Were you one of the faithful readers who looked forward to each new issue of Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion? Did you mourn the magazine when it was closed down a couple of years ago? Well, you might be in luck!
I still check in with her blog from time to time, and Mary recently revealed that she and her team are trying to find a way to bring the magazine back. Here’s part of the letter she wrote to her readers about it:
It’s been 3 years since we stopped publication of the Home Companion magazine and not a day goes by– LITERALLY NOT A DAY GOES BY– that we don’t get 6, 7 or sometimes even 20 letters and emails asking that we publish it again. So we’re going to give it another shot, but we need your help.
It’s still a very risky business to put a magazine out in these tough economic times, so to convince a publisher and advertisers that this would indeed be a worthy endeavor, we need you to write in and tell us why you’d like to subscribe to the magazine again. A petition, if you will. Because if we can show that a gajillion people want the Home Companion, need the Home Companion, will BUY the Home Companion– we will have a better chance of success.
Barbara , Kathy, and I are all ready to dive back in if you are.
~Mary
I subscribed to it back in the very beginning, when the covers were still being illustrated by ME. Remember those?
I have really hated to see so many great shelter mags closing up shop recently and would love to see this one (and a few others!) return. If you would, too, you can sign the “petition” by commenting on her blog.
If this works, what other magazine petitions should we start? Which ones do you miss?
{ 81 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve never read this magazine but it seems interesting. I’m always cheering for good things to come back and if this means more jobs for writers and designer, it’s even better!
Have a wonderful day, Julia!
xo
Luciane at HomeBunch.com
wow thanks for sharing. i miss that magazine the most! totally inspiring. especially loved the spotlight on artists and their studios.
Cottage Living!
Ditto – SO miss Cottage Living!
Add me to the Cottage Living list!
Me too!
Oh, I miss Cottage Living soooo much too!
YES, Cottage Living!!!!
Double ditto Cottage Living! I’ve never seen ME’s Home Companion, but it sounds great. I’d subscribe!
Can you believe that I found a stack of old magazines and while reading this an issue of Cottage Living is currently laying on the bed next to me? I devoured it as if it was new. Really stands the test of time. Loved it!
I used to get ME HC and miss it. Still have many issues of Victoria…loved it.
Add me to Cottage Living too! I miss ME most of all though.
That would be wonderful. I definitely miss that magazine. I still look through my stack of old ones all the time.
I never subscribed, but I did flip through from time to time. I like the photographed cover a little better than the illustrated one…mostly b/c I just find it a little more inspiring to see the seasonal stuff. Will have to go check her out again…wonder if it will make a comeback?
Julia, this is GREAT news! As soon as I post my comments, I’m going straight to that link and sign the petition! I can think of a few others I’d love to see again .. Cottage Living and Country Home come immediately to mind.
Like Traci, I save all my old copies and look thru them for inspiration and ideas. Loved reading about the featured artists and peaking into their worlds.
I found your blog searching for pictures of Stars hollow (I’m a Gilmore fan too)!
I add you at my blog cus I just loved here!
Greetings from Brazil!
Rebecca Americo
LOVED this magazine. I’ve already commented to “sign the petition,” and remain hopeful. What a wonderful magazine! Full of eye-candy! Here’s to a come-back!
Please, please, please Cottage Living!!!!!!!!
O I wish her nothing but luck!
I signed the petition a few weeks ago. I also wrote a post about how the magazine influenced my design decisions in our home. I truly miss it, and I mourned over the loss of it! I hope that it comes back soon!!! Thanks so much for this post, Julia. Luckily, I did save some of my favorite issue of Home Companion.
YES!!! I would subscribe in a minute.
Cottage Living! Loved that magazine.
I’m not familiar with this one even though I live in Mary’s neck of the woods. I would definitely check it out though as I love home mags. I was so sad the day they discontinued Cottage Living, I would love to see that one brought back!
