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Hipsters Call Martha Stewart "Craft Jesus," Hope She Grows A Beard
By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 25, 2012
Modified Nov 25, 2012
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By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 25, 2012
Modified Nov 25, 2012
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Martha Stewart loves hipsters and their artisanal ventures—she visited Brooklyn Flea in 2009 after all—and hipsters love Martha for her do-it-yourself skills and perseverance. Which means the NY Times is ON IT, with a business section article touting how she has "emerged as something of a patron saint for entrepreneurial hipsters, 20- and 30-somethings who, in a post-recessionary world, have begun their own pickling, cupcake and letterpress businesses and are selling crafty goods online." Doesn't the NY Times know that hipsters are supposed to die?
The editor in chief of Martha Stewart Living magazine, Pilar Guzman, brags to the Times, that its readership is now "the intersection between Colonial Williamsburg and Williamsburg, Brooklyn." And that insider trading conviction, which forced her to serve time at a women's correctional facility? Beyond a fabulous poncho, it's making her seem really real:
“She’s such a Suzy homemaker and also did some time in the joint,” said Luis Illades, an owner of Urban Rustic, where some of Ms. Stewart’s store-bought decorations appeared.
“That has helped cement her iconic image. Before, she was someone your mother would follow.”
Crystal Sloane, 29, who grew up on a dairy farm outside Saratoga Springs, N.Y., reading her mother’s issues of Martha Stewart Living, has begun her own business called Vintage by Crystal, designing miniature animals that Ms. Stewart eventually featured on “The Martha Stewart Show.”
“She’s like the Jesus of the craft world,” she said.
“Not that I like criminals, but I heard that she just took some bad advice. Anybody can make mistakes.”
An equity research analyst compared Martha's empire to Hugh Hefner's, which has seized on younger readers for its survival, "Is she like the hipster women’s Hef? It defines an entirely new audience with a new life cycle." Totally—instead of The Girls Next Door, how about The Bitches Outside, based on Martha's real dogs?
Stewart told the Times, "I hope that I’m a teacher and encourager and mentor. Small businesses need boosting." But she draws the line at permanent body art on her fans: "I don’t think they have to go quite that far. They could put embroidery on their jacket. They could silk-screen a T-shirt."
Here's that visit to the Brooklyn Flea:
Martha Stewart Visits The Brooklyn Flea from Mr. Brownstoner on Vimeo.
And, yes, Martha has been to Brooklyn Bowl.
Tagged
brooklyn
hipster
martha stewart
ny times on it
street cred
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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