Edited Monday, October 15: A possible buyer has come forward for Modern Patchwork and Cloth Paper Scissors. We will update this post as more information becomes available.
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F+W is shutting down Modern Patchwork, Cloth Paper Scissors, Quilty, and Knit.Wear magazines. The issues that are currently in production will be the last. Tiffany Warble, Director of Content, says the company is working on a plan for existing subscribers and a letter will be going out informing contributors later this week. A round of layoffs accompanied the closures.
General Manager David Pyle explained yesterday, “These were magazines that were considered to be not necessarily core to what we feel our strategy is going forward long term and they were also magazines that were not performing and delivering in a way that was sustainable.” He went on to say “the decision was not made based around the overall quality of the magazines” or the teams that produced them.
For many years F+W was in acquisition mode, buying up craft media brands. Now the company is winnowing down, steadily shuttering print magazines, reducing the number of books it produces annually, and shedding non-core operations. Among the art and craft magazines F+W has closed in the last few years are Stitch, Print, HOW, Love of Crochet, and Love of Knitting, as well as Quilters Newsletter, a magazine with a 47-year history that played a significant role in launching the quilting industry as we know it today.
Leadership turmoil
The company has also undergone multiple leadership transitions. In January the board of directors ousted the executive team citing a need to accelerate digital growth. Hopes had been high back in 2016 when John Bolton was hired back as General Manager (he got a standing ovation the first day on the job). Bolton had been an early employee of Quilting Arts magazine, which Interweave acquired in 2007. He’d left the company in 2013 after F+W bought Interweave. But this August, after just two years back at F+W, Bolton left again.
Now, according to Pyle, F+W is trying to hone in on its core business: creating compelling media that its audience wants. This means closing down underperforming magazines. It also means “significantly scaling back” the ecommerce portion of the business. (In April the company sold off Keepsake Quilting, its catalog business and retail quilt shop.) And taking a hard look at the events portion of the business (F+W owns the Original Sewing & Quilt Expo and Interweave Yarn Fest, among others) about which Pyle says, “parts are working and parts are challenged.” And it involves stepping into new territory. F+W is getting ready to launch a podcast soon.
The Four Magazines
The four magazines on the chopping block this time around hold varying levels of importance to the craft community.
Quilty was originally founded by Mary Fons as an online television show in 2010. The magazine launched a year later and Fons served as its creative director and editor for four years until she left F+W in 2016 at which time Quilty ceased publication. F+W revived Quilty a year or so later without Fons’s input.
Fons describes the original incarnation of Quilty as “weird” and “off-beat.” The magazine featured her hand-drawn illustrations of Spooly, a personified spool of thread and says the writing had a tone of “chipper, respectful insouciance.” “That Quilty was as weird as it was within the soulless, corporate garbage fire is a point of pride,” Fons says. “Flowers, if they are tough, really can grow out of rubble.”
The second incarnation of Quilty had none of the spark of the original, according to Fons. “If you compare Quilty 1.0 with Quilty 2.0, this is plain. The publishers and editors thought putting a few exclamation points on the cover or having a vaguely chirpy tone in the quilt descriptions made Quilty 2.0 different from everything else out there in that genre. That’s idiotic. When Quilty 1.0 went away, that was too bad because weird is good. Unique is good. We lose nothing with the closing of the second iteration of Quilty.”
Cloth Paper Scissors, on the other hand, is a magazine that is beloved by mixed media artists. Its closure will represent a major loss. Artist Jane LaFazio was a frequent contributor. “Cloth Paper Scissors was a game changer for my career as a teaching artist,” she says. “My artwork was first published in the January/February 2007 issue and nearly two dozen times since then. ‘I saw your art in Cloth Paper Scissors’ was a frequent conversation started and each time I would beam with pride.”