I so miss Country Home and Domino! Will sign the petition for Home Companion today!
I used to read ME’s Home Companion. I loved her cheery colors. I saved one article for years: a makeover of a teeny, drab, blue collar house in St. Louis. She did it all with paint and Wal-mart finds. It was awesome. I’m glad it’s back.
I was sad when Country Home stopped publishing, then excited when I saw it on the newsstand again, but at $12.95 an issue, I had to pass on it.
I had a subscription to MEC as well, and was sad when it closed. I loved Cottage Living and Country Home as well!
I also loved House & Garden which was canceled right after I finally caved and got a subscription. They replaced it with domino, which then disappeared too!
A couple others I loved were a BH & G publication called Living Room and Martha Stewart’s Blueprint.
Can you tell I’m a shelter magazine junkie?! I will happily sign the petition!
I really miss Blueprint. I love Mary E”s illustrations and I also liked the future of artists’ studios. I would also rip out her montthly illustration and hang it near my workplace. It brightened up my day.
Love ME and have already visited and signed the petition…now let’s bring back Cottage Living (loved that magazine…..LOVED)…..I loved Country Home too.
Oh yeah I signed that a week ago….I LOVED that magazine. There was also a magazine that wasn’t out very long called “Budget Living” and I thought it was awesome. Ironically it closed after a few issues b/c of lack of sales.
I loved Budget Living, too! How I wish I’d saved those magazines!
I sooooo miss a magazine I used to buy at the checkout stand…”Quick and Easy Decorating”. I think it was a BH&G mag. Sigh!
i have every single issue from the first one! i still like to look through them occasionally…i can look through a whole stack of just oct/nov issues at once. i had subscribed for three years just before they stopped publishing it and was given martha stewart as a sub. good, but just not the same. it would be fun to see home companion come out again. i hope they work something out.
Cottage Living – still miss it!!!! I have post traumatic magazine loss syndrome over that one.
I still miss Cottage Living!
While I’ve liked ME’s magazine for it’s ‘cottage-y’ feel, my all time favorite was Victoria. I was so excited to have it back in publication, even if it was no longer a Hearst magazine. I have saved every Victoria from 1994 on, and have a few issues from earlier, as well. I leaf back through these magazines, some from years ago, and I’m astonished to see how very much my style, my home, and my life is and was reflected in the pages of Victoria. Example: my wedding ring is in an advertisment from 1997 (ten years before my wedding), and my honeymoon hotel was profiled a year after our wedding.
For the ladies out there whose lives have been as intertwined with ME, I wish them many more years of their beloved magazine.
Victoria! I still have all the old issues, all the way back to the beginning (I bought the whole back issue collection when I discovered the mag). I really miss that one. I open some now and again and can’t believe the beautiful photography. I’m thinking of lining the walls of our shed with pages from this (idea stolen from an artist I visited in the in the country who had lined her barn/studio with inspiring pics) wonderful magazine. My old boyfriend used to tease me about how every thing was described as “be” something, like bespoke and beribboned. I laugh now because he was right. But i loved the pictures.
ReadyMade!! I was so sad when it closed earlier this year.
This would be a dream come true!!! I miss ME so much. Just signed the petition…this is very exciting!
xo J~
I’ve signed the petition for ME magazine. The other two that I really miss: Cottage Living and Country Home.
YES! I was one of the one’s in mourning, it was a sad day indeed. So glad I saved all my copies, they are still so creatively inspiring. Signed the petition and hoping for a return:)
Well, this thread gives me the chance to say I truly miss Cottage Living and would subscribe again in a heartbeat. I’m not a big fan of ME’s style but I do know what it’s like to lose a fave publication.
Well…THANK YOU AGAIN! You never fail to enlighten me about something! lol I love this mag and have missed it for so long. Like you, I check in to her blog now and again just to see what is happening. Somehow I missed this good news! Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
I hadn’t heard of this magazine until today. It looks a good and fun magazine to look at.
hope it makes it back and soon! i signed the petition!
i miss country living and cottage living too!
