Thank you for your interest in Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion. We sincerely appreciate your support over the last 11 years! We hope the note from Mary and subscriber information below address any questions you may have.
A Note From Mary
Well, friends, by now most of you have heard that Home Companion magazine is not being published. It was a business decision by our licensed publishing partner based purely on the lack of advertising income, certainly not on circulation or subscriber numbers, both of which remained very strong thanks to all of you!
You may have heard of other home magazines closing – Cottage Living, Domino, O at Home, Home, and Country Home, among others. The sad fact is that home magazines are being hit harder than others because of the dismal housing industry – people aren’t able to sell or buy homes, so fewer people are buying flooring, wallpaper, furniture, etc., so those companies don’t feel they can afford to advertise. It’s a vicious circle!
Since we were not a typical shelter magazine anyway, I hope we’ll find a way to offer the exact right kind of ads so that we can revive our beautiful magazine eventually. It hurts me to see so many wonderful houses out there and meet so many great artists and not have a place to showcase them! We WILL find a way!
We WILL find a way – this miserable economy can’t last forever. Anyway, even if times are tough, we still need to see magical things, right? We still need to know there are people out there producing fantastic things, creating warm and cozy places to live and providing us with the inspiration we need to keep going, for crying out loud! I mean, I love House Beautiful, but I can’t make one magazine last all month – we need more! We need variety! We need Home Companion!
We sincerely appreciate all the emails and notes you’ve been sending to let us know how much you love the magazine. I am sorry that because of the sheer quantity we can’t respond to each of them individually, but please know that we are holding on to all of them as testimonials to show to potential publishers what a great audience we have!
If things don’t work out the way I hope, let me say thank you to all of you supporting us so faithfully for 11 wonderful years. And of course, I can’t say enough about Barbara Martin and our amazing staff at MEHC – they’re the ones who scouted, wrote, photographed, planned, traveled, glued, sewed, and designed so you and I could curl up in a chair for an hour and dream.
I’ll miss them and you – let’s not let too much time go by before we get together again!
PS – PLEASE know that although my job definitely won’t be the same without the magazine, I still have a LOT of other exciting projects coming up – books, cards, calendars, fabric, new gift lines, scrapbooking, crafts and more have me very busy. I can’t wait to share them with you – stay tuned to this website to see all the new tricks I have up my sleeve!
Subscriber Information
We have created this page to help you with any questions or issues you may have about your subscription. Please see this press release for more details.
What will happen to my subscription or the gift subscriptions I’ve given?
If you have paid for a subscription for yourself or as a gift and the payment has been processed, it will be replaced with Martha Stewart Living. You should begin to receive it in February. If you have any questions about your subscriptions, an address change, or would like to cancel the subscription and receive a refund, please contact Martha Stewart Living at 1-800-999-6518. If you had subscribed but not yet paid for a subscription, it was not processed, and therefore did not transfer to Martha Stewart Living. We truly apologize for any inconvenience this causes.
Can I still contact Home Companion?
Home Companion’s customer service and editorial phone numbers and email addresses are no longer active, and all subscriber information, so please only contact Martha Stewart Living for questions about your subscription.
Will Home Companion ever be published again?
Mary Engelbreit does retain ownership of the Home Companion name and brand, so we do hope that at some point in the future we are able to secure a new publishing partner to continue to deliver Mary’s inspiring style!
What does this mean for Mary?
Just to nip any rumors in the bud, this definitely does NOT mean Mary is retiring! Since its inception, Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion has operated as a separate business from Mary’s art licensing company, Mary Engelbreit Studios. She will continue her active schedule of illustrating greeting cards, calendars and books and her company will continue developing licensed products based on her illustrations. The publication of MEHC is near and dear to Mary Engelbreit Studios, but this change will not have a financial or operational impact on the company.
We hope you’ll keep up with us! Mary’s e-newsletter is definitely the best way to get the latest news on events, new products, ideas and free recipes, desktop backgrounds and more. You can sign up to receive the newsletter or update your subscription information on our website.
We also hope to have a brand new website and blog up and running in 2009 to keep you even more informed!
I have been reading your magazine since it first started. There were times I was a subscriber, but I loved doing my shopping and then running to the magazine counter to pick up the new issue.
It was like a reward at the end of a chore that I loathed. I still miss picking the magazine up. No comparison!
Your little rendered drawings of real and fairytale life has entertained me through child rearing and now as I work on continuing my own education.
You are truly talented individual and God Bless You.