“Cloth Paper Scissors was a magazine I read cover to cover, marking the pages of projects I wanted to try,” LaFazio says. “I saved all the issues for years. It was always a source of inspiration and education and introduction to my fellow artists around the world. It was the leader of the mixed media movement and I’m sorry to see it end.“
For many modern quilters, Modern Patchwork played an equally central role. “Recently a librarian at my public library asked me for a recommendation for a quilting magazine that they should carry,” says quilt designer Timna Tarr. “I gave her two names, one of which was Modern Patchwork. It’s one of the few quilt magazines that is informative to beginning and intermediate quilters while having a crisp, clear design.
For new designers getting published in Modern Patchwork was a way to build their resume, and for established designers used it as a testing ground for fresh ideas. “The very first quilt pattern I ever wrote was for Modern Patchwork. That pattern played a pivotal role in the launch of my business,” says designer Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill of Whole Circle Studio. “Without Modern Patchwork, there would certainly be fewer opportunities, especially for those just starting out professionally as quilt pattern designers or quilt writers who want to gain more experience.”
Malka Dubrawsky has published over a dozen patterns in the magazine. “For myself, this is a huge creative loss,” she says. “For the community of designers, Modern Patchwork was a great place to test a new idea, get feedback both from the editors and readers, and build on that exposure to self-publish later.”
Kate Gagnon Osborn, a knitwear designer and co-owner of the yarn company Kelbourne Woolens says, “I was incredibly excited when Knit.Wear was originally published by Interweave. I thought it was a perfect compliment to the more ‘traditional’ voice of Interweave Knits and loved the clean, modern styling. I’ll be sad to see the modern voice of Interweave going, as I think it was really important to the overall interest of the brand.”
Knit.Wear’s digital offshoot, Wool Studio, will continue. Pyle points to Wool Studio as an example of digital content that’s been able to successfully reach an audience in a way that legacy media couldn’t. It’s a model he’s hoping the company can replicate elsewhere.
Magazines Are Changing
It’s important to note that F+W isn’t the only publishing house closing down magazines. Earlier this year Meander Publishing shuttered Modern Quilts Unlimited and Machine Quilting Unlimited and last year XRX ceased publication of Knitter’s Magazine. Meanwhile, a new crop of independently published, ad-free craft magazines has risen up including Quiltfolk, Curated Quilts, Laine, and Making, among others. Fons is now Editor-in-Chief of Quiltfolk.
“I think the competition in this space has been fierce with independent publications taking front row,” says designer Michele Wang who has had patterns published in Knit.Wear. “It’s unfortunate that the larger media corporations haven’t been able to keep up with the times and set trends, but instead seem to be chasing after them.”
Pyle says he had a conversation last week with the owner of Quiltfolk about their business model. “Hats off to the Quiltfolk people. It’s a great product,” Pyle said. “Is it the kind of product that we need going forward? I don’t know. I don’t know.”
It’s possible that more magazine closures are coming, potentially in sewing. F+W’s sewing magazines include Sew News, Creative Machine Embroidery, Sew It All, Sew Daily, and Burda Style and there have already been layoffs in this department. “The sewing portion of the business is struggling,” Pyle said. “We believe there’s something viable here and something sustainable, but we need to look hard at what that truly is.”
Broken hearted….the only thing I can see to benefit me is that now I will be able to catch up on each project I have earmarked in Cloth Paper Scissors …..the very best mixed media magazine/tutorial ever …. so glad I’ve kept every one of them …. just sad
I agree this will be a tremendous loss. But hopefully an opportunity for someone or more to establish a new funky version.
I am going to really Cloth Paper scissors. I buy it for my library as well so I am doubly sad. It is interesting that it was noted as second in a list of the 10 best artist books so if this being cut you wonder what is next!
The closing of Cloth Paper and Scissors is really disheartening. My association with CPS started in 2010 when my very first reader challenge submission was published. Since then several of my art and articles have been published in the magazine. The editorial staff were amazing to work with and I am going to miss them deeply. The ending of CPS is going to leave a deep void in the mixed-media world.