I want the original Victoria brought back. Now that was a magazine that had everything.
Oh…I do hope they bring it back. I loved it so much. So many great things in each issue. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I went over and signed the petition immediately.
My sister and I were were two big fans of the magazine. We live in different states, and it was one of those things we looked forward to exchanging comments on. I’m not a big fan of her artwork; I love children’s book illustrations, but hers seem more cute than whimsical. But the magazine was great. It profiled so many creative artist’s homes, and really opened my eyes to letting your home reflect your own unique take on the world. I hope it makes a comeback.
Thank you so much for sharing this! My mom LOVED this magazine and was so sad when it stopped. She actually recently redecorated her craft room ME style and used prints that came in the magazines (which she still has so many, if not all, of them). You can see her craft room here if you’re interested: http://emptynestersonwindwhisperlane.blogspot.com/2011/09/crafting-fun.html
That’s fun–thanks, Jill!
I adore it. ADORE IT!!! Not only that, but when I hopped over to comment, I saw that just below my post were 4 of my sweet friends. Ohh…I hope they come back, I still leaf through my collection regularly.
: )
Julie M.
Never saw ME but I adored Cottage Living!
My daughter, mom and I all loved Mary Engelbreit Home Companion. I still have my back issues. No magazine since has come close to it–so fun, so inspiring, so quirky. Count me in for at least 3 subscriptions.
that’s great news about mary e. thanks for posting the link, julia!
i have to go with all of the others here who mentioned how much they miss cottage living. i half heartedly check the mag racks every month hoping that c.l. secretly started publishing again…
Yes it would be great if it came back. There has never been anything else like it.
Today I bought “Cottage Living Christmas”. I didn’t know about it before, so a heads up to all the cottagers.
And hoping ME comes back too.
Hadn’t seen that! Thanks, Carole!
Yes, please bring it back!!!! I would subscribe again for sure.
Hi Julia, I still have all of the ME magazines in my office. I wrote them a letter (pre pc’s) in the 90′s telling them about my hammered aluminum collection. A year later they phoned me and asked if I would help with an article. There was something so unique about that magazine. Since I had to keep the issue with my article, I kept all of the others too!
ME was fun to flip through,yes , but now reading the comments , I miss Cottage Living much worse. It was like coming home. I treasure the few copies I saved. I’m always trying to declutter–wish I’d saved every single one !
I subscribed to ME’s Home Companion for a couple of years. It was always so fun and cheery, like her cards, and I enjoyed the profiles of artists. While I liked her style, it wasn’t for me – too much stuff. I have every one of the original Victoria magazines, which still inspire me. As many noted above, the one I miss the most now is Cottage Living – I subscribed to that from the first issue and hated it when it went away. Loved Country Home, too. I confess I am a magazinaholic. Blogs are filling the gap more now, but I still have to regularly go to Barnes & Noble to check out the latest mags. Some of my favorites now are published in England and France. Love the old houses over there that you just can’t get here.
I’ve already signed the petition. Hope we can gt it back. My old issues are worn out!!
I would love to see Cottage Living make a comeback.
My mom really liked her and subscribed to her magazine. Not my style, but it’s sweet to hear she’s trying to bring that mag back.
I loved MEHC but if it comes back at $10 an issue or some such, not sure I’d buy it. As I recall it was expensive.
it was my soft place to crash.. I would love to see it come back.. in a heart beat.. also miss cottage living too..
Definitely would LOVE to see Cottage Living and Country Home come back. None of the others seem to quite have what those had!
For the millionth time, Cottage Living! Was so sad to see it go. Used to love ME and had several framed prints. I actually love the illustrated covers….it was different than anything else. Hope they can make it work again.
Signed the petition and hope it comes back. I have also been heartsick to lose my other favorites–Cottage Living, House and Garden, the original Victoria (the new one doesn’t compare), Country Home –boo hoo !
