“I feel like I’m going to cry!”
by habituallychic
01 . 28 . 09
This has got to be the worst day in New York. It’s snowy and raining. There is at least six inches of muck and slush on every street corner. I think I may have ruined my boots. And it’s the day that word came that Domino is to cease publication after the March 2009 issue. I was sitting in the chair at the hair salon trying to enjoy a little pampering when the first death knell email of many arrived. The sentiments were all the same. Everyone is very sad and upset. Domino was a favorite among my friends and although we had heard the rumors it might fold, I hoped they would make it for a few more months or even a year. But alas it is not meant to be.
I just don’t get what is wrong with American magazine publishing. Why does it seem like European magazines are doing fine while American magazines continue to fold. I would paid more per issue to keep Domino alive. It spoke to my demographic. I could relate to the designers and people profiled. I could afford the items they featured. As much as I love Elle Decor, which I picked up on my way home, it’s very aspirational. That’s not the way any of my friends or I live right now. Maybe someday but not today.
The worst part is that many people had just had their homes photographed for the designers to watch series for the April issue. I’ve already told them that I would be happy to post them on my blog. I already mentioned that I want to feature more original interiors and young designers on my blog this year so this news just makes me more determined to support, encourage and champion them and anyone else who is talented, creative and inspiring.
So if there is anyone out there who dreamed of having their home or designs published in Domino, feel free to email me. Since there aren’t many shelter magazines left, I’d be more than happy to start posting them on my blog. But right now, I think I’m going to go take a look through all my old issues of Domino and mourn the loss of my favorite magazine. I might also have a good cry while I’m at it. It’s a very sad day.
64 Comments
OH NO! I was just thumbing through some old issues over coffee this morning, and thinking, “I love my Domino”, and how glad I was it was still around. Sigh. Very sad.
hmmn, maybe you could pick up a few of their advertisers along with those ready to publish photos!
Sonya
Now, now, this is only a sign that the industry need to re-group and there will be new and exciting venues –
Savour those back issues.
NOOOOO!!!! That is so sad!! Is the website going to remain? It is such a great resource!
Okay, the world is not a very happy place today and the few moments of joy and inspiration this publication offered, provided a much needed bright spot. I absolutely agree that of all the magazines in this arena, Domino spoke to my demographic and as a business owner, offered ideas that were tangible for me to apply.
My computer opens to your page and I love the digital realm – that said, you can’t take your laptop into the bathroom (at least I draw the line there) and the spark of happiness when Domino arrives in the mail is still more gratifying than my in box. I am so very disappointed. I too would be willing to pay more for this publication. I’d even give up a manicure a month – easy. And, in the midst of a grey and freezing winter in MN, I have successfully ruined all my boots! What’s a girl to do other than drink wine and shed a tear.
Adding insult to injury, I just got an email response from Domino that none of the back issues I was looking for are available. I had inquired about them last week (a premonition?), and hoped to collect the issues that were released before Domino came into my life and changed it forever. I’m in shock. I just told my husband it’s like pulling the plug on Sports Illustrated (he got the picture immediately). Already a devoted fan, I will look to HC for my Domino-style fix!
My understanding is that it has very little to do with subscriptions and everything to do with ad sales. There was an interesting article in the Washington Post about this just last week. House and Garden had a healthy subscriber list; domino has been losing money for three and a half years. I would imagine the often maligned “lifestyle” pieces about beauty products etc. were an attempt to broaden their advertising base. While I like domino I thought it was a bit uneven. It did start out as a great resource for terrific looks at reasonable prices, however it transitioned into including very high end product like Gracie wallpaper. From my limited knowledge on the subject I would assume that products that appeal to the high end market will continue to advertise as their customers are less affected – not unaffected, but less affected – than the mid-range offerings. I hope that continues to be the case as I would hate to see us lose any more.
Agreed! I read and enjoy Elle Decor et all but in my early 30’s with a young family it represents sit-up-straight and don’t spill anything.Domino had a more real and effective reach, not to mention a less haute style. It will be missed.
