bye bye Blueprint

I just read on Design*Sponge that Blueprint magazine is folding. Confirmed by the reaper on Magazine Death Pool. It seems hard to believe that a magazine with a circulation of 268,000 and leveraged by Martha Stewart and her brands cannot be sustained.

Going forward, the company will produce Blueprint as focused special interest issues within the home category, which it will introduce to brides-to-be through its established Martha Stewart Weddings magazine. Bluelines, the Blueprint blog, will continue and the company anticipates growing Blueprint digital content across its websites. Blueprint magazine will discontinue publishing on a stand-alone basis after the January/February 2008 issue.

They better spruce up that Bluelines blog, then, because it has always been the weekest link in the Blueprint brand. The quality of the images posted there is always lacking.

"We are constantly evaluating the best ways to position and grow our brands. Weddings and Blueprint appeal to women at a similar life stage and we believe this strategy will allow us to better leverage the synergistic relationship between the two publications," said Susan Lyne, President and CEO of MSLO. "By publishing Blueprint in a special interest format, we can provide newlyweds with useful ideas and inspiration for their homes; and advertisers with a targeted platform to reach this highly desirable consumer."

Thats a very antiquated notion that women must be getting married or recently married to be interested in decorating their homes. (I purchased my home without a guy in sight!)

"We thank Editor-in-Chief Sarah Humphreys, Design Director Deb Bishop, Publisher Amy Wilkins, and the entire Blueprint team for all the hard work, talent and passion they brought to this start-up," added Lyne. "We look forward to working with Sarah, Deb, Amy and other members of the Blueprint team on the new special interest issues and other company endeavors. We expect Blueprint's new format and the expansion of Weddings will position us well in a dynamic, multimedia marketplace."

At least they are keeping this talented team (hopefully not too many will lose their jobs). I've always admired Deb Bishop's work. (She attended the Alberta College of Art & Design before me.)

Blueprint is the only magazine I subscribe to. I liked it enough to show my support that way, rather than purchasing it on newstands. I hope they refund that two-year subscription I just renewed!