A couple of weeks ago I visited Country Woman Magazine, a Reader’s Digest publication. Their Craft Editor, Shalana Frisby, gave me a tour of their building and I was able to get a glimpse into the behind the scenes action. The funnest part for me was the “prop loft”, an upper level area filled with colorful plates, cups, mugs, trays, accessories, pans and more. For a food blogger like me, this was pure heaven.
You can head over to Craft Gossip to see my full story on Country Woman Magazine and my fabulous visit there!
Shalana Frisby, Craft Editor, Country Woman Magazine (left) Amanda Formaro, Home & Garden Editor, CraftGossip.com (right)
After talking at length with Shalana, she took me on a tour of their offices and styling areas.
Taste of Home Test Kitchen
On our way to the styling area, we passed one of the many test kitchens belonging to Taste of Home Magazine.
Taste of Home Test Kitchen
Props at Country Woman Magazine
This picture is of smaller foam core boards, though they are much larger than the ones you get at WalMart! These are also used in photo shoots and they had just about every color imaginable.
Styling offices at Taste of Home and Country Woman Magazine
Next we walked through the styling area. This is where all of the craft and food stylists work and take those beautiful photographs.
Food stylist Pam at Taste of Home and Country Woman Magazine
Pam, one of their most talented stylists, was kind enough to let me grab a shot of her. She was busy putting together a photo shoot of a mouth watering cranberry bread for one of their holiday issues.
Styling Kitchen at Taste of Home
At the far end was the stylist kitchen where food is put together and later photographed.
The Prop Loft
Above the stylist kitchen was my favorite part – The Prop Loft. This is where all of the photo props are kept. Several huge rows filled to the brim with beautiful plates, bowls, dishes, and more. Anything you could ever want for a beautifully styled food or craft photographs.
The Prop Loft
Everything is sorted by type and color. As you can see, this shelf holds all sorts of color coded cups and glasses.
The Prop Loft
Sugar bowls, creamer pitchers, picnic items.. milk glass, ceramic, glass…
The Prop Loft
Gorgeous ruffled cake plates..
The Prop Loft
Ohhh I really wanted to bring these bowls home with me.
The Prop Loft
The plates were fabulous. All sorts of colors, designs, scalloped, straight, vintage, modern, and everything in between.
The Ribbon Wall
This is known as the Ribbon Wall. It lives on the wall along the staircase that leads up to the Prop Loft. This ribbon is used for styling both food and craft shots.
I hope you enjoyed the tour s much as I did. Special thanks to all of the amazing people at Country Woman Magazine for allowing me to come in and disrupt their day for a few hours. It was such a pleasure!
Don’t forget to read my story on Country Woman Magazine at CraftGossip to see even more, including a glimpse into the craft editor’s work space!
Awesome!!! I loved this behind-the-scenes look. I’m a big fan of CW and it is so cool to see their props, test kitchen, ribbon wall, etc.
Thanks for the shout-out, Amanda! We are glad you enjoyed your visit as much as we did. It’s fun to see us through new eyes. 🙂 Lori, editor
I loved visiting Lori, thanks so much for the warm welcome and the fabulous visit!
How FASCINATING, to get a behind the scenes look of where and how such a beautiful magazine is created! I get butterflies of creative excitement, just looking around a place like that. As a professional photographer, artist, and blogger, places like this are a dream to be able to work in! Thanks for sharing your visit, Amanda! (Wow. You lucky Girl. 🙂
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