I seriously don’t get it. Norway, which has such a small economy has an overload of crappy interior design magazines (probably like 15 of them). And most of them focus on the shabby chic and country style directions. WHY can’t domino make it when 15 can make it in a country with less than 5 million inhabitants and close to no foreign readers? I’m just amazed. Something is seriously wrong, wrong, WRONG. What am I supposed to do now???
Keep your head up HC, no time for tears. Yes the weather is miserable but there’s a certain beauty with the ice and snow on the trees and I find that the City People become a bit more pleasant on days like today. As for Domino, pls. read Maison 21’s entry for 1-22-09 as well as the comments there – great discussion regarding the future of shelter mags. Here’s the link: http://maison21.blogspot.com/2009/01/change-change-of-decor-that-is-m21.html
And to add to my comment I left there, blogs like yours also provide real life tips/discussion/ideas and how to’s and the all important links. Sorry, magazines may be emotionally satisfying for the moment but all to static and unfortunately, most times only featuring multi-million dollar homes/budgets but are purchased by those of much lesser means. Your blog, for example, also features castle homes as well as starter apartments, and designers who may not get showcased in a nat’l mag. Sorry to hear about Domino but it seems inevitable.
As always, hope you enjoyed your salon day and keep up the blog. – KBN
This is very bad news. So sorry we’re losing such an inspirational publication. 🙁
Sonya – So sad! I really loved them and am so glad that I kept all my old issues. And I’m definitely open to advertising!
PVE – I hope someone can figure out a magazine that can survive these timess.
Eliza – I’m afraid the website will go as well. Copy all the good photos now before they are gone!
Marissa – I love the immediacy of the online world but I also still love holding a magazine in my hands and flipping through it. It’s sad that they can’t co-exist. I was always excited too when the new issue came out. Such a bummer.
Anonymous – that stinks! Have you tried ebay? I’ve found a lot of old magazines there. The Sports Illustrated analogy is a good one. I will have to use that when I try to make my straight male friends understand why I am so upset.
Mrs. Blandings – yes, we all know it’s advertising revenue that makes or breaks a publication but clearly that old worn out formula isn’t working. I wish publishers would figure out a new way to make money on clearly popular publications that might not have enough advertising. If I’m willing to spend $10 on a foreign magaine, I would have also spent that to keep Domino alive.
Blushing Hostess – I agree. It was always more real. There were some high end pieces but always mixed with low end items. That’s how I decorate and they were always inspiring to me.
Beautiful Living – I did hear that Domino didn’t just shoot existing interiors but it created them as well and I think that was part of the money problem although it’s what the magazine special and interesting. I keep buying foreign shelter magazines since I need my fix!
i agree…and am totally bummed. i’m a newbie to the blogging world and am astounded at the sheer talent and amazing inspiration BUT it won’t compare to the comfort i feel when i cozy up by the fire or sit out on the porch with my new domino magazine each month. i am with ya…i could cry! i was bummed when house & garden was cancelled, then cottage living (which i liked but didn’t LOVE) and now this!? my favorite!!!
and i must admit i always fantasized about MY house being in domino. wah, wah.
HC, I did cry.
RIght in my little cubicle at work. My boss thinks im manic.
Denene Brox – inspirational is a good way to describe Domino.
Beulah – I really thought publishers would have changed they way they did things after House & GArden but I guess not.
Sweet Nothings – I’m sorry. Maybe you can go home early and mourn.
Anonymous – Thanks for the rude comment that I chose not to publish. Funny that is came from someone in Kansas. I wonder who that could be. With Stat Counter, there are no really Anonymous comments.
What disappointing news. I just found out about Domino after hearing about the book and buying it. I just started getting more into interior design. I was so looking forward to starting a subscription but now it looks like I’ll never have a Domino issue on my coffee table.
for those who want to pick up dominos (in new york): there’s always old issues in the used magazine/book dealers on avenue of the americas, near grey’s papaya. most of them are like new. just check to be sure, in case someone cut out something or other. about two dollars a copy, three for five, something like that.
What a dreary day. I am going home to open a bottle of wine and escape with a few back issues. Sigh.
