Confession: I’m addicted to Creature Comforts, I don’t know, it’s like all of a sudden I’m hooked and can’t stop looking at this gorgeous blog. And though I heard the news of Blueprint folding several days ago over on Apartment Therapy NY, I didn’t think to bring it up here on decor8 until I noticed Creature Comforts posted her thoughts on the topic. And after a few readers wrote to me asking me to blog about this, I figured why not. Wanna dish?
Although I’m sad to see Blueprint fold, I’m happy Amy Butler’s home was recently featured, and I loved all the other homes they gave us a chance to peek into – each felt loved and lived in, and a bit crafty (minus the skulls and rhinestones), and I really liked that because this is a void that other glossies just don’t fill. Most cater to less of a DIY (do it yourself) crowd and more of a BIY (buy it yourself) crowd. Blueprint featured homes of those that run their own business, make lots of the things in their spaces, and they were real everyday people that just so happened to have a huge chunk of creative spirit and know-how.
We really need Blueprint and I’m sad to see them go. They should bring back MS Kids and merge it with Blueprint – in other words, take the “best of” from both magazines, dump the shoes and raincoats and makeup, keep the amazing typefaces, and offer this shiny new car to the new-nesters they want to target. The DINKS and the couples with young children. That would be ideal and I would support it for sure.
And let Sarah Humphreys take the lead because she is talented and down-to-earth, and I like that. How many editors-in-chief do you know would allow you to tour their tiny 1-bedroom NYC apartment decorated solely by their staff? That’s humility, that’s real, and I I liked her since the get-go based on her apt tour alone. She felt approachable, like if I met her at a party I wouldn’t get butterflies – I’d walk right over to her and have a human-to-human conversation. Sarah doesn’t strike me as some media celebrity. She feels real in her editor’s letters and though some of her staff come across a bit snobby, I’m thinking that if I worked at a company like MSLO, I may feel a little full of myself after awhile too. It’s a whole different world inside those offices vs. out here in the real world. They have test kitchens and craft labs and companies sending them cool stuff all day long, access to things you and I will never see or know about. It’s like the freaking Pentagon – only instead of being the headquarters of the American Dept of Defense, it’s more like the American craft headquarters or something. It’s too cool in there for me, I know that much.
I have to let you in on a little secret though… Their last issue is due out soon, it’s for Jan/Feb and I’m in it. Well, not my picture or anything, just some blurbs about my opinions on displaying photography in the home. Look for that, along with a little decor8 mention, in their final issue.
So, what are your thoughts on Blueprint folding?
Psst: Still looking for an ’08 calendar? If you love that gorgeous Blueprint font, here is a free little download.
(image from the wonderful creature comforts)
December 14th, 2007 at 2:12 am
I’m crushed. I had no idea that they were folding. Next to Adorn, it was probably my favorite magazine. And, I’m with you on combining Blueprint with MS Kids. That is another magazine that I sorely miss. *sigh* What a sad day.
December 14th, 2007 at 2:16 am
Oh so sorry to be the one to break the news. I was trying to avoid that by posting it a few days after the public announcement was made. SIGH oh well.
Yes, it’s really a shame.
Someone asked me if the reason for magazines folding has to do with the popularity of blogs. What do you think??
December 14th, 2007 at 2:22 am
He he! I’ve just written a blog post about it wondering if it was the font that killed it!
I really didn’t like it… it seemd prissy, twee and affected to me…
http://mirrormirror.typepad.com/mirror_mirror/2007/12/bye-bye-bluepri.html
By the way, what’s happened with Blogger blogs? It’s now impossible for people to log in and leave comments unless they have a Google account or a Blogger blog…
December 14th, 2007 at 3:30 am
Ugh! I so looked forward to each new issue.
But it will continue online so I suppose that’s better than nothing.
http://blogs1.marthastewart.com/blueprint/2007/12/101-reasons-to.html#comments
December 14th, 2007 at 3:49 am
such a horrible move, in my opinion. sure i dont know the profit of it (obviously not much..) but it was really catching on and hitting a market that no one else really caught. its a shame. if domino folds…. well, i dont even wanna finish that sentence…
December 14th, 2007 at 4:40 am
I am bummed. I liked it. The photos were gorgeous and I ended up saving every issue. I am also sad because I just renewed my subscription a few weeks ago. It reminds me of when sassy folded and I all got was a teen magazine. I wonder what crap will be sent instead?
December 14th, 2007 at 5:38 am
I LOVED this magazine and I was devastated to hear the news. I wish that there was some sort of petition I could sign to keep it!
