Dominooooooooooooooo!
Domino is shutting its doors. Sniffle. We heard rumblings of this a few months ago but begged the magazine gods to spare one of our favorite pubs. Alas, they didn’t hear our pleas. You can read more about this sad state of affairs here and here.
I for one have every issue since it came out in 2005 and will never forget my first great magazine love.
Sadness.
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I agree. I’m heartbroken:(
NOOOOO! :(
There will be a HOLE in my life. First Blueprint last year, now Domino!! This is too much.
Thats so sad! I felt the same way when Blueprint ended. :(
No! This is terrible news. I’ve been a subscriber from Day One and will sorely miss this great mag.
This is heartbreaking!
If house Beautiful folds too, I’ll be inconsolable.
A good indication of whether a magazine is doing well is how thick it is (especially compared to past issues). When I placed this month’s Domino on my stack of Domino mags (under the metal bull head in the den) I was struck by how teensi weensi it had become. Literally like half as thick as the past issues. That shows that there was a serious lack of interest from advertisers (since ads are what thickens up a pub).
Another clue a magazine is having a hard time is when it starts to put out joint issues like Jan/Feb (Country Home went down from 10 issues a year to 8 before they folded).
For these reasons I think House Beautiful should be ok (fingers crossed). It’s still pretty beefy (the thickness hasn’t really changed lately) and it still comes out 12 times a year. HB will probably be spared thanks to the fact that they’re the go-to magazine for interior designers, so products and companies are more interesting in advertising to the professionals than normal peeps like Domino readers.
Sad day for sure, though. Boo!
xo,
Sherry
Oh and Priscilla, you’ll likely get offered another Conde Nast publication instead of your Domino subscription (like Lucky, Architectural Digest, Glamour, Allure, Self, etc) for the remaining issues in your subscription. It’ll be interesting to see which magazine (or magazines) they suggest for us subscribers. Apparently Cottage Living rolled people over into two different subscriptions (Southern Living and Coastal Living) but of course you can ask for a different magazine as long as it’s put out by the same publisher (in this case Conde Nast). But at least it’s not like they take your money and close their doors without offering some sort of replacement (although NOTHING else on their roster is even a close comparison to Domino).
xo,
Sherry
I definitely second your nooooooooooo. how sad! :(
I can’t decide if I should yell or cry. Miserable!!
I can handle losing CL or Domino, but not both. Life is truly not worth living anymore.
Aww man…I just subscriped to Domino last month! =(
Does this mean I paid $14 for 2 issues? I hope not, but something is telling me I did…=(
Oh NO! I *just* renewed my subscription. Do we know if it will be replaced with something similar or if we just be out our money? I think I must be a bad luck charm; right after I subscribed to Cottage Living it folded too :( Are there any other good home magazines out there that I should know about other that House Beautiful?
Really…I just bought my first issue last month at the airport just to try. Of course I loved it and they are dissolving, boo-hoo!
I noticed house beautiful is a little thin, does this mean it’s going away too?
Aargh. Seriously, what is going to be left???
What the ??? I’m incredibly sad to hear this , being as it was in my Top 3 decor magazines. Man…..
Horrible news!!
What other design magazines are out there? I loved Domino! It was the first desgin magazine to catch my eye, being a young 25 year old in her designing prime. :) It was hip and funky and more importantly, had some great practical ideas.
Seeking new pub….
Boo, I just bit the bullet to subscribe in September.. Now, a few issues into my 2 year international (aka Canada) subscription I will have to find a new love.. Like I said, boo
BOOOOOO! I just filled out my slip to subscribe a day ago! I guess I should throw it in the trash and hope something better comes along…doubt it. Domino rocked… *sigh*
just came over to see if you had heard — I’m so sad about this. I was a charter subscriber!
Thanks for the info Sherry!
my gf is beside herself
Boo Hiss Boo! We were just discussing it here, and my coworker said it was the only thing that got her out of bed in the morning (I’m guessing she was exxagerating just a wee bit, but STILL!). It’s a tragic day in home decor inspiration land.
Hey, you two should start a magazine!!!!!! That would make everything better again :)
So so sad. I JUST subscribed for the first time too. I am new to the home design stuff- just got married. Any other magazines you can recommend other than House Beautiful?
And I spelled exaggerating wrong. Blame Conde Nast.
I JUST found this magaizine and just subscribed. I guess I will be buying back issues at half price books for my fix.
I actually let my Domino subscription expire because I couldn’t take all the smug Lucite furniture. I used to really love it and still have all my back copies for reference. I was way sadder about the recent demise of Cottage Living. That was my favorite.
They are Canadian,so you won’t be able to source all the stuff you see, but “Canadian House and Home” and “Style at Home” are both great reads.
They do feature an annoying amount of lucite, though. ;)
I feel bad for you. My favorite ME Home Companion has stopped being published also.
So sad. My mailbox is going to be empty soon:
No more Blueprint
No more Cottage Living
No more Domino!
I can’t believe how sad this is. It’s the only home mag I subscribe to b/c it’s so inexpensive. I love the fresh ideas domino usually offers and I even gave 2 gift subscriptions this year!!
I’m not sure how I feel about getting another publication in its place. *sigh* But I guess that’s better than getting nothing for the money I paid towards a two-year subscription.
Wanna know something really sad? I just called and found out that I had somehow added on to my Domino subscription so many times that the person on the phone said it was good through 2013. How on earth did I manage to overpay that much? Ah well, it should be interesting to see what comes in its place for the next FIVE YEARS. Nothing that could ever replace it, that’s for sure.
xo,
s
omg. sob! :(
They are still taking subscription orders online!
Going to Half Price Books for back issues is a great idea… I may have to try that for old Cottage Livings; I found out about that magazine a little too late and have really considered ordering back issues if I can.