Ok – I am having a glass of wine too. How is that there are so many tabloid mags… and now no more Domino??? I am so sad- as I just did some New Years Eve cleaning and pitched all my old issues!
I Cant believe this! I worshiped Domino and eagerly awaited the next issue to land in my mailbox. Why must everything good come to an end!
Too Sad! It was always a inspiration to me and I will miss it terribly!
It wasn’t perfect, but what is? Domino brilliantly captured the zeitgeist of the young and chic like no other design magazine has done before. And its heart was in the right place. It was the little filly that shot out of the starting gate at a breathtaking clip and tried valiantly to keep up with the stallions. But now the racetrack has gone virtual and even the stallions are running scared. Au revoir, Domino. You will be missed.
This magazine always made me happy. This day makes me unhappy.
Heather, I am so upset! Remember back in October or November when I was worried about Domino? For good reason, I guess.
I really liked its fresh POV. I love their book. I’m so disappointed. I will go over to M21 and see if he can make me feel better. 🙁
even in our side of the world, domino speaks in an aspirational language that is accessible and sensible. my partner and i have been hunting their back issues here in Manila since we got together almost 5 years ago (Domino i think started almost 3-4 years ago).
They will be missed. hope they maintain a presence on the internet.
chris&ron
manila, the philippines
Domino has helped to transform the world of design from aspirational to inspirational and attainable….they were what our world needs…great design for everyone, regardless of budget. It’s equally disheartening that in this time of cutbacks and job loss we need Domino’s budget savvy ideas most……. an exceptional source has been eliminated. I’m going to light my best dyptique candle when I read the last copy!
Thank God for blogs….
I am so sad to see yet another wonderful magazine go…not a lot left for those of us who like to dream and decorate! Country Home is gone, too, and my home was to be photographed sometime this spring for them as an old house with antiques but nothing matching and lots of color. Too sad.
But there are lots of great blogs out there and Eddie Ross has stirred that pot with his interesting posts and gracious nods to so many other bloggers (which is how I found you.) I look forward to more great posts!
I hear you! I am based in the Netherlands. We have about 16 million people here and our magazines are doing just fine. None have stopped sofar. Keeping in mind the number of issues being pressed in Europe being way way less. Compare 65000 for our best selling interior magazine and compare that to Domino’s 800.000!! It will probably take just as much people to produce a magazine, be it in Holland or the States. The difference is only in the number of issues being pressed/sold. How could that not be profitable? I am not getting why so many magazines are being cancelled in the States. It is a shame. Hopefully the few US design magazines they sell here, will stick around. Too bad they put Domino on the shelves here. I would always pick one up when in the States. I feel for all the readers of Domino.
Ron/ Empel Collections
I was shocked as well when I discovered the news on WWD. How come they close this magazine? I discovered it recently (and there was only one place in Paris where u could buy it), and I quickly became a big fan.
How innovative and modern the styling was! AD or Elle Decor sometimes present beuiatiful interiors but these are super wealthy collectors’ homes. Domino looked like luxury but was aimed at a wiedr audience….
I can’t believe Conde Nast closed it… they save the older titles and sacrifice the younger ones… A real pity…
Very sad indeed. Let’s just hope that other publications sit up and take notice now before we lose any more of them…
This is really terrible news. I LOVED domino!!! It made me so happy when it arrived in the mail. It is a great shelter mag for real people. What a bloody shame!!!!!!
I did cry, Domino Magazine was the first one that post the picture of my outdoor room in their website, It means a lot to me…
I am so sad. Domino was very “reader generous”-you could actually go out and find the things they featured and afford them. It was my favorite magazine. I visited their wonderful web site as well every day. 4 photos of my daughter’s first apartment are featured on their web site under Cheap Decorating Tricks by Domino readers. It makes me happy though that there are amazing blogs like yours to fill the void. Maybe those of us with blogs will work harder knowing we do a small part in this bleak economy to brighten people’s days and homes. All the best.
That really sucks 🙁 I just sent my card in to subscribe and I ordered the book on Monday. So lame. So lame!
