"People need to pull together and help out, because whether it's a New York family leaving a homeless shelter or victims of Hurricane Katrina, everyone deserves a home, a place to live."
Chris Madden, home furnishings designer with a major presence at all JCPenney stores
and editorial director of the magazine named for her, At Home with Chris Madden, met me for lunch at Michael's joined by her publisher, Jack Kliger, CEO of Hachette Filipacchi
Magazines, and her husband Kevin, chairman of Chris Madden Inc.
Hachette Plans Four Issues of At Home with Chris Madden in 2006
Being the oldest girl in a family of nine children, Chris Madden says she learned early to cook, sew and keep house. "From
the time I could speak, I was constantly telling my parents how I wanted to 'decorate' my room," she says. "I learned to become hyper organized, to think about challenges and solutions and how
to work well together. When you sit around with eleven people at dinner, you learn to communicate, organize and lead."
(For all the day's celebrities at Michael's on the day of our lunch visit www.mediabistro.com)
Chris Madden with her husband, Kevin
"Design," Chris says, "is about personal vision. It's not about money, rules or being judged. We share guidelines in our new magazine to make it easy for people to design their homes based on
their own visions, with some mix of my own vision. I try to empower my readers with ideas and options. We open doors to show how you can create special places where you feel great being." Chris is constantly meeting with her audience to hear their insights and understand their
priorities at JCPenney stores where her line of home furnishings is one of the biggest sellers, at her many speaking engagements, and through feedback to At Home with Chris Madden.
The premiere issue was published in May with four more planned over the next 12 months, according to Kliger. JCPenney distributed 50,000 copies to its customers and 300,000 copies were sold at
newsstands. "You usually start a magazine and hope to build a brand," Kliger points out. "We're starting with a strong brand that people already have passion for, and that's Chris Madden herself. Chris is
very hands on and the magazine has to reflect the expectations readers have for the brand they have been following for years."
Chris explains, "I'm editing my magazine to appeal to that all-important 25-40 year old audience, but I also want to
talk to that incredibly vibrant group in their 40's and 50's. I think the concept of age is being totally re-designed—I feel it's more a matter of 'attitude' rather than birth age."
"Chris is constantly focused on staying on message," says husband Kevin, who manages the Chris Madden business after over 20 years as a magazine publisher. "It's a very personal business
and requires so much of her input in every aspect of the company. We are delivering 13 new furniture collections with more than one thousand new products to JCPenney this fall, as well as planning and
shooting both the new magazine and our next book."
In addition to "loving the professional and creative challenges of the business," Chris enjoys watercolor paintings, black and white photography, snorkeling, and listens to a wide variety of music, ranging from opera and the blues to Steve Tyrell and Ben Folds. She and Kevin have
two sons who are both in college (one graduate and one undergrad) and three West Highland terriers, Winnie, Lola and Teddy. She's also passionate about her role as spokesperson for New York's Partnership for the Homeless "Furnish a Future" program, which provides furnishings and funds for the formerly homeless. Chris says, "People need to pull together
and help out, because whether it's a New York family leaving a homeless shelter or victims of Hurricane Katrina, everyone deserves a home, a place to live."
Kevin and Chris began dating when a friend brought Chris to a New York magazine company softball game in the early 1970s. Kevin was playing with colleagues Tom Wolfe pitching, James Brady at shortstop and writer Nick Pileggi in center field. Chris and
Kevin met, began dating and were married three years later. In 1995, Kevin left Condé Nast to join Chris full time in her company, recommending a name change from "Interior Visions" to Chris Madden Inc. Chris recalls the moment on an escalator in Atlanta when Kevin
recommended the name change. "I didn't quite get it at the time, but Kevin was convincing and it was a brilliant decision. My friend Toni Morrison, who is in our premiere issue in an enlightening article on the home and all it means, says to 'remember the moments' that make a difference and that was one of them."
Jack Kliger, Jack Myers, Chris & Kevin Madden
Chris' early books were about lifestyle and cooking, but she "was always nuts about design." She studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, and started her career in the
photo department at Sports Illustrated. For seven years, she hosted her own program on HGTV and is now considering a new weekly syndicated television show. "It's time to get back to television," Chris says. Kliger adds, "the dominant theme in media today is consumer choice and control, which magazines have always lived with. Chris has a huge library that is
accessible for video-on-demand, which is an area Hachette is planning to move into."
"Chris is creative but also sees the big picture, understands how to serve consumers and advertisers, and knows
how to motivate in a positive way," says Kevin admiringly. Kliger adds, "Chris stays focused on getting people to understand her visions and she is building a large scale major brand."
