Domino Magazine To Fold

Just two-weeks after installing a new publisher in a last-ditch effort to save the magazine, Conde Nast informed staffers Wednesday morning that the beloved shelter title Domino will fold.

In a press release, Conde Nast CEO Chuck Townsend said, "This decision to cease publication of the magazine and its website is driven entirely by the economy. Although readership and advertising response was encouraging in the early years, we have concluded that this economic market will not support our business expectations."

Domino, edited by Deborah Needleman, launched in April 2005. It had been rumored, along with mens fashion magazine Details, as one of the likely Conde Nast magazines to fold as advertising pages plummet across the industry.

Comments

[Katie Fleming]

I too am so so so so sad about Domino being canceled. It is what I look forward to every month. I always pull pages that inspire me!!!! Ughhhh!!!!!

[z4zillah]

My heart still hurts over this. Domino was my favorite mag ever. I'm a small-time designer in Chicago and in Late December '08, I was contacted by Domino...They were considering me as one of the contenders for the Domino 10. It would have been so awesome but now that dream is no more.....

[MsIrisMG]

Not surprised. Print media of all kinds are going the way of the dinosaur. Books are next.

[bren650]

I too enjoy Domino-I tend to steal my friend's copy when she's finished reading it. However, I do get a great home magazine mailed to my home for free. It's called Housetrends. It's very impressive and offers a lot of great ideas. Their website is nice too. www.housetrends.com. I guess they have magazines in several cities.

[wendoxia]

i'm devastated. as a designer, i looked forward every month to their fresh look, and constantly refer to back issues for inspiration. domino is a wonderful alternative to the pricier shelter magazines that are totally out of reach for the majority of americans, and a younger look than the stuffiness i see in other work. . sad...very sad.

[pinkindie]

I'm compelled to coment on this article again. I have to laugh at those posters who say they found the items featured to be too expensive. Umm, hello. Have you ever opened an Elle Decor? A House Beautiful? I could go on and on and on. Most subscribers, I would hope, realize that these magazines are for INSPIRATION, not outright copying/purchasing the items shown. Domino probably featured the least expensive decorator items out of all of the shelter magazines. I used the magazine for color/style/set up inspiration and I will sorely miss this little gem.

[nymodern]

What a bummer! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE Domino!!!!! It is truly the only home shelter magazine that "get's it". There has been no other magazine that offers details of where to buy cool items. They did a fantastic job of debuting up and coming designers and artists. This is a real disappointment. If Conde Nast can't continue to publish something so great with all of their resources, who can? I have bee a loyal subscriber from the beginning. I really wish they would reconsider. This is the "one" subscription that I looked forward to receiving every month.

[Cynth]

Terrible news! I've love Domino from the start and it's the only publication I really look forward to every month. As I've found myself time pressed over the years, I've pared back on my subscriptions, but I've never considered cutting Domino. It's great for ideas, as reference, and just for all around relaxation & creativity; and I like that they've been featuring and promoting green design ideas, too.

Ugh... [and sigh].

[SoontobeBlueVirginia]

As a former designer and lover of all things related, I'm sad to see these shelter magazines fold. That said, I've been much more inspired of late by the design blogs. Every day there's fabulous ideas, great photos, and a general sense of how we need the see beautiful things and, maybe, just maybe, cull a great idea from their posts. Every thursday, the home section of the washingtonpost.com features a new design blog and it's a great place to start, as more magazines are lost.

[phoenics]

But bloggers also get content from the shelter mags. Domino was HEAVILY featured in blogs. If all the shelter mags close down, many blogs will simply cease for lack of content. There are only a few good blogs that have a lot of content aside from mag spreads.

[Sharon28]

Oh no! This is my absolute favorite shelter magazine. Full of fun ideas, and I love the stickies.

[mo19]

Maybe if they hadn't had articles and items in there like $1000 sheets they would have done better. Come on, only a small handful of people can afford or want to buy $1000 sheets. If they had been more realistic with the prices on items they were promoting they would have done better.

[LucysMum]

When Home magazine folded, I was unable to contact them and never received a refund. The same will probably apply to Domino.

[moveleft]

I subscribed to DOMINO for a year but cancelled after six issues. It's little more than a shill catalog for a ton of overpriced home goods. It's bested by REAL SIMPLE on almost every level and was clearly nothing more than the on-paper equivalent of the worst product placement we see in movies and television. I'm in the entertainment marketing and advertising biz so I'm not one to rail against that which pays my bills but, come on, give the public some credit and at least attempt some editorial objectivity. When sponsorships, advertising and product placement are done well, they work and engage consumers. When they are done poorly or, in the case of DOMINO, under the flimsy guise of a "lifestyle magazine" then consumers have every right to reject them. DOMINO dug it's own grave. I feel for those who will lose their jobs but this should be a lesson to the magazine conglomerates.

[Cynth]

I subcribed to Real Simple, but they seem to be pretty light weight in content (contained too much of what I thought to be common knowledge, common sense, or ideas I was already employing). I really liked Domino for the new things it exposed me to. While I'm not perpetually designing or renovating, and some of the items are pricier than I prefer to spend, it was a terrific window to ideas and a great means of sparking creativity and for unwinding at the end of the day.

[jukesgrrl]

I agree. Most of the things I've seen in Real Simple were taught to me by my mother and grandmother when I was a child. I guess not everyone is so lucky. Nice photography, though.

[syryn22]

I am really sad to see Domino fold. I have been subscribing to their magazine since they started in 2005. I received the Domino hard cover decorating book for Christmas and it came with a free one year subscription. I guess that subscription will go unfulfilled. I had noticed that the magazines were getting smaller and smaller with time (less advertising). I do hope they decide to keep the website going, as there is no reason why they cannot have a successful web site.

[Sketchgrrl]

I have to say one more thing, in addition to my last post!

I'm glad I'm a pack rat and haven't thrown away many of my Dominos!
Now I can look through them every once in a while for inspiration!

[farmhaus]

This is such sad news! I want the editors of Domino to know that I loved their magazine. I didn't care that I couldn't afford half the items featured on its pages, I just loved drooling over all the amazing interiors and coveted decor items. I always found good ideas inside Domino and found inspiration in every issue.

I find it interesting that I was just applauding Domino for having fewer ads than other shelter magazines, and now Domino is closing. Advertisers make it all possible, I guess.