Dara Camponigro Talks Veranda (and Yes, Domino too)

Filed under: Design, etc, News & Trends

Last week we got an exclusive look at the new Veranda under editor Dara Camponigro. Now we've heard from her on what to expect in the coming issues.

We've already swooned at the new look of Veranda, so we were anxious to hear what the woman in charge had to say. We spoke with Dara Caponigro about her first experience with Veranda, how products get into the magazine and her guilty pleasure.

SP: Tell us about some of the big changes coming to Veranda.

DC: Our front of the book is changing, it's going to be a little more newsy -- we have the New & Noteworthy section now -- it's a collection of really beautiful things out in the marketplace.

We saw! We're kind of in love with a few of the pieces that you featured.

DC: I love everything on those pages, too. Our editors are so good and we only show things we'd like to have ourselves -- every product has been vetted and we'd be happy to have them in our homes.

What won't be changing?

DC: Veranda will continue to have a very gracious approach and a sense of refinement. And for one thing, we have unbelievable paper [stock] -- the best paper in the industry -- and that makes us stand apart. We also have beautiful photography and that's certainly not changing.

So many Domino fans are excited about you taking on a new magazine. What will they recognize?

DC: They'll see that we stand behind everything we put in the magazine -- for example, we have a story coming up on men's watches that women would like to wear. Yesterday, I talked to the story's editor and told her "I want you to put on every one of those watches." That's very similar to Domino. I see my role as editor as a role of an educator to a degree, so there will be stories on why things are important, why we're featuring them.

Part of Domino's popularity was based on their accessibility -- but the least expensive ottoman in a 10-piece story was $695. What kind of price points will we see in Veranda?

DC: Price point is not what makes us decide whether something is in the magazine or not. It's not about that, it's about asking: Is this beautiful? Can we stand behind it? Luxury is a state of mind -- we want to give people that sense of luxury when they're reading Veranda.

What's your personal history with the magazine?

DC: My apartment was actually in Veranda in October 2006 -- it was sort of a funny situation. It was photographed when I was in-between jobs. Then when I went to Domino, Lisa Newsom [the previous editor of Veranda] who is lovely and gracious and everything Veranda embodies, asked me if it was still OK. And it was this wonderful thing where everyone was just fine with it. I was really honored to be in the issue. Now I work with a lot of the people who worked on that story -- it's all come full circle.


Last question: What's your guilty pleasure?

DC: I probably have more dishes then anyone I know. I used to be the tabletop editor at House Beautiful and so I'm addicted to tabletop. I have china and silver and glasses... more than I can use. I switch things up but my all-time favorite is the Georg Jensen Beaded Silver pattern.


Thanks Dara! We're looking forward to flipping through those spectacular pages. Check out our first look to get a glimpse of the September issue, or grab it on stands today.

 

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