaryllis flower. This harkens back to the old holiday issues of Martha Stewart Living I cherish.

Come on over to Martha's Bedford estate for a Christmas carol party in the new music room at her newly restored Summer House. (You will also be able to download Martha's personalized songbook shown above on the right page at marthastewart.com.)

Using doilies in all kinds of festive ways! Who doesn't love a good doily?

I love this article on using cameo crafts in holiday decor: classic and clean!