Last month Catalog Age reported that cataloger/retailer Penzeys Spices was starting a magazine. Now Parkersburg, WV-based woodworking supplies merchant Woodcraft Supply Co. is doing the same. The cataloger/retailer launched Woodcraft Magazine, with a December/January issue on Nov. 26. To oversee production of the bimonthly publication, Woodcraft Supply created multimedia company Dovetail Media.
Both the Woodcraft catalog and the magazine measure 8″ × 10-1/2″, but instead of glossy paper like the catalog, Woodcraft Magazine is printed on a heavier, and more costly, matte stock, says Shawn Draper, Woodcraft Supply vice president of supply and Dovetail Media copresident and publisher.
Draper says the 100-page magazine will focus on educating readers with projects they can complete, profiles of professional and amateur woodworkers, and product information and reviews. The first issue features four projects, including plans for a coin bank that resembles an old-time post office box; a profile of DIY Network’s Wood Works program host David Marks; and reviews of three dado sets, machines that create grooves. A staff of seven, all hired from outside of Woodcraft Supply, handles all aspects of producing the magazine.
The magazine mailed to 200,000 people, most of them paid subscribers whose names were culled from the Woodcraft catalog list, Internet requests, retail store requests, and list rentals from woodworking organizations, associations, and publications. Woodcraft Supply has 3.6 million customers who shop through its Woodcraft catalog and Website as well as in its 80 stores.
Woodcraft Magazine‘s premiere issue features advertising from the company’s existing vendors as well as from others within the woodworking industry. A one-year subscription costs $38.97; the magazine is also available at the Woodcraft stores and via the Website and catalog. Draper says the company plans to sell the magazine at major bookstores for $7.99 an issue beginning with the February/March issue.