Love Domino Style-Last issue

Hello,
I hope everyone had a lovely week.
Have you seen any interesting posts about Domino lately?
I have found three Flickr pools to indulge myself in the beauty od fresh, spring fragranced interiors.

Today i'd like to ask you whether you got to leaf through the closing, March 2009 issue of Domino. If you did, why don't you post some pictures on your blog or photostream? Let me know if you do! I'd love to see what they made of the last issue. Apparently they had a feature telling the stories behind the homes of people during different decades of their life. A very American Vogue concept.

Photo credits: With thanks to: curlyjazz, onbradstreet, kimhas6cats, and annieloveschris.
Also read this article from Apartment Therapy.

Have a bright week ahead!

Love Domino Style-How did you Domino?

Hello Domino loving readers,

Can you recall the excitement of getting your copy at the newsagents'? Or did you subscribe?
Did you open your copy on a bus? At the nearby coffee shop? On your desk at work, perhaps?

Did you carry it everywhere with you, sipping sneak picks whenever you could?


Did you run home
or did you hide it like a bone to read it later?

with good company.

Did you keep your copies, too?


Photo credits: with thanks to citizen c, redhearts, champagne chic, shannalee, sunnygirlwi (mocha+magazine=bliss) and laurie:liquidpaper (domino: my drug of choice), via Flickr.

Button and response

Dear blogging friends,

Two weeks ago I posted about a weekly meme I was starting here at The Happy Turtle, named "Love Domino Style", the purpose being for those who enjoy the magazine's style to be in touch with the beautiful interiors its editors had created. Such a meme deserves a blog button, so my talented friend Tara created a beautiful button, which I believe reflected beautifully the magazine's spirit.

Today, as I opened my computer, I saw a note that the picture had been removed. I was surprised by the intrusion to my blogging home. I headed to the comments, and then to my e-mail. A message from a certain Ms. Gold read:

"The photo in the domino button you created for happy turtle is my photo, taken by me, owned by me, styled by me, of my room for which I won the domino decorating contest".

I am not going to pass on the rest of the correspondence which, in spite of Tara's immediate action to create a new code providing credit, ended with Ms. Gold's "Remove photo on button". And I am not going to offer an apology either, because her photo, one of thousands doing the rounds in the web these days, had not a copyright, name, or watermark on it, neither did I copied it from her blog, if she has one. Otherwise I would be happy to ask/acknowledge/give credit/link, as I always do in my blog.

But apparently Ms. Gold thinks she is so important, that everyone who sees her photograph of her teapot should immediately identify it as being her own.

Take a look at Ms. Gold's wording:

"my photo, taken by me, owned by me, styled by me, of my room for which I won the domino decorating contest".

This is the biggest show of egotism I have seen in a barely two line long sentence.

I am not a lawyer as Ms. Gold is, as I found out by googling her name. And I had no idea by seeing her name that she was the person who won the Domino contest, although I had left a comment about her victory at a blogging friend's blog, 14 months ago, without knowing her.

I think the before and after pictures were necessary. They bring things into perspective, especially coming from someone without formal training, it is an amazing transformation. Well done Catherine, and thank you Corine!

Posted by: Irene | December 10, 2007 at 04:12 AM

Because I am not arrogant or greedy and do not possess an inflated ego, but I am rather a filoxenos Greek, I am offering the links to the posts that Hidden in France and Apartment Therapy (as I found via Google) had written for Ms.Gold.

That is all about Ms. Gold and the photograph of her teapot.

The Love Domino Style meme will run as normal next Tuesday.

A bientot!

I love Domino style-Paint me beautiful

Hello dear friends,
I hope you all had a lovely week. A big Thank You to those who stopped by and those who e-mailed a word of encouragement. I really appreciate it!

Today I am not going to post from my Greek "Domino" collection. (You may read my first post on a random issue here). I am going to post (with permission) about the work of an artist I came across early on in my blogging and who has remained a stable favorite of mine.

Most of you are familiar with Anne Harwell, the charismatic artist of works of stylish interiors, including her iconic chair.

Anne of annechovie has been featured in the Domino website in the past. Her work had been chosen for the magazine's on line gift print gallery.

Her style and flair are instantly recognisable. She knows her subject, its demands and limitations. With her confident hand and her eye for detail she captures the particulars yet she never fails to communicate the overall impression, the feeling of a room or of a collection of objects.


Some of her works are inspired by Domino features or commissioned by clients. Her happy disposition fits perfectly with the magazine's deceptively carefree atmosphere. Here is a sample of her work inspired by original Domino features:







Isn't she amazing? Isn't it amazing how a magazine has inspired so many people to create anew kind of interiors, beautiful, fresh stylish and affordable, while at the same time it has inspired talented people to create beautiful works of art out of its pages?

Thank you, Anne for capturing our favorite magazine's style so beautifully!
Anne Harwell's blog can be found here. Click here for her etsy shop, where you can pick her prints, and here for her Flickr pages.Enjoy, and share the love!

I love Domino style...tomorrow

Hello dear friends,
I quick reminder to join us tomorrow for the "I love Domino style" picture meme.
Choose your favorite pictures, features, ideas,
pick the beautiful button that the talented Tara created, from my sidebar,
post them on your blog,
and leave a comment here.
Then let us visit each other and enjoy our favorite home inspiration magazine.
Have a lovely week ahead!