Love Home Companion. I kept all the issues before it shut down and refer to them. I hope you try again.
Please, Please, PUL-LEEEEZE COME BACK!!!!!!!
Please, Please, PUL-LEEEEZE COME BACK!!!!!!!
Yes, yes! Pleeeeeease bring back MEHC!!! How is the petition going?
Any updates on the progress?
Just give me a sign!!
I used to look so forward to your magazine arriving in my mailbox. When it did, I sat down and enjoyed every page over and over! I still have them, and go back through them all the time. Please come back. I’ll be first in line!
I have the best job EVER! I’m a mag/book vendor & I put out the all the new mags every week! I miss Mary too. (been a fan since 1978, bought & framed her “Life is a chair of bowlies” card) So many of our favs ceased production when that darn recession hit. I have tons of MEHC. Many, many of the original Victoria, including dreamy copies from the first 3 years. I have every Domino issue. Have lots of Budget Living & other BHG decor mags. The publishers of Cottage Living & Country Home do print a few times a year. Sometimes it’s what is known as a “Special Interest” issue. Recipes, or gardening, sometimes decorating. If you see an issue you can’t live without, just buy it! To make it justifiable, pinch pennies elsewhere! Did you notice that Mary’s decorating style had changed towards the end? I’d outgrown her old style & was so spazzed to see her new style is so close to mine! Very cool! Enjoy the decor mags ladies, I sure do! And decorating blogs? Don’t get me started! LOVE LOVE LOVE ‘EM!
PLEASE,!PLEASE! BRING BACK MARY E’S,MAGAZINE .
MISS, MISS, MISS IT !! LET ME KNOW WHERE TO SEND THE CHECK.
WE NEED SOME CHEER – ESPEC IN THESE TIMES.
I’M HOLDING ON TO OLD ISSUES FROM WAY BACK .
THANK YOU ,
DENISE TOSCA
727 CORONADO AVE .86303
PRESCOTT ARIZ.86303
The day after posting the above, I found a DOMINO Spring/Summer 2012 issue in with my magazine delivery! Yes I thumbed through it! Yes i set the thumbed through issue aside to buy! $10.99, time for me to pinch my pennies elsewhere… Oh, if there’s a Spring/Summer issue, that must mean there will be a Fall/Winter issue! And so on…
Please bring back Home Companion..My favorite
I pulled out an old issue of ME last night and almost cried – I miss it so much! It was such a calming influence during troubled times for me, and absolutely NOTHING was like it -I would LOVE for it to come back!
I would love to see ME Home Companion return! You can count on me to subscribe.
Loved the wholesomeness of the magazine. Loved the paper dolls for my grandkids–boys as well as girls. The ideas were fresh, pretty and affordable. Please come back.
I was going through some saved magazines when I ran across three issues of Home Companion. ( I know I have others in my garage because I would never throw away such treasures.) How I loved every issue and wish it would come back, BUT not if the quality had to suffer. I have experienced how some of my favorite magazines have sacrificed quality and content in order to “stay alive” – like a human with a debilitating disease. So, I hope this lovely magazine returns.
Home Companion brings sunshine to all who read the magazine! Please listen to us subscribers and bring back the magazine!
Hi Mary,
Today I uncovered two of your magazines that were given to me by my sister awhile back….Aug/Sept. 2007 and April/May of 2008. What I really liked was that there was no holiday theme in them…they were everyday living and art and crafts in them….even the ads (which I usually greatly dislike) were colorful and worth studying. So, tonight I was going to investigate subscribing. I feel there are plenty of magazines out there that cover Halloween, Christmas and Easter and all their crafty ideas. These two copies may haven fallen out of that scope and the others did that I don’t know. I would prefer seasonal suggestions vs. holiday suggestions….which I saw in the two. I will keep watch. I do really enjoy your work and enjoyed the superb job done in the copies I had.
Sincerely,
CB
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