Farewell Blueprint {your thoughts?}
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)