We wanted to know more about Marni Katz, the Boston-based blogger who will be among participants at the DDB's Spring Market Bloggers Lounge.
How long have you been blogging?
I started StyleCarrot in February 2009, not long after Domino folded. People had asked me for a while prior to that why I didn’t have a blog. Basically, I felt like I was already writing all day, and got paid for it, so why would I want more work for no money? But with all the magazines going under I was like, “Fine, already, if this is the only way this sort of content can get out there, then fine, I’ll help!”
Where are you from? I grew up in coastal Connecticut and I live in Boston, after spending 10 years in New York City and several in D.C. Boston is really lovely, and wonderful for raising kids, but for me personally, New York is home.
What in your background prepared you for blogging?
I studied Mandarin at Connecticut College and have a Master’s from Columbia University in Indian art history (I wrote my thesis on the cross-dressing antics of Radha and Krishna), so I have no real academic background in journalism or design. However, I knew since I was about six years old that I would be a writer and/or magazine editor. My first internship was in the fashion closet of Rolling Stone. My first job out of college was as the Maps Editor for a travel magazine. I was also a model editor for a women’s magazine, which I loved. (I met—and booked—Heidi Klum when she first came to the States!). I started working online quite early, in 1994. I was an editor at one of the first original content online fashion magazines. It was a ton of fun, we got a lot of attention. I was in heaven, going to all the fashion shows, going backstage, interviewing Amber Valetta and Donna Karan. I visited a lot of designers back then too, trying to teach them about the Internet, and how what we were doing was a magazine; no we weren’t trying to sell them anything. I got to chat with Marc Jacobs, before he was MARC JACOBS… he was just in his studio, with his long ponytail, totally laid back. I eventually worked for larger companies, like Time Inc New Media (I helped launch Dr. Ruth’s site there) and America Online. Eventually I had babies, started freelancing, and got more interested in home décor than fashion, though I still cover both.
What’s your blogging schedule like?
Well, as my family and friends will attest, I am never without my computer. Well, not totally true. . . when I FINALLY go to bed for the night, I don’t bring any electronics with me. But I do tote my MacBook Air to school assemblies, the movie theater, you name it. Last weekend I worked at Fenway Park throughout an entire Red Sox game. My blog takes a lot of time. There’s a new post every day, and three of those days are quite intensive. I try to get them done in advance, so I’m not up until midnight, because you know, something else always comes up, and the work I owe to other editors has to come first. I’m the Features Editor of Design Milk, a regular contributor to The Inside Source, and also write regularly for Boston Globe Magazine and Boston Home. I also wrote one of the articles for the new digital edition of Traditional Home Magazine, TRADhome. I nominated Palmer Weiss as one of the New Traditionalists, and she won!
Favorite designers or designs?
I can’t possibly. My taste runs the gamut… one minute I like color and pattern the next, a rigid starkness, the next, the simple white spaces of Scandinavian design. My living room in Boston has a green and blue Angela Adams rug, Jonathan Adler pillows, vintage Danish armchairs, and TONS of artwork. Our house in Cape Cod is white, white, white, very spare, no art, just flowers from the garden, a few ocean colored accents, and Eames, Saarinen and Noguchi furniture mixed with white sofas.How about I give you my favorite designer in Boston? Definitely Frank Roop.
What’s on your coffee or beside table?
I get a lot of design books to review, so on my coffee table (a round Heywood Wakefield snagged from my husband’s grandparents’ country house), are the newest ones that I still have to blog about. Let’s see . . . right now there’s: Susanna Salk’s Be Your Own Decorator, Kelly Hoppen’s East Meets West, Pantone: The 20th Century in Color, and Rock, Paper, Scissors: The Work of Julien Vallée. I can't wait to get my hands on the Domino! What's your favorite news source? New York Times’ breaking news alerts land in my mailbox; I figure that takes care of anything important. I also get updates from the Wall Street Journal, though those tend to be more lifestyle focused. I also get WWD headline email every morning, though again, not exactly hard news. And as long as we’re on the subject, I get daily emails from Styleite and Refinery 29.
What are five bookmarks you check at least once a day?
I spend way too much time on Pinterest. Quite a bit of time on Facebook, and try to check Twitter at least once a day, if not twice. About once a month I spend an entire Saturday morning/afternoon going through all the home décor sites in my Google reader. I’m all about the photos. Some of my favorites are Desire to Inspire, The Coveteur, The Jealous Curator, Sous Style, and of course, Design Milk. And I still subscribe to all the real magazines, especially the home design titles.
What’s the best thing/discovery/source/person you’ve found this week (or month)?
Donald Judd, Untitled, 1968 at MoMA, a seafoam green Rolex and the white powder coated candelabra designed by Ehlén Johansson for the IKEA PS Collection 2012.
Interesting fact?
I hate stepping on LEGOs and since my son insisted on getting a cat, I fear I might have become a crazy cat lady, as I dote on the furry guy to no end.We wanted to know more about Marni Katz, the Boston-based blogger who will be among participants at the DDB's Spring Market Bloggers Lounge.