Thank you,
Joni Dollar
Boy, have I missed your magazine; M.S. Living is truly NOT for me! But, I was contented this fall when I was commissioned to do a watercolor for a friend, and pulled out all my back summer issues to get ideas for the seashell picture she wanted. I’m so glad I saved every issue! I’ll keep watching for it to come back.
Please bring the magazine back!!!
I loved reading it so much. Always very inspirational.
I was wondering why I suddenly started getting MS Living… not the same!! I too am glad I saved my old copies of Home Companion. The ideas are so interesting and fun. I look forward to wherever your next endeavors take you. Thanks for many great years!
There is no other magazine like Home Companion. None of the others can take it’s place. It had the ability to make me happy, when I had the flu I spent days just re-reading old H. C.’s. There is no place else to get that kind of inspiration. I am so unhappy. I do so hope you publish Home Companion again sometime in the (near) future.
Christine
Mary Engelbreit! I love your artwork and your sayings – and have surrounded myself with them. A print on the wall shows a girl surrounded by dolls and teddies, declaring “The More The Merrier!”. Another one in my office inspires me not to follow another’s path but to make my own. I have your artwork and books and pins and tins and fabric and calendars and stationery of all kinds…and I’ve treated myself to your magazines for years. I only found out today that your Home Companion magazine is no longer in print, after pestering my local bookstore and newspaper store to find your new Christmas issue. Like other posters here, I have kept all the issues I bought before and I’m glad I did ; they’re too beautiful to part with ! Good luck with your ongoing projects in the meantime – your creations bring old fashioned values, sweet sentiments, bold colours and charm to the blandness of modern life. Thank-you!
I, too, have missed the magazine very much. In cleaning out a box the other day, I discovered an old issue. I had to celebrate. I love the colors and the design of the magazine. It is one publication that never failed to make me happy. I hope that, someday, it will be back!
Oh My Gosh! I noticed it wasn’t coming in the mail, so I kept looking at JoAnn’s for it, and didn’t see it! I guess I am a little slow, but WOW!!!! will this magazine be missed! I used it for artistic inspiration. Thank goodness I saved my issues.
( So sad. Can’t wait till it is back. XoXo Thanks, Mary, for encouraging us artists, and being such a great example of the OPPOSITE of starving artist.
DArn- I FINALLY bought my own home (hey I’m trying to do my part here!) and can actaully decorate my own place….and no more Home Companion to inspire me! Very very sad. I’ve been an ME fan for years and years – I eat off of ME designed dishes every day. Thank goodness I didn’t discard old Home Companion issues. Please come back, I need you!!
I miss the magazine terribly and I’m glad I saved a lot of my very early publications. I have the very first one! I treasure those “old” ones, selfishly, as they had Mary’s sketches on the cover. Hopefully, the stinky economy will improve and you can bring us back the amazing magazine that we so looked forward to receiving!
I loved your magazine but am loving your blog too! It will do until you can get the magazine up and running again! Thanks for all your hard work keeping us smiling with your cuteness!
I loved your magazine and think you should do a book with just studios in it. Seeing the work spaces of other artists was my favorite part. I hope you can come back.
HiMary and staff
I am so lucky that despite my friends calling ma a pack rat I still have my old issues saved. I have always read and re-read them where I stored them in my greenhouse for a relaxing break. I thought it was just me,being too busy, maybe I let the subscription expire. And I already did subscribe to Martha Stewart, so I just didn’t quite get it. Today I went to 4 stores seeking MEHC out! Then I came home and got online and POOF the bad news. At least you aren’t all together gone like some things these days. I am sad about the loss of magazine, but I will follow your blog and get out my old very treasured copies of MEHC and HOPE it gets published again. I hate change and that is one change I’m not ready to make. I used to share it with my 80 year old mom and we would giggle at the paper dolls and talk about the great art and then get creative! Thank you for doing such a great job inspiring me and so many others for all these years. I’m glad I finally looked online to find your new stuff. Good luck to you all in everything you do. Sincerely Cookie
I have saved most of your magazine–some I shared with others who didn’t return them. I have issues with all your homes and loved each one. The monthly issue was greeted with anticipation of a good read; the old issues are brought out and reread for inspiration. I MISS Home Companion very much!!!
Wow, sad news indeed. I always purchased single issues and have been combing the newsstands, unable to find the magazine. I decided to search online in case I missed some news and apparently I did. I got a lot of inspiration and amusement from MEHC over the years, and I know this will leave a hole in my creative inspiration. I hope Mary will have another magazine with a different publisher in the future, I’ll be keeping my eyes open. In the mean time, thank you!
Karen (also known as illustrator Sunshinesketches)
Oh, dear…. I was such a Mary wanna be…. I am keeping all my issues of the magazine, and pass them out among my daughter and friends. They are ORDERED to give them back, as I can’t live without reading them over and over. PLEASE COME BACK MARY! I will wait for the magazines rebirth. Thank you for all the years.
Mary–
It gave me such joy to receive your magazine! The anticipation of going to the mailbox and finding Home Companion is something I will miss dearly. You brought alot of kindred souls together with your work, it was a spiritual experience to connect with the artists that you showcased, yourself, and your many devoted readers. I will pray that you find a way to bring back that joy to all who appreciated your efforts so much! Thank you for sharing your talent, and love of life with us.
Marie
Mary–
It gave me such joy to receive your magazine! The anticipation going to the mailbox and finding Home Companion is something I will miss dearly. You brought alot of kindred souls together with your work, it was a spiritual experience to connect with the artists that you showcased, yourself, and your many devoted readers. I will pray that you find a way to bring back that joy to all who appreciated your efforts so much! Thank you for sharing your talent, and love of life with us.
Marie
I WENT OUT ON A FIND YOUR MAGAZINE MISSION TODAY
ONLY TO DISCOVER THE REASON WHY I WAS UNABLE TO FIND IT. I AS A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE ARE REALLY
SADDENED BY THIS AND LOOK FORWARD TO ITS RETURN.
THANKS FOR ALL THE INSPIRATION!
I am shocked to hear that the magazine is no more. I was browsing today, and happened to check on the website for some “creative” inspiration, when I noticed the comments about it. Then I realized that it had been awhile since my copy had come. Life has been really hectic lately, so I was going to catch up on my mags this weekend, and lo and behold, my favorite was not there. I will truly miss it! It was always a breath of fresh air, with great ideas that I could always use in my crafts here at home. Hope to see it again, one day! Thanks again for sharing your talents with the world!!!
I bought Home Companion regularily and was so disappointed to learn that it was no longer available. I especially liked the doll cutouts and was so looking forward to sharing them with my grand daughter when old enough. I will be saving those I have! Good luck Mary & hopefully in future we will once again be curling up and reading your magazine!
I only have one copy of the Home Companion. I read it again and again and again. I am truly sorry that it is no longer being published. I just decided tonight that I would go online and order a subscription. You can imagine how disappointed I was when I read your comments. I hope that in the near future it will be published again. it is really a wonderful magazine. I love my one magazine. It is a 2002 magazine. That shows how long I’ve had it and I can’t tell you how many times I have read it.
Miss Homecompanion. Hope you find a new publisher soon! Love the “Bring a Friend Make a Friend” pix.
Mary,
your magazine reminded me that I was creative. I also have fond memories of cutting out the paper dolls with my daughter when she was younger. It will be missed.
Please include my email on any web ‘zines that you publish. And hopefully we can get a nice tactile magazine going one of these days.
Mary, I just wanted to say that I have been a ME fan forever! I subscribed to MEHC from the very first issue, and I couldn’t have been more disappointed to receive my last issue. I would love to have a list of the new products you are putting out and where we can find them. I miss the designs for dishes that you used to do; especially the Christmas ones. I am looking forward to when your magazine will be back in publication.
I continue to mourn the loss of MEHC months after you ceased publication. I happened across your magazine in a therapist’s waiting room at a tough time in my life (I was already a ME fan). I took the subscription card and never let my subcription run out. I gave it as gifts! Reading, rereading AND rereading my MEHCs was so pleasurable! I sincerely hope you will be back in production sometime soon but in the meantime know that you have left a hole in my life that just cannot be filled!
All too many of us have suffered or are suffering from this economy. Having a small family business (jewelry store) We’ve been feeling it for well over a year..Your magazine helped with wonderful escapism opportunities, it grieves me to see this publication go. I’ll hope and pray for sunny days again.
I am so sad . . . it’s as though a dear friend has passed away. I saved my favorite editions of MEHC, and had I known it would be going away, I would have saved every one. Know that I am subscriber #1 the MOMENT another publisher is found, and I pledge to buy all my friends subscriptions for Christmas that year, too!! Your magazine was the most unique of its kind and I miss it terribly.
Mary, I am the “silly cherry tattoo lady” that you met at a book signing in St. Louis a few years ago. I was a subscriber from the very first issue of HC magazine, and I still have every single issue. I’m glad you’re still putting out new things, and I hope that the HC magazine will make a come-back soon; I miss it! (Check out my e-mail address!)
