The Most Famous Spice Rack in the World

As spice racks go, few are more sensational than the antique example Martha had mounted on the wall of her television studio in Westport, Connecticut. Sleek and unobtrusive, it was characterized by its special step-like shelves that ascended from the longest on the bottom to the shortest on the top. Martha found it at an antique shop and it quickly became a fan favourite as viewers wrote in by the thousands to inquire about it. (Fun fact: its original purpose was to sort tobacco leaves!) To satisfy the interest, Martha commissioned two reproduction versions of the spice rack to be sold through Martha by Mail, her mail-order/online catalog. She sold the metallic spice tins to match: squat, round tins with pretty Martha by Mail labels denoting the spice found inside. These fit perfectly onto the shelves of the spice rack. There was a five-shelf version, which held 30 of these spice tins, and a larger version with seven shelves that held 70 tins. They were available in natural wood or painted "Atlantic Blue." They retailed for $169 and $359, respectively. Here is a photo of them from the catalog, below, followed by an example of the seven-shelf version with the original spice tins from the kitchen of David Pantoja, host of the Good Things by David blog and my go-to historian regarding all things Martha by Mail.

When the catalog folded, fans missed out on these beautifully special pieces. In the years since I began this blog (nearly 8 years ago, which is so hard to believe) I have made so many wonderful friends with the same interest in Martha's products, magazines, the history of her career and her company's development. Many of these friends were collectors of Martha by Mail merchandise and still others are new to the fold, but with a very passionate desire to attain some of these long-gone prizes from catalogs past.

One such person is Nick Stein, a Martha enthusiast and a reader of this blog. Nick is a young university student from San Lorenzo, California, who took it upon himself to recreate this spice rack. He was so impressed by the results that he began to make more. Nick makes them out of maple, oak, poplar, mahogany and cherry wood.

Here are a few words from Nick about the spice rack:

"Being a huge fan of jadeite gives me an interesting superpower. I can spot that milky green hue from a mile away. I don't even stop at garage sales, I do a drive-by, looking for that particular shade to catch my eye. This power was activated when I was watching an old episode of MSL. I saw some jadeite custard cups sitting on a very interesting spice rack. And from then on I knew I had to have that same rack. I scoured the internet and discovered Martha by Mail (I was late to the party) and David's blog Good Things By David. His post about the spice rack and its details made me realize that I could have one too! And I could build it! I used some computer software to draw up a plan and bought some lumber. I love the simple lines of this piece. It's so sturdy and heavy and functional. It totally cleaned out my horrid spice cabinet too! I now will make them for anyone that wants a piece of Martha by Mail in a style as true to the original as possible! I offer many wood types, painted or stained, and the spice tins as well including custom labels! Each piece is slightly unique and a lot of time is spent making it as perfectly as possible."

Melody Hofmann, another Martha Moments reader, purchased one of Nick's spice racks in natural maple. She photographed it in her crafts room (look at all those Martha Stewart punches and glitter!) but now has it in her kitchen filled with spices.

Nick's spice rack in natural and stained maple.



Nick's spice rack holds 30 tins.