Readers still bereaved over the loss of Domino, Country Home, Cottage Living and other home publications don't have much longer to wait for the new mag in town.
Flea Market Style, edited by Long Lake junking maven Ki Nassauer and New Hampshire-based lifestyle expert Matthew Mead, is trickling on to newsstands now. The 146-page, $9.95 issue -- long on content, sparse on ads -- reflects the editors' love of found objects, do-it-yourself projects and beautiful settings.
"It's kind of like Country Home but with more projects," Nassauer said. "There are a lot of ideas. We tell people how to make it, where to get it, how to buy it."
Among the lavishly photographed spreads are stories on the retro home decor of Stillwater resident Elizabeth Calderone, on repurposing books featuring occasional-sale dealers Jane Hall and Sara Smith of Carver and on liberating dishes from cupboards to use as decor. Other features include mini profiles of Internet bloggers and artists, a national map of junking venues, a garden shed makeover and a child's new playhouse decorated in vintage style.
How-to features in the magazine, which is being distributed nationally, include a clever piece on fashioning home decor from metal funnels and new ways to display cupcakes (yes, that is a plant stand). "They're projects everyone can make," Nassauer said. "The trickiest we get might be using a power drill."
The clean yet layered design is by Stacey Willey, who like Nassauer is a Country Home alum. Rounding out the editorial team: writers Linda MacDonald and Sarah Egge, photographer Jenny Mead, stylist/photographer Heather Bullard and antiques expert Tim Luke.
Harris Publications, which also produces Cottage Style and Romantic Country magazines, won't say how many copies of Flea Market Style it printed or whether additional issues are planned.
"There are no crystal balls," said editorial director Phyllis Goldstein. "It will be a gut decision by the publisher as to whether he wants to produce it again." But, discussing the debut issue's advertising, she said, "we're hoping to have more next time."
Flea Market Style makes its debut in a tough publishing environment. Mediafinder.com, an online database of U.S. and Canadian publications, noted 285 magazine start-ups in 2009, while 429 shut down. So far in 2010, 20 have been launched and 17 have folded.
But Goldstein remains upbeat about the magazine's prospects despite the economy. "It takes a little more thought in this environment," she said, "but that's what we do."
Flea Market Style is available at Bachman's, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Target, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, grocery stores and other newsstands.
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