25th Anniversary Countdown to Christmas: Day 13

Throughout December, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Martha Stewart Living magazine, I will examine 25 of the most memorable and influential people, moments and milestones at Martha Stewart's company over the last quarter century: the Martha Moments that fans are especially grateful for. I hope you enjoy these reflections on twenty-five years of excellence!

DECEMBER 13: SPECIAL ISSUES 

Anyone who collects Martha Stewart Living magazine knows the excitement of discovering a special issue at the newsstand - an issue devoted exclusively to one of the magazine's core-content areas: baking, halloween, holiday, entertaining, gardening, etc. These magazines were not offered as part of the subscription and were available only on newsstands or by calling a 1-800 number to order a copy. The first special issue was devoted to a subject close to Martha's heart: Clotheskeeping. It was issued in 1997. Since then, Martha Stewart Living has released up to six special issues a year, although two seems to be the current average.

One of the things I really enjoy about them is that they are basically free of advertising, with the exception of a few ad pages here and there. It is so nice to simply look through the pages without any advertising interruptions. Even if many of the special issues contain content previously published by Martha Stewart Living, I still enjoy seeing it repurposed and repackaged in a new and beautiful way. It is also nice to have a concise collection of ideas and recipes based on one topic contained in one volume. Oh, and good news: there are two more special issues on the way in 2016! Stay tuned!

Click here for more details about the magazines shown above.

SUPPLEMENTAL ISSUES:

In addition to the special issues, there were three supplemental magazines that supported the flagship: Martha Stewart Baby, Martha Stewart Kids and Blueprint. Each of these magazines had subscription services and operated independently of Martha Stewart Living but were very much connected to the flagship magazine. While they no longer publish, they remain fan favourites and are carefully collected to this day. Visit the following links on my blog to learn more about each of these magazines:
Martha Stewart Baby
Martha Stewart Kids
Blueprint