Saturday, June 20, 2009

I expound my love of Martha Stewart, part 1

When it comes to Martha Stewart, those who have an opinion about her feel adamantly either way. You either love her or can't stand her. Reasons people give for disliking her range from speculations about her personality ("she's a b*tch") to doubts about her domesticity and skills ("I would look like I knew what I was doing, too, if I have a large team of peons doing everything for me."). While it is true that, possibly excluding her time spent in super-minimum security incarceration, she probably could not remember the last time she did such common tasks as dusting, changing litter boxes, laundry, weeding, etc, she knows how to do these things and do them well. And these are the skills upon which she has built her business. In her case, the word "business" does not even begin to describe what she has built, but I will describe it as such. She has done what many of us creative-crafty types dream of doing. She has taken a hobby that she loves to do and built this omni-media empire. Please note that it's "omni-media," not "multi-media." Yes, that's what it is: Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. Not just some of the media, but ALL of them. Radio, TV, satellite radio, books, magazines. Then there's the products that bear her name: the flowers with 1-800-flowers, the houses with KB homes, the rugs, the paint colors at Lowe's, the line of products at Macy's and the one at K-Mart, the furniture, the lighting, the party supplies, the craft supply line, the flooring. I'm sure that I am leaving something out, but that's a whole lot of stuff right there. In addition to the actual products, there's the brand she's built. It's a feeling and a style. For example, I have a friend who now calls me "mini-Martha" after I coordinated her wedding and did the florals, and I have heard people say, "Oh,that's so Martha," to describe something. I even found a blog, just this morning, by that very name. There are actually a host of blogs that have to do with Martha Stewart, either as a fan or from the other side of the camp. I understand that Martha herself does not design every one of these things. It's quite possible she may not even see some of the designs for these products, but she's still making money off of every single one of them. And since she's making all this money, if she wanted to sit down and hand-make a birthday card for her hairdresser's dog, she could do that. And I'm sure it would be the nicest birthday card that dog's ever seen. Or she could bake said dog (or anyone--the dog's just an example) a birthday cake, or make a crepe paper garland to hang at a party. Or she could have a team of art school interns do it for her--it's her choice. The point is, she started off as just a regular woman, and took what she loves to do and turned it into a VERY successful business for herself.
Like her or dilike her, you have to admit that she is a heck of a businesswoman and she can whip up one heck of a triple-decker gourmet doggie bicuit birthday cake (or whatever) and I consider any comparison to her "a good thing."

1 comment:

  1. Hi Amy,
    Thanks for the blog love! I would be flattered to have you repost my project on your blog! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete