martha stewart interview about design and lifestyle

martha stewart in our interview in her MSLO headquaters in may 2012 portrait © designboom

martha stewart  has more influence on how americans, eat, entertain, and decorate their homes than any one person in our history. designboom meets the US media and business magnate and gets a candid interview where she talks about design and lifestyle.

martha talks to us about how she is able with her publishing work to attract women of all ages, where design fits in the household and gives advice to the younger generation.video © designboom

each day people interact with us, help, and make our day a bit brighter and full. thank you martha for acknowledging us —  ‘happy 13 designboom’.

she will star in a new PBS series called ‘martha stewart’s cooking school’, starting this fall. the 30-minute show will be presented in association with PBS station WETA, in washington, and will air on PBS stations across the US. ‘we’ll show viewers how to prepare classic dishes as well as how to use proper techniques and stimulate them to add their unique twist.’ martha says. she showed us also one of her classic design products, the ‘martha wrap’ – foil and parchment in one. the patent pending roll is a parchment-lined aluminum foil that combines the insulation of foil with the nonstick protection of parchment. the parchment side is nonstick and provides a barrier against the foil which can corrode if it comes into contact with acidic foods such as lemons or tomatoes. the aluminum side retains heat, prevents freezer burn and is easy to fold. the item is best used for roasting, baking and steaming; is oven safe up to 420°F and is thicker and up to five times stronger than regular foil for tear resistance.

‘martha wrap’ by martha stewart image © designboom

martha stewart describes ‘martha wrap’ video © designboom

… not to be confused with ‘the martha RAP’, which she performed with snoop dogg on a cooking episode of ‘the martha stewart show’ in december 2009. the rapper muses ‘we’re missing the most important part of the brownies.’ martha ‘which is? which is? which is?’ snoop then elaborates ‘no sticks, no seeds, no stems,’ prompting martha to explain, ‘he wants green brownies.’

snoop dogg on martha stewart rapping while cooking brownies

MSLO / martha stewart living omnimedia the 70-year old martha stewart heads a company that is still fairly young at 20 years and transitioning to a digital media company just as fast as it can.

MSLO operates in four main areas: publishing, internet, broadcasting and merchandising, all of which cross-promote content and products. in addition to an ever-expanding library of book titles, the publishing arm issues the magazines ‘martha stewart living’, ‘weddings’, ‘everyday food’ and ‘whole living’, as well as special issues on family and holiday themes.

MSLO’s internet presence, marthastewart.com, features content from martha’s television and radio programs, as well as magazine content, while the magazines ‘whole living‘ and ‘weddings‘ have web sites of their own. the monthly food magazine has a daily email newsletter that will be upgraded with video so subscribers can see someone making the recipe.

on the TV side, the company has a deal with hallmark that ends at the end of the year and is evaluating what to do next, whether it is cable or broadcast. the channel picked up ‘the martha stewart show’ in 2010 and handed over five hours of its daytime schedule to MSLO. the martha stewart show and the entire programming block (which includes ’emeril’s table’, ‘mad hungry’ and ‘martha bakes’) hosted their last episodes at end of may, repeats will be viewable through september 2012. the problem for the shows were low ratings (the live show was underperforming in it’s 10am timeslot) and the sky-high production costs.

a few weks ago, martha appeared in a new CBS sitcom ‘2 broke girls’ on may 7th. the show centers around female characters who hope to open up a cupcake-shop. martha plays herself, as the ladies attend a fashion event at the metropolitan museum of art, where stewart is on the guest list.

the broadcasting arm includes the PBS program ‘everyday food’ and the ‘martha stewart living’ radio program.

martha stewart has expanded her merchandise lines, creating product lines for home depot, sears, macy’s and wal-mart, a martha stewart brand of wine and a line of fresh and frozen foods. some things have gone away, such as its ‘martha by mail’ catalog business, though the company now has a new online store.

in 2011 MSLO has even expanded into home construction, building and selling houses modeled after stewart’s homes in NY and maine (you might want to read a wall street journal article ‘green houses get push from martha stewart‘ ).

portrait © designboom