I Love Domino Style

Hello, style lovers, and welcome to the "I Love Domino Style" meme.
Our aim here is to share our Domino love and to show the people at Conde-Nast how much we appreciate our favorite magazine and that we want it back.

I am going to start Domino Love with the January 2007 issue of Domino (Greece). Domino was the first interiors magazine to use famous people on its cover, instead of the usual room shot. That particular cover featured a young Greek actress, participating in one of Greek TV's greatest successes.

Quite interestingly, Editor-in-Chief was Paulina Sarri, a fashion photographer and stylist. She is now Editor-in-Chief of the Greek edition of House and Garden.

As the decline was becoming apparent, new blood was called in. Spyro Soulis, an Architect educated in London, was the host to the one and only interiors transformation show on Greek TV, now a thing of the past, too. He was called in to offer his practical, down to earth advice. In this issue he is being introduced by the editor and advises on how to achieve "Manhattan style".

"Manhattan style" is illustrated by a real life apartment in Thessaloniki, Northern Greece.



Piero Fornasetti items are a perennial favorite of Greek interior designers and stylists in the last 20 years. Domino always chose to present interiors that were modern yet classic and fresh, always infused in beautiful light, as shown in the pictures above.

What also makes Domino special is its introduction of detailed inspiration sheets and 'how to's.

Above, where inspiration came from for a school-type kitchen.
I liked how the editors presented their choices. Even the contents page was original, picking the most special pieces that one ought to read.


Interesting books were also handpicked covering all of readers' interests.

Some of Domino's favorites from the January 2007 issue,
So Far, So Goude
A Room Full of Toys: The Magical Characters of Childhood
Africa
New Decor
Vitamin Ph: New Perspectives in Photography
Larousse Encyclopedia of Wine

Then, there was the fun stuff, like those stickers that were helpful in marking one's favorite pages from garden to presents to entertainment. They also provided a playful, girly touch. Design is a serious business, but it is also fun, Domino seemed to say.

Even restaurants were chosen and presented not only for their menu but also for their stylish and fresh interiors.

In the January 2007 issue Domino hosted a feature on the new generation of Greece's most sought after furniture and interiors shops. They were photographed with their favorite coffee tables.

Last but not least, my favorite page by one of my favorite style setters. A Rita Koenig kind of article, with personal character, that Miss D had began as a newspaper columnist some ten years ago. I loved it! In the January 2007 issue, "Holidays with a French scent".

I hope you enjoyed that first tour. I look forward to visiting your blogs and sharing the Domino style!

Also, don't forget to stop by and say hello to our button designer, Tara. I believe she did a great job capturing the Domino spirit! Stay tuned, more surprises in store!

Love Domino Style button

Hello, dear friends,
This is a quick reminder about our rendez-vous this coming Tuesday, February 10.
Go through your image banks, leaf through our favorite magazine, scan, post and save, to join in on "ILove Domino Style".
As my gift to you, there is a button sitting on my siedebar. Feel free to copy the code and post it in your blogs. Then on Tuesday come back here, leave a comment and a link to your post, and let the party begin!
Isn't this button just lovely? I think it brings out the fresh yet elegant style of Domino. A very talented blogging lady made it for me, but I am not going to tell you who it is until Tuesday! And there is more in store!..So click back soon!

Domino and a new Meme!

Speaking of magazines and Domino :

"The first one to go was House & Garden.
In November 2007, the 106-year-old magazine unexpectedly ceased publication. Soon after, In Style Home and Blueprint folded. Since November, three more home design magazines announced their demise: Time Inc.'s Cottage Living, O at Home and Country Home. Recently, media reports have said that Domino is in trouble, too.

Those looking to point a finger for the shuttering of their favorite home design magazines can blame the over-saturation of them in the market and the 24-hour availability of design information on TV, radio and the Internet. Of course, the biggest contributor, experts say, is the economic downturn.

There's a housing crisis, a financial crisis and automotive crisis. All the U.S. economic conditions definitely affect this category.

In a downturn, the leaders are the ones that survive while the weaker ones fall away.

Unfortunately, a loyal fan base and high circulation don't necessarily mean survival. The bulk of a magazine's revenue comes from advertising. When ad dollars fall, revenue from other sources is typically not enough to sustain a publication. House & Garden, for example, had a circulation of nearly 1 million when it died.

A good example is Cottage Living. Launched in September 2004, the well-liked niche magazine enjoyed quick success: It steadily increased its circulation within a short period (it eventually exceeded 1 million). Despite the positive feedback, advertising began to decline. The November-December 2008 issue was its last.

But the publication was not geared toward high-income readers, whom advertisers most want to reach. There's no advertising to support the lower and middle markets in the shelter category, so revenue falls.

"I think blogs are the best thing to happen in my 30 years in the industry," says Drucker, of House Beautiful. "They spread the word about us. Blogs are basically magazines that are not financially viable. Magazines that are currently in peril would probably be much better off as blogs."

The Washington Post article also mentions a design blog I haven't heard of before, called

Mrs. Blandings. Some article writer's relative I suppose, to get a mention in the Post, but you may check it out here. So many "cute" , similar looking blogs around. At least it looks personal...

As I love Domino's style, and I have saved all of Domino's Greek issues, I am doing a "Love Domino style" Tuesday post meme, starting next Tuesday, February 10. Make a note, join me and share your favorite styles and posts. Have a lovely week ahead!