This is really traumatic and something I had thought a possibility, but had buried deeply with the rest of my WORST FEARS. I am a fashion stylist and subscribe to every fashion mag and several shelter mags and none cause my heart to do a little baby backflip the way Domino does when I see it in the mailbox. As beautiful as some of the homes in the other mags are, I think they ultimately just make me feel left out, as I will likely never be that rich. Domino made me feel included for having style, not buckets of money.
I too spend serious cash on foreign magazines and would have paid $10 for Domino. If they have to kill a magazine how about American Vogue. It’s killing us with boredom. So sad.
I agree with you, HC, on Elle Decor…doesn’t work with my urban 1890s victorian. I was totally disappointed when I learned Cottage Living was shuttering…my consolation was Domino. So disappointing. In the last few years, however, I’ve begun turning to blogs like yours for inspiration, as well as European magazines. Please keep up the great work…and great ideas!
From a dear friend, I think this says it all:
“Domino was a touchstone for people who admired English and French eccentricity, and valued style above mere fashion or conformity. It was about taste, but not the tyranny of conventional good taste. Now there is a real vacuum where that editorial sensibility used to be.”
I am devastated as well. This might sound ridiculous, but consumers have been able to save TV shows that were supposed to be cancelled, haven’t they? And Victoria magazine did actually get revived. Is there any place we can write, or email, or call to tell the publishers what a mistake this is?
The biggest bummer about this situation, besides losing the amazing magazine every month (which I have a sub for until October 2010) is that they are shutting down the web site. If anything, they should keep the site running. this is just like Blueprint! Gawd! I guess I’ll be “paying” for my auto-renewal of Vogue with the extra months on my Domino sub.
I was so very upset upon learning that Conde Nast ( Nasty!!) has opted to stop publication of the wonderful, fresh, awe-inspiring DOMINO Magazine. I loved, loved, loved this shelter magazine like no other.It was upsetting enough when House & Garden (US version – Dominique Browning as editor) also closed. I was happy to see DOMINO take it’s place, well, sort of takes it place. Sigh, what do do now? Well, in Canada, we do have one shelter magzine which is quite good, Canadian House & Home
(Linda Reeves is the founder/owner). check it out!!
what a loss for the design world.
I wish publishers would raise prices, if that would keep magazines afloat. It’s an extra cost well worth it to me…design magazines are as important for my business as a stethoscope is to my husband’s.
HC –
I wish O would go!
rather have Domino
Oh my god!!! do not believe it!! I live in London and love domino magazine, when my friends come from the States they bring a copy for me. There is nothing better than a cup of tea and my magazines!!!
Internet will never replace the pleasure of going trough amazing interiors and articles that i get to archive in my home.
I am so sorry to hear that they are closing down the publication!!! maybe they should move over here. We have a great selection of interior magazine!!!
Total bummer! Wish there could be some GOOD NEWS out there somewhere!!!
I know exactly how you feel – the shock of it is now over and depression has set in. I guess I’ll have to begin searching for something to take it’s place – domino was my one and only favorite and the only magazine I subscribed to.
🙁
Please post them – I am already going through withdrawal and it isn’t even March yet. This is awful.
Oh gosh…this is really devastating! I always felt like just about any other shelter magazine could shut down, just as long as Domino didn’t go anywhere. So sad!
Something I’m wondering: why is no one really exloring the the idea of online/virtual magazines? I know it couldn’t be as big as a paper magazine, but I would gladly pay a subscription price to have my inbox blessed with the monthly wonder of Domino or the like.
I loved Domino, totally gutted that it has folded. The layout, content and features were awesome. I will miss it ALOT!
as stupid as it may seem to actually feel SAD over a magazine, i nearly cried yesterday when i read my email. I called the company to see what was going to happen (I was paid up until may 2010!) and they said they would send me back my money. No other magazine ever was what Domino was. Seriously. I’m not an interior designer, I’m not a home owner (though i will be within the next year…and Domino would’ve greatly helped!), but it was such a big part of my “things that make me happy”. Fan since issue one…and always will be.