December 14th, 2007 at 5:50 am
Wow! great information. please keep update. i will visit your blog everyday
best regards
newthai22
http://www.carrenttoday.info
December 14th, 2007 at 6:32 am
Oh… thank you so much Holly! You are so sweet!
xo
Ez
December 14th, 2007 at 7:48 am
oh i’m really disappointed… i love this magazine! it really hit an untapped market, i thought.
will be looking forward to “seeing” you in the last issue.
December 14th, 2007 at 8:09 am
I posted on Bluelines blog:
Aside from your great editorial, as an Art Director (Advertising) I’d like to congratulate your design team – I found the layout, type styles and general design of BLUEPRINT refreshing and beautiful reading.
Your magazine even spread to South Africa – I couldn’t find it at our local bookshops even though they stock other MS titles like LIVING and WEDDINGS. So I did a couple of mag swaps with readers in the States and Canada and even sent my poor husband on the hunt for a copy of BLUEPRINT when he was in NY for business. BLUELINES is bookmarked and I look forward to seeing where you take the website componant.
As everyone has been commenting I also find the WEDDINGS inclusion a strange decision. It’s not a magazine on my list since being married. Inclusion in LIVING would refresh that publication in my humble opinion.
So thanks for all your hard work Blueprint staff and just so you know your work was loved!
December 14th, 2007 at 11:59 am
For some reason, the cynic in me thinks its folding has more to do with advertising revenues than lack of readers or quality of content. They never did shore it up and find a “niche” reader, and thus advertisers never found their “niche” consumer. That’s just my guess. (Wedding magazines, on the other hand…built in consumers!)
That said, I’m really disappointed, too. I loved what this magazine could have been.
(Another of my theories on Blueprint…remember when Martha was, um, unavailable? MSL was SO GREAT during that time, it had a younger, more DIY slant, and the photos and graphics were fresher. I think Blueprint might have been an attempt to expand on that “younger, hipper” (in quotes, because I am neither young nor hip, but am still their target audience) MSL thing.)
December 14th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
So sad! I really liked Blueprint, and all their lovely-font-filled glory!
December 14th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
This saddens me greatly. I loved that magazine! I don’t understand, I thought they were a source of inspiration and design to many. RIP Blueprint, you’ll be missed.
December 14th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
I was really bummed the day I found out. Blueprint was one on my “do not cut” magazines. Usually my magazines end up in a pile for me to eventually cut up and put into different sections of my inspiration journal, but not this one.
I usually like a little more DIY but with Blueprint, I felt like they left most of the imagining to us- I really liked trying to think of ways I could still have something that looked as great as theirs but without the huge price tag.
December 14th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
I just subscribed to Blueprint and only received 2 issues so far…it was great and I am very disappointed to hear it is folding. :(
December 14th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
I too am saddened and shocked by this turn of events. I have no concept of the publishing industry but am surprised that this seemed to happen so soon into its production…? I found it very aesthetically inspiring (surprise, surprise). Loved your idea Holly, about fusing the mags and “dump the shoes and raincoats and makeup”. Here, here.
December 14th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
Domino fold? Bite your tongue! I would seriously protest if Domino were to stop printing. As for Blueprint, I loved the photography and stylists for the mag, but could live without all the fashion/makeup stuff. I wonder what will happen to the money I paid for a subscription?? Do I get it back? Hmmm….
December 14th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
Well, I’m almost embarassed to say…but I’ve never even HEARD of this magazine! Looks like I’ve really been missing out.
December 14th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
I like your idea Holly about merging Blueprint and MS Kids, as I liked both these publications. And I agree Blueprint could ditch the wardrobe and makeup stuff. That part was the one reason I did not become a subscriber. Still sorry to see them go.
December 14th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
It’s a bummer, this was favorite magazine for all the reasons you mentioned. I like your suggestion of combining Blueprint with Kids, it makes perfect sense. Can’t wait to see the last issue.
December 14th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
I am saddened as well. I really liked the “fashiony” and pop culture aspects of Blueprint, and as MS Living is not quite doing it for me anymore, it really filled a niche that other home magazines do not. I guess Domino will be my one source of creative home ideas, but I will miss their point of view.
I have to disagree on the Kids merger, as I don’t have any.
And the Blueprint blog has nothing on you, and I like having editorial!
December 14th, 2007 at 6:23 pm
The magazine felt schizophrenic to me and I let my subscription lapse as a result
December 14th, 2007 at 7:10 pm
I’m with you, ditch the shoes and raincoats. I can’t say I know a single person who buys $600 shoes. That made BP a little ‘out of it’ for me. But the Butler piece was excellent and it was for those good ones that I subscribed. I think I could complain about every magazine I subscribe to. We’re each such individual people that no one publication could reflect and interest every side of us. Which is why I am a magazine junkie with too many subscriptions. They each have their own specific features that appeal to one part of me or my style. For instance, I love Domino for their ecletic style but hate them for some of their over the top expensive products that they feature. I don’t have a subscription to MS Living but January’s cover kitchen has me swooning.