How long have you been blogging?
I started StyleCarrot in February 2009, not long after Domino folded. People had asked me for a while prior to that why I didn’t have a blog. Basically, I felt like I was already writing all day, and got paid for it, so why would I want more work for no money? But with all the magazines going under I was like, “Fine, already, if this is the only way this sort of content can get out there, then fine, I’ll help!” Where are you from? I grew up in coastal Connecticut and I live in Boston, after spending 10 years in New York City and several in D.C. Boston is really lovely, and wonderful for raising kids, but for me personally, New York is home.
What in your background prepared you for blogging?
I studied Mandarin at Connecticut College and have a Master’s from Columbia University in Indian art history (I wrote my thesis on the cross-dressing antics of Radha and Krishna), so I have no real academic background in journalism or design. However, I knew since I was about six years old that I would be a writer and/or magazine editor. My first internship was in the fashion closet of Rolling Stone. My first job out of college was as the Maps Editor for a travel magazine. I was also a model editor for a women’s magazine, which I loved. (I met—and booked—Heidi Klum when she first came to the States!). I started working online quite early, in 1994. I was an editor at one of the first original content online fashion magazines. It was a ton of fun, we got a lot of attention. I was in heaven, going to all the fashion shows, going backstage, interviewing Amber Valetta and Donna Karan. I visited a lot of designers back then too, trying to teach them about the Internet, and how what we were doing was a magazine; no we weren’t trying to sell them anything. I got to chat with Marc Jacobs, before he was MARC JACOBS… he was just in his studio, with his long ponytail, totally laid back. I eventually worked for larger companies, like Time Inc New Media (I helped launch Dr. Ruth’s site there) and America Online. Eventually I had babies, started freelancing, and got more interested in home décor than fashion, though I still cover both.
What’s your blogging schedule like?
Well, as my family and friends will attest, I am never without my computer. Well, not totally true. . . when I FINALLY go to bed for the night, I don’t bring any electronics with me. But I do tote my MacBook Air to school assemblies, the movie theater, you name it. Last weekend I worked at Fenway Park throughout an entire Red Sox game. My blog takes a lot of time. There’s a new post every day, and three of those days are quite intensive. I try to get them done in advance, so I’m not up until midnight, because you know, something else always comes up, and the work I owe to other editors has to come first. I’m the Features Editor of Design Milk, a regular contributor to The Inside Source, and also write regularly for Boston Globe Magazine and Boston Home. I also wrote one of the articles for the new digital edition of Traditional Home Magazine, TRADhome. I nominated Palmer Weiss as one of the New Traditionalists, and she won!
Favorite designers or designs?
I can’t possibly. My taste runs the gamut… one minute I like color and pattern the next, a rigid starkness, the next, the simple white spaces of Scandinavian design. My living room in Boston has a green and blue Angela Adams rug, Jonathan Adler pillows, vintage Danish armchairs, and TONS of artwork. Our house in Cape Cod is white, white, white, very spare, no art, just flowers from the garden, a few ocean colored accents, and Eames, Saarinen and Noguchi furniture mixed with white sofas.How about I give you my favorite designer in Boston? Definitely Frank Roop.
What’s on your coffee or beside table?
I get a lot of design books to review, so on my coffee table (a round Heywood Wakefield snagged from my husband’s grandparents’ country house), are the newest ones that I still have to blog about. Let’s see . . . right now there’s: Susanna Salk’s Be Your Own Decorator, Kelly Hoppen’s East Meets West, Pantone: The 20th Century in Color, and Rock, Paper, Scissors: The Work of Julien Vallée. I can't wait to get my hands on the Domino! What's your favorite news source? New York Times’ breaking news alerts land in my mailbox; I figure that takes care of anything important. I also get updates from the Wall Street Journal, though those tend to be more lifestyle focused. I also get WWD headline email every morning, though again, not exactly hard news. And as long as we’re on the subject, I get daily emails from Styleite and Refinery 29.
What are five bookmarks you check at least once a day?
I spend way too much time on Pinterest. Quite a bit of time on Facebook, and try to check Twitter at least once a day, if not twice. About once a month I spend an entire Saturday morning/afternoon going through all the home décor sites in my Google reader. I’m all about the photos. Some of my favorites are Desire to Inspire, The Coveteur, The Jealous Curator, Sous Style, and of course, Design Milk. And I still subscribe to all the real magazines, especially the home design titles.
What’s the best thing/discovery/source/person you’ve found this week (or month)?
Donald Judd, Untitled, 1968 at MoMA, a seafoam green Rolex and the white powder coated candelabra designed by Ehlén Johansson for the IKEA PS Collection 2012.
Interesting fact?
I hate stepping on LEGOs and since my son insisted on getting a cat, I fear I might have become a crazy cat lady, as I dote on the furry guy to no end.
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