Southern Accents magazine made it's debut in the Fall of 1977. Jimmy Carter was president,
Star Wars hit the movie theaters, Elvis died in August, Apple introduced the Apple II computer, red dye number two was banned (as carcinogenic), and
Southern Nights by Glen Campbell was at the top of the music charts. The country was paying attention to the South in a new and positive way - perhaps we were considered to be more urbane and cultured, less provincial - since we had in fact produced a president.
Into this hip, fast paced "new reality" of the late 70's, stepped
Southern Accents magazine, published by a small Atlanta trade publishing house. Founded in 1904 by WRC Smith, the firm originally focused on magazines such as
Cotton and
Textile Industries. Southern Accents was the brainchild of one man - James Hooton. In 1976 Hooton worked at WRC Smith Publishing as an editor of
Southern Engineering. He was an avid collector and decorator, and as such admired
Architectural Digest magazine. However, he felt there was a void in the magazine's content - a lack of focus on the South. Jim was known for his good taste, decorating style, and for being a fabulous host. At a party at Jim's home, Walter Mitchell, president of WRC Smith Publishing Company, admired Jim's decorating style, and so Jim presented his idea of a "Southern Architectural Digest."
Jim Hooton said:
"I felt that the South was being neglected by the national design magazines. There's so much that's good and beautiful in this section of the country, I believed that Southerners would be receptive to this type of publication. And having worked at WRC Smith for many years, I knew the company had the skills and financial resources to produce a quality magazine."
WRC Smith Publishing Company needed something new at that time, according to Walter Mitchell. Their previous bread and butter publications were not as lucrative because of the changing environment of the hardware stores (where they sold most of their magazines) due to the new Big Box stores. So Walter, who professes that he knew nothing about interiors (to quote him: "I don't know the difference between a Chippendale and an Airedale"), decided to take a gamble and give the interiors magazine a whirl. At the time,
Architectural Digest had 400,000 subscribers, Mitchell hoped to reach 100,000 of those with
Southern Accents.
Milburne, in Virginia, from the Spring 1982
Southern Accents- photography by Paul Beswick
Although it was modeled after
Architectural Digest,
Southern Accents was not exactly like the original. One of the main differences between the two magazines was that
Architectural Digest focused on homes of celebrities,
Southern Accents did not.
Southern Accents also focused more on historic residences and their preservation. Mitchell said: "You'll probably never see a movie star's or prince's house in
Southern Accents. But readers will be treated to a continuing tour of fine Southern residences and gardens." A promotional piece used a few years after the magazine's creation, emphasized the difference:
"The Old-Confederacy--the New South--is our editorial domain, and there are not a whole lot of princes down South. Taste, not costs, sets our standard."
Next up in our Southern Accents series: seed money, developing the format, advertising and hiring new editors. All information and quotes obtained from an interview with Walter Mitchell, Sallie Smith and Helen C. Griffith, and also from
Starting a New Magazine, Two Case Studies, by Martha Faye Melton.
It´s more than 3 months since Christmas and the famous birth. Time to go for another????
But the main AfterSki photo this Thursday is the leftover lights from Christmas in the trees. Unlighted but ready for next season.
K is for Kites
In this sixth round of ABC, it is a wonder that anyone is finding something new to display. But they do. Just look and see at the ABC blog.
Today´s weather report from the morning hours in Oslo. No more comments required.
It may be better to remind you once more about the Easter challenge you can find when Petunia invites to AfterSki either when having lunch with Moules frites or Salat accompanied with excellent wine.
AfterSki at fru Burum´s starts every day in Easter at 3 pm. The bar is ready for your refreshment.
A Knife from the Kitchen cutting a fruit Known to be an orange and not even a Kumquat - might that not be called Kind of Kitchy?
This is really hard to see in picture, but it is a beechwood, glasstop console table...it is GREAT LOOKING!
This is a marble container that I think is gorgeous!
Love this cozy lamp above - the white lamp below is part of a pair and the price is a STEAL!
Some years ago (about 40?) I captured this photo when skiing in the mountains with wooden skis, snowman building and having fun with friends.
Today we are strolling the streets of Oslo searching for spring in the light rainy and foggy weather. Why did we not stay another month in Spain.
Remember the Easter challenge you may find when Petunia invites to AfterSki
The artistry of quilt geometry can be demonstrated with something as simple as well placed squares. I love black and white quilts with a highlight of red. Now, if this had been my quilt, I might have put one small bright yellow square in the mix, but that's me. I've made a lot of quilts made artistically of just squares, and several that were black and white and red (with that one tiny bit of yellow.)
Almost no cars parked. Most people moved up to the mountain areas. It is quiet in town. It is City Easter Week.