I am so sad, I just renewed my sub. a few months ago. One of my favs!
Not to accuse you guys or the rest of you fine decorating bloggers of folding Domino but how much do you think design blogs are responsible for the decline in decorating magazines being timely or relevant? I mean how can they compete with all the timely updates and DIY ideas that change every day, sometimes even twice or thrice a day? Something to think about I guess.
Definitely something to think about EvY! We’re sure that design blogs have certainly changed the way people gather decorating ideas and inspiration, and some magazines like Real Simple and Domino have even hired design bloggers to write for them (like Holly at Decor8 and Grace over at design*sponge). But I also think a lot of design bloggers (us included) get inspiration from glossy mags like Domino, so it’s sort of this little dance between the paper publications and the online blogs- we’re both feeding off each other in some wonderful and fantastic cycle of inspiration.
And although it may seem hard for magazines to compete with blogs that are updated daily, they can. Domino’s readership was up, so it wasn’t the lack of interest that did them in, it was the lack of advertisers willing to spend money on ad space due to this terrible economy. They also had a slew of online blogs and freshly updated content on their website, so they were doing everything right. Sniffle.
As an online blogger I can appreciate that blogs are a constantly rotating gallery of ideas, but isn’t there something nice about settling in with a glossy magazine? I love the feeling of holding it in my hands, flipping through the pages and ear marking my favorite ideas. I hope that delicious ritual of relaxing with a magazine won’t ever go by the wayside! We’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts on this topic though. Thanks for starting the dialogue EvY!
xoxo,
Sherry
this is so not cool. :(
RE: Comment by Priscilla on January 28, 2009 @ 1:37 pm
Aww man…I just subscriped to Domino last month! =(
Does this mean I paid $14 for 2 issues? I hope not, but something is telling me I did…=(
I just did the same thing… Call the number below and they can cancel your subscription. It was really easy and SAD. Blueprint, Cottage Living, now Domino… I agree with Katie how will I get up in the morning :(
Hope this helps!
Subscriber Services Department at: 1-877-356-9904
This IS terrible news! I bought my daughter and niece the Domino decorating book for Christmas and I was so excited to see that it also came with a free one year subscription. I thought the magazine was great; it had so many ideas for ‘everyday’ people that love design! Oh, well!
I am so sad :( I loved Domino.
About blogs versus mags, I was thinking about this the other day with your post about simplifying. I was thinking how refreshing it was that you used such a pared down make-up bag/beauty routine and how one would never see an article like that in a magazine because of all the advertisers dictating constant product placement, etc. But then that’s a double edged sword- because obviously those advertisers are who pay the majority of the cost of the magazine to be published…and I agree we need both blogs and mags!
I must be in the minority since I didn’t like Domino. I tried it out when it first came out and cancelled my subscription and in the past few years I’ve bought it sporatically if the cover looks good but still don’t enjoy it. I miss Budget Living.
Just got off the phone (thanks for the number, melanie). The march issue is the last one, and there will be a card included listing our options. So sad to watch all this quality stuff crumbling while McDs and WM are thriving.
capecodmama- I understand you’re upset over Domino, and yes it sucks… but do you know how many families would be affected if McD’s & WM crumbled?? Not only workers, but consumers who can’t afford to shop elsewhere?
I just subscribed to Domino and it never came… Maybe that is the reason. I will be sure to call that number!
Noooo!!!!! I have loved this magazine forever but only bought them occasionally and looked at the website but I finally bought a subscription for Christmas!! I only gone 1 issue! Noooo!!!
NOOO!!! I really love this magazine! I am going to miss my subscription!
Sad indeed. Our good friend’s sister, Anna, did a lot of the photography for Domino. It sucks enough, but when it affects people we know, it sucks even more!
Heather, I join you in the minority – I subscribed to the premier issue of Domino and hated it the first couple of issues and canceled. Just wasn’t my style and $2000 chairs and $500 accessories irritated me because they were outrageously expensive. Loved Cottage Living and was really upset when I got Southern Living instead (will not be renewing that). I will say, though, while I LOVE John and Sherry’s blog, writing style, and taste, their style is different than mine – I love color and warmth on the walls a bit more than they do. However, they have stretched my decorating muscles (thank you, Sherry!) and I find their style growing on me. Whew – this is longer than I meant it – I only want to close with how much I love Young House Love – read it religiously and am almost caught up with all the archives. So even though my style is just a little different the only way I will grow as a “decorator” is by studying a wide variety of styles and learning from them. My tastes are not static and shouldn’t be. Thank you John and Sherry!
J&S,
Since you guys are the experts, I’m gonna throw you a question…what’s with all of the home-y magazines getting canceled?? They seem to be a dying breed, which is so so sad. What are your thoughts?
Hey Elaine,
Good question! I think it’s just this dang economic slump. With people tightening their belts decor magazines are just a “want” and not a “need” but it’s not the subscribers who cause magazines to fail- it’s the advertisers. So it’s less that people don’t want to read the magazines and more that advertisers can’t sell enough product to continue to pay the rates that these magazines need to keep up the big budget photoshoots and produce their issues. Even when magazines don’t pay most people to shoot their homes, they still have to pay the photographer and the crew plus their editorial staff- and then they have to print hundreds of thousands if not millions of issues and ship them out all over the world. Talk about a major production! But I’m hopefully when things even out on the economic front there will be more fabulous glossies popping up left and right.
xo,
s
You may want to check out Lonny, an online magazine similar to domino.
We love Lonny! And it’s actually written by a lot of the editors of Domino. For anyone who’d like to check it out, here’s the addy: http://www.lonnymag.com. Happy reading!
xo,
s