Bummer Of A Coincidence

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, March 1, 2003 by Gordon Young

Byline: GORDON YOUNG

The creators of ReadyMade, a two-year-old quarterly out of Berkeley, California, that showcases do-it-yourself projects for young hipsters, are starting to wonder if their most avid readers might work for Budget Living. It seems ReadyMade's ideas - and headlines - keep turning up in the pages of the rival bimonthly.

"Although imitation can be construed as the best form of flattery, in this case the word 'cloning' comes to mind," says ReadyMade publisher Grace Hawthorne. "Did they think no one was going to notice?" A few examples of what Hawthorne describes as "highway robbery."

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ReadyMade explains how to make a cool bowl with a melted vinyl record in its winter '01 issue. Budget Living remixes the idea in its Dec./Jan. '03 issue, right down to the same black and red color scheme in the layout.

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In its Spring '02 issue, ReadyMade devotes a page to "Cocktail Conversation: How to Etch Glassware and Influence People." In its Dec./Jan. '03 issue, Budget Living gives directions for the same etching process in "A Kick in the Glass."

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ReadyMade spotlights a ceramic pastel platter designed by Bret Bortner in its Winter '02 issue. Budget Living includes the same mint-green item in a roundup of serving trays in its Dec./Jan. '03 issue. The headline for both articles: "Tray Chic."

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The cover of ReadyMade's winter '02 issue leads with the headline "Boxing Lessons." Inside, an article describes how to create decorative boxes. In their Dec/Jan '03 issue, Budget Living explains how to make decorative boxes in a half-page item headlined "Boxing Lesson."

Budget Living editor-in-chief Sarah Gray Miller insists it's purely coincidence. "There have been some unfortunate accidents, which happens when a group of magazines covers the same subject," Miller explains from her New York office. "I'm sort of bummed that this has come up because it's really, really, really and truly not our intention."