I tried to pay for my subscription to SewNews three times online and twice on the phone. Didn’t happen. NO phone number, NO address to send contributions to, NO email address of any kind worked.
Not sure what you are talking about. SewNews is not included in the list of magazines that are to cease publication.
Jes sayin’, I couldn’t pay for my recent subscription to F+W Sew News magazine, and I couldn’t find a working email address, nor a street address for the magazine, nor a phone number to the place. Probably means nothing, of course.
When I went to CPS site tonight.. to complain about receiving a renewal notice on a subscription that still has a year to go on a magazine that has sent out it’s supposedly final issue! I had to sign in as a new account and be merged back in to my old account- which currently contains zero of my history.. they said they were using a new system and everyone would have to do that. They do have my subscription info correct but no other order history . May be cleaning up their act for potential buyer.
teri.. Sew News was cited as a potential future casualty 😕
I know the “final” CPS went on shelf with a rushed looking format, index listed pages that are not actually in magazine. The reader challenge winners were included, but they should have been in previous issue… so those of us to be in November issue got bumped. Noticed some advertisement pages that looked out of place for CPS. I don’t know that I have hope of seeing magazine saved by another publisher. Trend right now is focused on showing “lifestyle” stuff not actually being creative… just looking creative. I don’t want a magazine devoted to visuals of artist studios or for that matter… more journaling. I think the stamp on every conceivable surface and mark making has put off the demand for art magazines that explore full range artistic work. I am still thoroughly angry.
I was wondering why the lastest issue had not arrived, and unaware Machine Quilting has also been discontinued. Cloth and Paper and Machine Quilting, two of my favorite will be greatly missed. Sadden.
Gah! Interweave was such a spectacularly wonderful company at the beginning. I sort of really hate it when “The Board” of large corporations take over. It’s the shareholder economy that sucks the life and originality out of these beautiful and inspiring projects.
My heart goes out to those that are still there on staff… it’s got to be pretty rough.
Hate to see CPS go away…. what a wonderful publication and timing stinks, my work was scheduled to be published and now…. just sad that creative folks are taking the hit corporate goals.
I am so sad to hear about Cloth Paper Scissors. It made break out of my box and try new things and seek out new artist and their works. 😞
I don’t know if I’m more mad or sad. “shedding non-core operations” Really? It was underperforming because they didn’t put CPS out where people could learn about it. Try airports, back in crafts stores, art stores on college campuses….hello? Find your audience. How about a craft show back on tv? I like gardening and so forth but what about the rest of us? I’m tired of real estate shows about how to buy and flip a house. Just disgusted completely with F&W
I agree. Over the last few years, it’s been hard to find a CPS issue anywhere, even the bookstores. Seems like F&W gave up on it a while back. Also agree about TV. I would love to see art shows, even something like the old Carol Duvall show.
Do you watch shows on Bluprint?
What’s Blueprint?
Bluprint is the new name of Craftsy.
I am working on an entire craft/maker channel…Make It Channel. The Beta site should be up soon and it will include ever thing from quilting to making beer, paper crafts to knitting, business for the maker community and lifestyle.
Do you have a mailing list? Would love to hear more about this.
Would not be interested in a channel like that since
a) tossed our tv years ago
b) not interested in quilting or making beer, knitting or that sorts of similar type of crafts
c) As a graphic designer got great inspiration from CPS magazine;
I totally agree – gutted CPS has been ended.
I agree. In Winnipeg there were only two places that carried PCS. I am In mourning, hard to believe I Don’t see another issue. I have all issues from 2006 except 2, because, by the second week of publication all the issues were gone. Maybe better marketing would have kept it alive. The other magazine has very little content and each issue is similar, same with journal and studio ones.
I am so very sad about Cloth, Paper, Scissors being shuttered. This magazine helped launch my teaching career and I loved being a contributor. The editors of Cloth Paper Scissors are some of the most brilliant and hardworking women I know. They put their hearts and souls into every issue. This is low point for our mixed media community. Will we ever be able to get back to the days of people over profits? I think not, but I sure wish for it.