R.I.P. Domino.
H-
what is going on in this country is tragic.
no shelter magzines.
what’s next ?
the shelters ?
xx
sorry about the boots, not the new shoes ?
MS. HABITUALLY CHIC HERSELF IS NOT JUST HOME CRYING OVER DEAR DEAD DOMINO. HAVE NO FEAR, HC IS NOT FOLDING AS WELL, BUT IS SADLY WITHOUT INTERNET. WHAT’S A GIRL TO DO, STAYED TUNED NEW POSTS TO FOLLOW!
HAPPY FRIDAY
I was already having a lousy day when I got the news Domino was closing down. Such a shame–I looked forward to its arrival each month, and as a decorator found it a great resource and inspiration. Somehow, though, it made me feel better to read the other comments and find I was not alone in wanting to cry, then go home and drink a glass of wine! Perhaps, HC, you can help fill the void–your site is fantastic.
Domino was absolutely charming!
Yes, they had gotten a bit higher-brow showing more expensive things, but it all seemed within reach somehow.
I too will miss it.
Can I say something? This is a great site. And it’s free and it doesn’t take up room in my house and it’s here when I want it and gone when I don’t. The point I am trying to make is that for many, maybe not all, the computer has become the paper trade, whether it’s magazines or newspapers. The computer is how I get my news. I think that the blogs be the wave of the future and the better blogs will outlive the lousy ones and the ad world will catch on, like they already have and start to advertise on the sites. The Daily Beast is my new favorite daily site for what Vanity Fair used to be for me when Tina Browne ran that mag. I think some people still buy mags to read in bed and own, but most of them will be bought by hairdressing salons and doctors’ offices. Whether that is enough to sustain the industry, time will tell.
Change is hard but, it’s unstoppable.
I will forever miss Domino… not only did they feature wonderful items, but they really put new designers in the limelight and they generated a lot of business for the items they featured.
When I worked for Charlotte Moss we had a bracelet that was featured in Domino, it sold out right away and then there was a waiting list that was several months long.
I’ve given you a blog award, you may already have received it, but when you get the chance stop by and view it!
I know. Me too. When I told my husband (who def doesn’t follow interiors) even he was sympathetic!
I am so sad about Domino ending. I have found so much useful info in the magazine. I enjoyed looking at it and reading it, always more than once. I am not happy about this news. What about the resources and the blogs?
I feel your pain Heather. Domino is absolutely my favorite mag.Their “guide to living with style” tenet is approachable & makes high style for the home reachable for anybody & everybody. It spoke to so many stylish women & decor savvy women out there, not just the elite ones but to all. Ciao Domino…you’ll be terribly missed.
I was so sad when I heard this! Domino is one of my favorite magazines and I had just extended my subscription. I agree that it was really the only shelter/design mag that catered towards a younger demographic. I loved the features on how to fix up a rental. I’m so glad I decided to save all my back-issues!
I can’t believe another of my favorite magazines is gone! This was such a great one and crossed so many looks. kath
I went out with a friend and all we talked about was Domino Magazine and how we were so sad to see it go…why is it that nothing wonderful lasts???
We both said we would have paid more for the magazine…whatever just to keep getting it monthly..
Too sad…
someone should start a petition, hey it might just work. It did for Jag 🙂
I just heard this very very sad news today!!! This is just horrible!! Damn economy!! What will happen next!? 🙁
I started a blog to save Domino! Please join me in my personal crusade to convince Conde Naste to save Domino!! Tell everyone you know – we have to stop this!!
savedomino.blogspot.com
Hi H.C.
I too, am disappointed about Domino folding. Last month, Rita Konig herself strolled into my store to say that photographers would be in the next day to photograph for the April issue! I had to pick my jaw up off the floor! Our fair town, Charlottesville, VA was slated as April issue’s “Destination” and my shop, Pillow Mint, was to be featured. Sigh.
Dashed dreams aside, Domino is still one of my favorites, and I’m so glad I kept all my back issues!
LOVE your blog.
Best to you,
Anita Davis
http://www.pillowmint.net