I have every single issue and now am so glad I kept them all! I loved the magazine, love all your artwork and look forward to staying in touch with the Blog and new website. ~Liz
Mary,
Your blog is great and the news about your new books and figurines is even greater. They help to fill the void until your Home Companion is back up and running.
CaroleAnn M
Carissima Mary, ero abbonata alla tua meravigliosa rivista che mi arrivava in Italia ogni due mesi,non sai quanto mi dispiace questa chiusura. Tu pensa che io non ho studiato l’inglese eppure non vedevo l’ora che mi arrivasse la tua rivista per sfogliarla. Quardo sempre il tuo sito che è sempre piu ‘ bello, sei fantastica. saluti da Franca
This magazine encapsulated my sense of aesthetics in creating a home environment AND crafting. I couldn’t have said it any better; we love to dream about the magic we see in magazine pictures. The quality of Home Companion was superb, from the paper pages to the paper dolls included with every issue, and your staff was great. My subscription was fulfilled by Martha Stewart’s Living with no hitches. Love you and will continue to track your work!
Heartbreaking. In one fell swoop I lost four of the magazines I looked forward to and saved for inspiration- Home, Country Home, Cottage Living, and my all-time favorite, Home Companion- only Country Living, MSL and good old BH&G remain. I’ve purged old issues of the others, but never HC; my complete collection, including many found on eBay, has a special place on my bedside bookshelves. Every two months I treat myself to a marathon browse through that season’s back issues. I hate the thought that new ones won’t be joining them.
Your magazine was my favorite because of them all it featured the quirkiest, most personal spaces. Vintage cups hanging from the ceiling, shelves lined with Chinese newspaper- your featured homes never failed to inspire. All the shelter mags that appeal to me have in common this use of unmatched, OLD things and this eclecticism, but yours did it best. It’s so frustrating for me to stand in front of a magazine rack now. The high upscale mags like Architectural Digest can be interesting to read, but the antiques and artisan pieces used are unattainable and I’ll never know the satisfaction of making their ideas my own. And the others all seem to be aimed at habitants of cookie-cutter McMansions who want everything brand-new and matching. Sorry, it’s not my idea of “country” when every single object on display is mass-produced and color-coordinated by the catalog whose website is handily linked. I want to see the homeowner’s mother’s china, the designs she painted on the ceiling, and the coffee table she made out of a chicken incubator. All the magazines I like do or did some of this, but HC was the queen.
Thank you for eleven years of delight. Here’s hoping you can resurrect a wonderful magazine.
Like other postings I’ve read, I am so thankful that I have saved all my past Home Companion magazines – I had been a subscriber from the start. I am also enjoying going through my old copies – because afterall, creativity doesn’t have an expiration date on it! Not only I am a Mary fan, but as my sons grew and married, both my daughter-in-laws (teachers) became fans as well. We all have so many decorating ideas, products, and shared stories among us – all gleened from reading Home Companion. During tough economic times, creativity is the one thing we all need and it doesn’t always cost an arm and a leg to dream. We need you Mary!
I was a subscriber from the very beginning (I was still in high school then!). I miss this magazine so much – it was and still is my favorite. If you manage to bring it back, I assure you that I’ll subscribe right away! I’m sorry, but blogs simply can’t replicate the joy of ink and paper.
I enjoyed every article, beautiful picture, and featured artist of Home Companion. What I really enjoyed were the first issues(which I still own)when the covers were Mary’s art. I miss this little escape!
Add me to the list of very sad artists missing your publication that has given me so much inspireation over the years. I particularly loved the profiles of artists’ studios and work. I’m looking at a picture of yours that I bought. The quote is: Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” Your magazine has been a flower. Hope to see you publishing a new magazine in the future. I’ll keep my eye open.
Good luck,
Taylore Carson
I am devestated. This was my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE magazine. I just realized that it hadn’t been coming and actually went to the bookstore to find out if I had let my subscription lapse. I am so saddened. First Simple Scrapbooks and now ME… what am I going to do?
Mary – If I ever win the lottery (hopefully a real big one!), I will be calling your people to see if there’s any way to get your magazine up and running again!! And if it came to pass, it would be even better with more articles and wonderfulness, if you’d be up to it. One can dream, right? Really miss MEHC!
I have hunted and hunted for Home Compion so I finally decided to look you up on the internet. Oh how devasted I am! Your magazine was a bright spot in many lives and I for one have many of them. Now I know I will not part with my back issues nor will I be lending them.