Sadly, the editors have lost their jobs.
This is late to ask, but which was the last issue of CPS? I have saved all the issues, but not sure when I started receiving Quilters Art to”finish off my subscription “?
Hire women as CEOs. Let those who know the customers and market best run the show. Who buys CPS-women! They know best what we want and where we shop!
It was female leadership at F+W that killed Mary and Marianne Fons’s podcast: https://whileshenaps.com/2016/05/who-killed-quilt-your-heart-out-podcast.html
There is truth to needing women to
Be CEOs. Hancock Fabric was taken over by males who had no idea of the customer needs of the company and so it died. And they treated their employees like crap I know I was one for a few months
Sad Cloth, Paper ,scissors is goiing away. It was full of amazing articles by great artisits.
Kind of interesting that they know that digital works and have seen some do very well, but can’t wrap their heads around getting the traditional magazines they have into the digital realm. And, copying or trying to replicate someone else’s work (Quilty) typically doesn’t work. That’s why it wasn’t missed when it left the second time around.
They need think outside of the box and not try to force it.
I reviewed nearly dozen quilting magazines about a year ago, Modern Patchwork was one of the best. You could hand a beginner a copy, show them how to thread their machine, and walk away – 2 months later they would have their first quilt made. It was thorough, and had fun projects.
Well, it’s true all good things come to an end. Ironically Cloth, Paper, Scissors sent out a mailing offering reduced prices for a subscription. I purchased just in time to get the new issue. I assume they will allow us to apply it to other magazines.
Well I guess I’ll be getting a REFUND because I sent a my money and subscription notice in back in August!!!!
Very sad, I don’t do digital!! I like the magazine in my hand to flip the pages!!
Well another good magazine gone!!
I’ll have to find inspiration for my art some place else!
I purchased a 2 subscription for Modern Patchwork in September. haven’t heard anything from the company, just stopped getting magazines.
I noticed that I hadn’t gotten a CPS mag since the fall issue so I called & was told that they had stopped publication (nice to know!). They said that the remainder of my subscription would be transferred to quilting arts mag. Good thing I like that mag!! I had just signed up for a subscription because as others mentioned, I couldn’t find CPS anywhere anymore. I used to get it at Barnes & Nobles but hadn’t seen it there for awhile. I went in a few weeks ago and didn’t see any of the stampington mags either? Those are kind of pricey for me ($14.99) so I only buy when I see projects that interest me. Guess my only choice now is to get a subscription to one of those. Michaels has cut back on carrying many “crafty” mags, looks like mostly lifestyle stuff now. REALLY sorry to see CPS go, I was almost at the point that I felt brave enough to submit for a challenge. Oh well….. Maybe one of the indies will pick up CPS or do something similar, that would be GREAT! I am not a digital person when it comes to crafts, nor a TV person, it moves too fast to actually learn anything, it’s more like just watching a show for me. I would certainly take that over nothing though.
Well, you had better hope F & W finds a buyer for Quilting Arts because they have filed bankruptcy. If they don’t find a buyer, QA will also be gone and all of us who paid for subscriptions to ANY of their magazines will be out of luck.
Well now the news is F & W has filed bankruptcy. Decimating the entire magazine industry as they went around swallowing up all the great small publishing companies. And now through mismanagement has put the magazine industry in a death spiral. This includes all of our favorite Quilt craft and creative magazines. But your outdoor mags hunting etc Hopefully the small companies will be willing to restart so we have our outlets. Just pray Quilting Arts can be Sabrina not will also affect an other venues such s tv shows etc.
I just got the Quilting Arts replacement magazine yesterday…I felt sad. Then I researched and found out what happened. I noticed the CPS switch to seasonal mailings 4 times a year…that was sort of a signal, looking back. I really enjoyed CPS! I’m glad I have all my issues, so I at least can look at the artist’s websites and blogs. I also learned that GreenCraft magazine was retired; I enjoyed that also. I’m old-school…I like a magazine in my hands and turning the pages!!