December 14th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
I just ordered a media kit from MS Living Omnimedia for advertising in Blueprint. This makes that decision easy!
Do I think blogs are affecting publishing? Absolutely. Why does every magazine now have a blog attempting to be as flexible and timely as the independent blogs? By the time these magazines are published, the items featured in them aren’t even available anymore. Plus they were blogged about months ago. Yes, I enjoy holding a tangible magazine in my hand, but I foresee fewer and fewer of them.
December 14th, 2007 at 7:58 pm
Whaaaat? Nooooo! I don’t want FOOD. *stamping feet*
December 14th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
Are they really going to substitute FOOD for BP? hm.
It will be interesting to see what else happens in the mag world over the next couple of years. I don’t really read magazine blogs because I feel none of them are as strong as what jcaroline called the independent blogs.
December 14th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
Yeah I’m with you, I don’t read magazine blogs except for Domino because well, I freelance there from time to time writing stuff for their website and I like to stay in touch with what they’re up to. I stick with my fellow bloggers for the most current unbiased opinions.
December 14th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
I really liked BP as well — it was pretty unique and fresh. I’m a sucker for the Martha Stewart stuff, and it was nice to have that is a fresher, younger, hipper form. I’m not finding their blog particularly appealing, but I liked the magazine. And I ditto your comments on Sarah Humphries.
December 14th, 2007 at 9:27 pm
Thanks for the post, Holly. I have to say I was soooooo shocked to hear this news – and saddened! I honestly really loved this magazine. The content was so fashion-forward & contemporary and very much geared towards the 20-40′s market, which is a great target audience for magazine publishers. I also thought the design and layout was such a fresh change from typical magazine layouts – and loved the risk they took in switching things up and using the decorative fonts & embellishments.
The weird thing is that almost everyone I know – at least everyone who isn’t an avid design follower – had absolutely no idea what Blueprint was whenever I mentioned it to them. Did MSLO just not do a good enough job at getting the word out? Honestly I don’t get it – people wouldn’t know what it was, then I’d show a copy to them or direct them to the website and they LOVED it. Maybe it was too all over the place with everything from fashion to modern decor to pull-out handbooks on how to know your way around a grill or figure out what every type of bar glass was, but I personally loved all that stuff. Sigh…
Oh, well – at least we still have Domino, right? But for me, Blueprint will be sorely missed. I am very excited to hear that you’ll be in the final issue though! so at least that’s one positive to look forward to :)
Also, as a side note – what a major bummer for all these people that got laid off right before Christmas. I know it always comes down to the bottom line in business and, being a business owner myself, can understand that to a certain degree, but sometimes the timing of layoffs seems kind of heartless. I met a couple of the Blueprint girls when we were in NY – including Sarah – and they were ALL very nice. It was such a bummer to recieve a “goodbye and farewell” email from one of them yesterday…she sounded really sad :(
December 14th, 2007 at 9:57 pm
i’ve been thinking and talking about this since i found about about it a few days ago, and comparing it to the successes and failures of other magazines.
my guess was that the 20-something demographic they were going after just doesn’t spend money on big ticket items like furniture. advertisers perhaps lacked good returns based on that.
domino caters more to the home-owning 30+ set, who do have money to buy. readymade seems to be more successful with that 20-something demographic because they appear to have a better understanding of the reality for 20-somethings… a high style taste but diy budget.
bp was really set up to be a lifestyle magazine rather than a shelter one, a lot like living or real simple. real simple has been so sucessful because it is well defined and adresses a specific need of women in that 30+ set: to slow down and simplify in a world full of clutter and chaos.
what’s also interesting about domino is that originally it defined itself as a shopping magazine, but now it has morphed into a shelter mag. defining itself as something different from the beginning helped them stand out, and ulimately contributed to their success.
~maja, pantrypermitting.com
December 14th, 2007 at 10:59 pm
I have a quarrel with Martha Stewart Omnimedia publications in general because they are choked with advertisements.
I really like Blueprint Magazine and I am sorry that they decided to stop publication. I suppose MSO’s concern for the bottom line/profitability motivates them to both cram a ream of advertisements in Martha Stewart Living–which degrades the magazine in my opinion–and to decide to discontinue Blueprint.
December 14th, 2007 at 11:27 pm
This was heart-breaking news for me, I was just about to renew my subscription. I agree that the blogs have taken the place of mags, but you know I still need both.
Especially creative types, you know we like to have things in our hands to reference for the future. I can only hope that they change their minds and bring it back!
