Martha Stewart
by Ashley Frazier
Martha Stewart is one of the great American success stories. She was born into a large Polish-American family as Martha Kostyra, the child of a salesman and a schoolteacher who taught their children a strong work ethic. Her mother cooked and entertained at home and made clothes for their family. Her father taught her to garden. Martha frequently mentions her childhood in Nutley, New Jersey with pride.
Martha Stewart went to Barnard College in New York City, and worked as a model throughout her time in college. She married Andy Stewart in 1961 and had her only child in 1965. From 1967 to 1973 Martha worked on Wall Street as a stockbroker. As the stock market slowed in the early seventies Martha and her family moved to Connecticut and began to renovate the famed Turkey Hill farmhouse where she still lives today.
Working on the farmhouse allowed Martha Stewart to recognize her true passions and talents, which are decorating and entertaining with a faultless sense of what is tasteful. In 1976 she began a catering business, and ten years later was running a million-dollar business. In 1982 she published her first book, "Entertaining," which won her a widespread following. She began to publish her magazine "Martha Stewart Living" in 1990, which is a guide to living and entertaining graciously. People couldn't get enough. Soon Martha Stewart was everywhere, with television spots on the "Today Show" and then her own show.
In 1997 Martha pulled together the resources to buy "Martha Stewart Living" from Time Warner and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia was born. And Omnimedia she is-Martha is ubiquitous, available on the web, television, radio, in print. Martha Stewart is remarkably cutting edge for someone who personifies old-fashioned values like crafting handmade wrapping paper and cooking the perfect roast. MSLO went public on October 19, 1999, and the share price doubled by day's end, making Martha Stewart a billionaire.
So why should anyone care about Martha Stewart? Because of her wildly successful run as a businesswoman? I think it's more than that. What she does is important. Martha Stewart matters in a broader sense. She's a real Sense-of-Life girl. Martha Stewart Living magazine is a thick and luscious monthly printed on gorgeous paper that is a joy to touch and hold. Each month thousands of people pick up a copy and for a few hours, Martha tells them about the Good Things in life. You won't find articles in Martha Stewart Living about fat thighs or most humiliating moments or man-woman head games. Instead of reveling in the drudgery as so many magazines do, those things are excluded completely from Martha Stewart's world, and instead readers are encouraged to imagine a higher level of possibility.
Martha Stewart has been criticized for presenting a vision that no person could ever achieve; some feel that it is too perfect, too ambitious. This is ridiculous. Martha Stewart is an enormously ambitious person and has a tremendous amount of personal style and creativity. She is certainly worthy of admiration, as well as credited with assembling and managing an excellent supporting staff. Could she do everything she does on her own? Of course not, but she doesn't claim that she does. She doesn't even suggest that her devotees do it all on their own. If you're short on time to cut your own rubbers for stamping, but have the money, you can shop Martha by Mail, where many of her Good Things are available by catalog. Or for less time and less money, many Martha Stewart products are on sale at your local K-Mart.
Martha does present an ideal, a life where style matters and where attention to detail is everything. Yes, she reminds you, it is important to send a handwritten thank you note instead of an email. Preferably on a card you made yourself. No meal is too light for dessert, no event too casual for flowers. Drive out into the country for fresh air and fresh fruit once in a while. Live graciously. These words come back to me all the time, when I feel tired, when I feel myself slowing. It is fair to say that Martha Stewart has impacted my own life significantly, she is the very essence of "making the effort."
Lately, the words that have meant the most to me have been these: "I want you to know that I am innocent-and that I will fight to clear my name." They were printed in "An Open Letter from Martha Stewart" on www.marthatalks.com, a site created to present Martha's side of the story of the recent controversy surrounding her sale of ImClone stock. I find it interesting that Martha has not been charged with insider trading, which she was being investigated for, but obstruction of justice, for repeatedly and vociferously declaring her innocence. I hope that Martha continues to fight to clear her name, and will not accept any deal that accomplishes anything less. Many eloquent articles have been written on this topic, so I don't need to say more.
Those who hate Martha Stewart are angry with inspirational leaders. They don't want uplifting visions, nor do they want anyone else to have them. They would prefer to wallow in the gutter and have the rest of the world remain in that stench with them. It is easier that way, sinking into the mud. When someone like Martha Stewart comes along the only thing for them to do is cover her in filth. Surely she is too radiant, too high above this to be touched by it. For those who admire her, we watch and wait.
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