I hope with all my heart that you come back and meanwhile I will looking for your merchandise through your website. Thank you for your vision, artistry and sticktoitivness!!!!
Diane M. Fuller
I loved your magazine and was so sorry to see it is no longer published. I have been a subscriber for years and I have many, many back issues. I love going back through them and never tire of reading them. I also have several of your books. I hope you will be able to revive Home Companion someday!
Mary – you are so right!!! Taking all of the home magazines that I have loved off the market at the same time was a big blow – one magazine a month is not enough! Home Companion was my favorite! I would schedule special time to read and re-read it, savoring every last photo and word. Although I understand the advertising dilema, they did not even ask the subscribers if they would be willing to pay more money to have the magazine continue – I know I would. Please try to bring back your magazine – it’s truly one of a kind and is sorely missed.
Hi Mary…I really miss ME Home Companion…your magazine was truly one of a kind with no comparison…i loved everything about it…the articles, the artists, the whimsiness, the colors and of course the illustrations… reading your magazine always made my heart glad to be alive …it also gave me the inspiration and motivation to dabble in the arts and crafts…i have been a subscriber since 2001 and wished i was there from day one…are there back issues that can be ordered?…thanx for everything
Hi Mary. I do so miss your magazine. I found it very inspiring and just plain fun. I especially liked the articles on the featured artists. There really isn’t a magazine that is quite the same.
Dear Mary,
Just had to write to let you know that I also felt so sad to hear that Home Companion was no longer coming to my mailbox. I loved it, was so inspired by it and saved every issue I received. I will immediately resubscribe should you start the magazine again. I had ordered a subscription for a friend and we are both very unhappy because Martha Stewart’s magazine cannot compare in any way to your perfect perfect magazine. Glad to see your blog! Keep creating your beautiful art that brings so much joy to the world
I must say I was completely shocked to see that you had stopped publishing Home Companion. I really enjoyed your magazine. In fact, when we moved two years ago I got rid of the “other” magazines and kept yours. It was a treat to get it in the mail. I sure hope you decided to do another magazine in the future.
Signed,
still grieving over the lose of Home Companion
Hi Mary. For eleven years, I’ve collected each and every one of your magazines. Your story has always been an inspiration to me. You see, I too am a self-taught artist. One of my favorite illustrations of yours is one where little Mary is feverishly painting with wild abandon in a classroom. The grumpy teacher is glaring at you. All the other children are doing exactly what they’re told, but you’re doing what you’ve always done: painting an original. This has always made me smile, because In reality, I had the exact same experience in kindergarten! The teacher was droning on: draw this, put it here, color that…and little Terri was joyfully drawing a beautiful princess in as many colors as she could come up with. I still remember the teacher scolding me!! That’s okay though. I went right on being me! Your magazine has always been a beacon for me. You celebrate being unique and following your own vision. I learned that it’s okay to be different, and in the pages of Home Companion I found endless inspiration and encouragement. Creativity is something to be applauded and not hidden. You’ve been my hero. I have missed losing myself in the pages of your wonderful magazine. It definitely is not just a shelter publication. It is a roadmap for anyone wandering the creative highway. And if your subscription numbers are any indication, there are many of those souls out there. I sincerely hope with all my heart that there is a publisher who will see what all of us have known for years. In times like these, we need art, color, and inspiration like never before. What a dreary world it would be without it. Let’s tell the publishers they can take THAT to the bank! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the happiness you have created over the years. I doubt I would still be making art if it hadn’t been for you.
This was my favorite magazine ever, and I read a ton of magazines! I treasure every issue I received and was a subscriber for many years. I also gave subscriptions as gifts on Mother’s Day to my mom and my sister.
It is funny because Mary’s own artwork has never really drawn me in like it does for many, but the variety of artists profiled and their diverse and extraordinary work inspired me every time I turned the page.
This is the kind of magazine that you keep and read and re-read many times. It has a great shelf life – which is what advertisers want and need. More importantly, I have actually purchased products that I learned about by reading the magazine’s advertising section: Gorilla Glue, Wall Words, Waverly fabrics, to name a few.
I hope this magazine will once again be published! By the way, my daughter very much misses the paper dolls. That was just the sweetest thing in a magazine ever.
As Fall approaches, I have resorted to pulling out my old Home Companions for inspiration. As a future artist (current stay-at-home mom to four) I was always inspired by the entire magazine, but especially the artist profiles. I just love rereading the magazine, something you can’t sink into a couch with online. I certainly hope the Lord blesses a future endeavor, for selfish reasons.
Sincerely,
Angela in Prescott