December 15th, 2007 at 2:13 am
Your idea of merging BP and MS Kids is wonderful!!! I would purchase something like that in a heartbeat. I was just going through my MS Kids the other day and I still can’t believe they stopped that publication. Makes you wonder…
December 15th, 2007 at 2:40 am
Oh my! I’m so sad to read this….or perhaps sad doesn’t begin. I loved Blueprint; reading it was such a visual pleasure and it as this magazine that got me into decorating and actually reading make-up sections. I must grab this last issue and savor each page like I would a fine stake.
December 15th, 2007 at 2:45 am
it didnt really suprise me…i was so excited to get each issue but always left let down….i liked their ideas but something was missing….
December 15th, 2007 at 2:53 am
That’s so depressing. House & Garden (so sad), InStyle Home and now Blueprint. I hope Elle Decor and Domino will survive!
December 15th, 2007 at 5:56 am
I am sorry to see it go precisely because I’m the target audience. I like Domino and all, but I can’t afford a thing in it. Of course, I can’t afford a lot of the things in Blueprint either… but that’s why their DIY thing was so great. I could never get into Readymade because their ideas seemed too kitchy to me, not practicaly or pretty but just ‘too cool’. Blueprint was a good mix of the pretty stuff and the homemade stuff, and I’ll miss it.
December 16th, 2007 at 2:42 am
This makes me so sad! I loved Blueprint and had no clue they were folding!
I used that magazine to furnish my houe, to make my crafts, just to get color ideas! UGH! :(
December 16th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
I too am quite sad to see Blueprint go. I received a subscription as a gift for my birthday this summer and always look forward to the interviews/home tours with some of my textile favorites (the Purl issue will never touch the recycling bin in my house). However, there always seemed to be a disconnect in the magazine. I enjoyed its DIY vibe, but felt alienated by its presentation of excusively pricey accessories for home and self. (Perhaps this is due to the fact that I am in a minority of mid-20-ers who would prefer not to read magazines about celebrities and bedroom tips.) I would guess that the fold had more to do with lack of revenue, but if there were to be a next-time-around, I would hope for a magazine that caters to readers with wallets of varying sizes. I also would imagine that with such a large DIY/design online community, it’s hard for any glossy magazine to compete.
December 16th, 2007 at 7:50 pm
anon I’m with you all the way on that one, the Purl issue as you call it (that’s cute) will never hit my bin either. In fact none of the issues will because I found bits in each that I really liked. But like you, and most everyone who commented here, there was a disconnect. I think it had to do with $600 shoes and expensive raincoats (I recall one being over $1,000- in one of their issues), all in the same magazine as DIY wallpaper headboards. If you can afford $600 shoes then why don’t you buy a quality bed because that bed will last you 5-10 years and those shoes maybe 2 seasons tops. The underlying message was “cheat your home not your person”. That it’s okay to follow a budget when it comes to where you LIVE but when it comes to your outer appearance and showing off, by all means you need Manolo’s.
It’s really a shame when magazines, any magazine, tries to push this “lifestyle” in front of us that it’s normal to pay hundreds of dollars for accessories. I can see spending $500 on an amazing designer jacket, maybe it was marked down from $1,500- at an outlet or something, but I’ve never spent over $250 so I can’t comment much there either.
December 17th, 2007 at 12:39 am
Oh, this is truly sad – I am using one of their fonts for my new logo on the upcoming version 2.0 of my blog (www.sassyradish.com – it’s not up yet, the font)… this is ad. I loved their magazine… :(
December 17th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
Oh no! I must admit I’m more than slightly distressed to hear of this news. But, hopefully a fabulous new magazine will appear for us to fall in love with. And I know that someone in this great blog community will keep us updated, right? :)
December 17th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
i agree with the dissenters – i didn’t care much for the magazine.
domino, my personal fave, also shows really high end stuff, but it shows it in people’s homes, actualyl being used. I can remember an issue that highlighted a decorator’s home in charlotte, nc, and everything was expensive, even the pillows at $600 each. but, it was real. lived in.
in blueprint, they just plopped them onto the page, with some nice text treatment and said here: you want this.
i also agree w/ the schizophrenic part. i remember reading the first issue and being overwhelmed by the lack of organization.
December 17th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
oh, and sarah was NOT a good writer i thought. she put LITERALLY every other sentence in parenthesis. (go read anything she wrote, including the article when they did her apt.)
my college journalism teacher would have hemorrhaged reading her stuff.
December 17th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
I just subscribe to Blueprint magazine and as soon as they cashed my check i heard they are folding. So my friend (who is in the same situation as i am) called them and asked them to give us our money back because we only received one issue so far. They totally denied it and they said it’s not true and they are not closing it. They said their newsletter is but not the magazine. So i don’t know what is going on. Oh they also said starting in January, we are going to start receiving one magazine per month instead of one every two months.