Editor’s Journal – May 2018
By Karol DeWulf Nickell, Editor in Chief
Welcome to the exciting next chapter of Phoenix Home & Garden
Your magazine has grown in size and has a fresh look and new features. Its heart and soul, however, remain true to its Southwestern roots.
Just like a beautifully designed home needs updating after years of use, so does a magazine. We started our “remodel” by surveying readers, and we learned a lot—especially about their shared love of house and home and this unique part of the country. Informed and inspired by this research, our staff spent hundreds of hours conceiving, sharing and honing contemporary editorial ideas and visual treatments. The former office of our late owner, Bill Phalen, was our workroom. We hope he would be happy with the ultimate results of our collaborative efforts.
The magazine’s renovated logo design is both playful and elegant, reflecting two core characteristics of the Southwest lifestyle. In a similar way, we fashioned six distinctive editorial departments to celebrate our region and its many cultural influences. Under the banners of Authentic, Beauty, Fresh, Natural, Fun and Local, you’ll find a bevy of articles that we hope will delight, inspire and surprise. While we changed our editorial and visual approach to stories up front, we maintained our magazine’s tradition of luxuriously photographed and masterfully written feature stories on the best homes, gardens, art, cuisine and happenings in the Valley and beyond. Our events calendar remains a cornerstone, but it’s newly organized for easier use. And, we introduce a sparkling plan for the last page.
We’d love to hear what you think of our renovations. Please send your comments to us at editor@phgmag.com or via social media.
March 9
My quarterly column for the American Society of Interior Designers is due today. This is part of what I wrote: “Creating a new design for a home isn’t all that different from creating a new design for a magazine. One is three-dimensional, the other, two. But the need to align form with function; the creating of an aesthetic; the artful application of line, shape, color, texture, light and contrast; the engineering of space; the practical problem-solving inherent on any creative effort—and the ultimate orchestration of all these elements—is basically the same.”
“Hey Karol, thank you so much. What a fun day!”
—Fred Tieken
February 21
Photographing the home and art collection of Fred and Gail Tieken was a blast today! Fred’s art is irreverent, insightful and biographical. See our story here.
March 19
We received an amazing testimonial this morning via email:
“I picked up a copy of Phoenix Home & Garden when I was passing through the Phoenix airport about five years ago. My husband and I had just purchased a Southwest-style home in California and were looking for ideas on how to update it. Most (if not all) of my inspiration came from your magazine.” -Terry Drury, Mountain Center, CA
Mail Editor, Phoenix Home & Garden
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