Consumer Flooring Magazine Debuts

Albany, NY & Ghent, NY, June 20--A new national consumer magazine is on newsstands--Fabulous Floors--the first magazine of its kind dedicated solely to the fashion of flooring. According to founder and Publisher Sonna Calandrino, the Spring edition of the new semi-annual Fabulous Floors is appearing for 90 days at major publication outlets in the US and Canada, such as Barnes & Noble and Borders, and in home centers like Home Depot and Lowe's. Initial results show 52% of distributed copies have been sold. "For a newsstand-only publication, that's considered extremely high," Calandrino said, "even for an established magazine." Calandrino, for 20 years a consultant to the flooring sector as well an editor and author on both the industry and consumer side, said, "With Fabulous Floors, both manufacturers and consumers finally have a publication dedicated solely to the flooring category at a time that's most exciting, especially with so many new flooring products appearing. Rare wood, laminate, ceramic tile, cork and bamboo and technologies like soft fibers and new-age cleaning materials are just beginning to come into their own. "Fabulous Floors readers are or will be in the next 14 months undertaking a home building, remodeling or decorating project which includes flooring," said Calandrino. "Within our pages, consumers can find out about each flooring category, what's new and how each type can be best used, from fashion to eye appeal to day-to-day practicality--even how to measure." Already appearing as a flooring expert in nationally broadcast radio and in television infomercials, Calandrino said both she and the new publication are leveraging the magazine's content for guest appearances and regularly scheduled home improvement segments going into the Fall. Calandrino explained that the magazine grew out of a special section within Best Kitchens & Baths magazine, one of the leading newsstand sellers in its category. "After just three issues, our special section was sold out," she said. "Based on the performance of our sister publication, initial distributor response and the fact that consumer groups were clamoring for information, we actually anticipated a high sell-through like this for Fabulous Floors." The 84-page premier issue features articles on carpet, laminate, area rugs, vinyl, ceramic tile, wood and cleaning as well as stories on flooring and color, new stain-resistant fiber and long-wearing surface technologies and how flooring plays a large role in intriguing fashion statements in redecorating projects ranging from traditional to ultra modern. "What makes Fabulous Floors unique is its approach," Calandrino said. "We go far beyond pretty pictures and product descriptions. Our readers, most of whom are women, want fashion and decorating ideas and help with the shopping process. They want solutions to decorating problems, how to use trendy hard surfaces like exotic woods and how to deal with challenges like basements, subfloors, cleaning and maintenance." Fabulous Floors is intended to be practical, given that more women are becoming involved in the installation process. This Spring issue features a resource guide to manufacturers and a two-page personal shopping assistant for buyers to take along to record their needs and wishes and to keep track of their favorite products as they shop. "With all the research Mohawk conducts, the one thing we hear time and time again from consumers is that they'd like more information bout flooring and floor fashion so that they can be more informed shoppers. Fabulous Floors is the kind of publication that will be important to them," said Ed Williams, Senior Vice President Marketing for Mohawk Residential.