The Business of Creativity: How to Build the Right Team for Success by Granet Keith

Author:Granet, Keith [Granet, Keith]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
Published: 2016-12-05T16:00:00+00:00

EDITORIAL OUTLETS, BOTH PRINT AND ONLINE

It’s the print magazine world that has probably changed the least in recent years, even if publications now have their own websites and social media accounts—a very good thing for you, since some of them post upwards of twenty new stories a day, and they need content.

In the United States, Architectural Digest and Elle Decor remain the Holy Grails of nationally distributed interiors magazines, as do House Beautiful, Veranda, Interior Design, Luxe , and Cottages & Gardens , read by both people in the design industry and the general public. While these shelter magazines are most likely the best places to turn readers into clients, don’t forget that top fashion, luxury, and lifestyle magazines—from Vogue to WSJ, Town & Country to T, Robb Report to Departures —also feature design and have the potential to reach different audiences.

If you’re not initially successful in reaching the Holy Grail interior design magazines, the next-best placements are in local publications. Many of these are trusted sources for clients, with audiences that are both targeted and influential in your marketplace.

When you’re breaking into any of these, it’s all about getting noticed by, and developing relationships with, the magazines’ top editors. They remain the ultimate gatekeepers for all the projects featured. That’s why it’s so important that you handle most of the outreach and interaction yourself—they want and need to know you personally. Maybe at first you’ll be quoted about a trend or there will be a small story in a “front-of-book” section of the magazine, and then, eventually, a feature. In terms of getting prominent placement in the Holy Grails, it’s often best to work your way up, from a local to a regional to a smaller national publication and, ultimately, to Architectural Digest and Elle Decor .

That’s how one of my clients, the Atlanta-based Suzanne Kasler, did it. She found she had a great champion in Southern Accents , which published several of her projects. This led to Elle Decor inviting her to create a space in its annual “Design on a Dime” showcase in New York City. From there, the magazine went on to feature her work in its pages. Soon she could lay claim to several national magazine stories, and that led to her meeting Paige Rense, the longtime editor in chief of Architectural Digest , who brought her into the fold. Subsequently, Margaret Russell, the magazine’s current editor in chief and the former editor of Elle Decor , named her to the AD100, Architectural Digest ’s yearly list of design thought leaders.

(Designers often ask me whether they should do show houses—whether they lead to enough work to make them worth the time, effort, and expense. The answer, I’m afraid, is usually “Not really.” A show house can get you recognized by people in the industry, but it rarely directly brings in clients. When a show house is affiliated with a magazine, however, it can have more power—as it did for Kasler. Not only is it good

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