Filed under: Design, etc, News & Trends
Domino/Condé Nast
Domino, long may it rest in peace, was a favorite (if not the favorite) shelter magazine of the design world in the U.S. When it shuttered its doors in 2009, interior designers, bloggers, editors and photographers were devastated. At the time, back issues were rumored to be selling for hundreds of dollars on eBay.
However, Domino hasn't completely died. The online decoration magazine Lonny, founded by former Domino market assistant Michelle Adams, was hailed as the second coming of Domino. Meanwhile, Brides.com satisfied some of our craving for our beloved Domino by bringing its archives back online (thank you Brides.com!). But, to be truthful, we miss having a magazine to hold. With recent news of former Domino editors getting back into the print magazine game, we decided to track down the creative team behind our former favorite mag. Here's what we turned up:
Power Players
Early this spring, Hearst shook up the leadership of three of its publications, moving House Beautiful editor-in-chief Stephen Drucker to Town & Country, advancing style director Newell Turner to the top spot at House Beautiful, while editor-in-chief Lisa Newsom left Veranda to become an editor-at-large for Hearst, which opened up a spot for a new editor at Veranda. We were all positively thrilled when we heard that Domino's style director Dara Caponigro was stepping in as Editor-in-Chief. Admittedly, we were less-thrilled when one of our own bloggers, Eugenia Santiesteban, was hired at Veranda by her old boss (we miss you Eugenia!), though we are excited to see what Dara and Eugenia have up their sleeves.
Two months back, Ad Age broke the news that Domino's editor-in-chief Deborah Needleman had been tapped to oversee, "an additional weekly section of leisure and lifestyle content" for the Wall Street Journal's Saturday edition. This leaves only one of the women at the top of the Domino masthead, creative director Sara Ruffin Costello, without a new publication. While there were rumors that Sara could end up in the recently vacant position of editor at ELLE Decor, the recent appointment of Michael Boodro to the top of the magazine's masthead killed that notion.
The three women who made Domino so special: (from left) Deborah Needleman, Dara Caponigro and Sara Ruffin Costello. Photos: Condé Nast, Veranda, Paul Costello
Savvy Julia Noran, president and site director of The Editor At Large, scooped up Domino's editor-at-large Tom Delevan and market editor Allison Hall as approving editors for her newly launched The Editor At Large site. Meanwhile, Hall is also working as the style editor for the online retailer One Kings Lane. Former Domino decoration editor Tori Mellot has also contributed to the The Editor At Large and can be found blogging for the British interior design site, MyDeco.com. Rita Konig, editor-at-large for Domino, has been blogging for The New York Times' The Moment blog. Whew, holy interwebs and blogosphere -- print really must be dying.
Martha Stewart's publications have also been the beneficiaries of Domino's demise. Last spring, Mediabistro reported that senior editor Ruth Altchek had been hired on by Martha Stewart Living. Domino style editor Kim Ficaro is working as a prop stylist, and she is listed as the contributing prop stylist for Everyday Food, a Martha-owned publication. We've spotted the byline of Cynthia Kling -- another Domino contributing editor -- in the most recent issue of Whole Living magazine. We've also spied the work of Paul Costello, a frequent Domino contributor and husband of Sara Ruffin Costello, in a recent issues of MSL.
Wherever they have ended up, we hope the spirit of Domino lives on for many years to come. And if there are any former Domino editors out there who want to blog for ShelterPop, drop us a line!