Yes, I am old school too on the having a tangible magazine in my hands…. a true printed image is so
Much better than an “e” version. Can’t tell you how angry I was about the folding of CPS…. I had been scheduled to have artwork featured in the last issue to be printed… as it turns out. My arywas sent back with a short blurb about magazine folding up. For months I saw solicitation to renew and subscribe. They knew they would not be able to honor the new subscriptions! I think F&W should be held accountable for the fraud. Bankruptcy probably gets them off the hook…. they took over CPS and ran it into the ground and walk away…. SAD!
I was wondering why suddenly I was receiving a quilting magazine, since I have no interest in quilting. Just recently I wondered where my CPS magazines were, and here I am commiserating with everyone else who loved CPS.
I am very irritated and angry that some joker at F&W decided to fill out the remainder of my CPS subscription with a magazine I never wanted. PLUS, no one at F&W had the courtesy to announce the magazine was ceasing publication. I read the press on CPS’ ending publication (which never made it to the mainstream media that I know of) and someone at F&W was quoted as very nicely (lying through their teeth) saying that subscribers would be notified and refunds sent. Well, a few chosen farewell gestures to the new board of “directors.” Signing off, JJ
Sleaze all the way around. I, too, was solicited to renew my subscription by them, they knowing they were just going to steal everyone’s money and wash their hands of it. Evil. Sadly they took the books, the videos and everything else with them, leaving the artists who had “made” them high and dry. Disgusting.
Re the sewing magazines, I don’t think it’s a good sign that, despite being an avid sewer and sewing blogger (and contributor to both Threads Magazine and Vogue Patterns), I had never even HEARD of Sew News, Creative Machine Embroidery, Sew It All, or Sew Daily. And I’m only familiar with Burda Style as a website.
Sew News has been around FOREVER. I had a subscription for years starting back in the early 1980’s. Excellent magazine.
I am just starting in garment sewing and I see a lot of respect for Burda Style among the long-time sewists. I think this will be a loss if it goes. I hope they can transform it into a digital success.
CPS is a huge loss.
Thank you for this coverage Abby! As a former employee of Interweave (04-08), I also had high hopes when John Bolton returned to the leadership team. I’m really disheartened to hear that it didn’t work out. I have seen the struggle with print magazines from the inside when I was selling advertising (including selling ads in CPS) so I understand the business variables that motivate a decision like this but it makes me sad nonetheless.
won’t miss quilty 2.0 not a great magazine, sorry about cloth paper scissors not that I was the audience but that its going, don’t know the others – subscribe to quiltworks now even though its $$$ its a lovely mag/book
OK, all I lost was my subscription (only received one issue so far). The people at the helm of these magazines lost their jobs! (I’ve been there). F & W does NOT know what they’re doing! They consolidated all their titles under one master helm back in October and now it’s like a giant Walmart online. You can’t get in unless you go through their BIG front door and say “mother may I” 16 different ways and give them your name and email. I’ve been in this industry professionally for 26 years and it saddens me when people at the top don’t have a clue about what their consumers want (and will buy!)
Thank you for another well written update on the industry! I love reading this blog!
From your article about shutting down the Fons & Porter podcast, “Others described the company as “the Death Star,” “the piranha of the crafts industry,” and “Voldemort.”” That’s surely how I came to feel about them and why I stopped buying at wholesale from them a few years back. They tread inhumanely on every segment of the crafting industry including small online retail businesses like mine.
Art Doll Quarterly has also been stopped. This was a great magazine for doll artists and creativity.
I can’t even begin to find the words for losing my all time favorite magazine and editors and contributors! What a shock and what a loss the creative community is going through with this news!
I sound dramatic but it feels dramatic…
As soon as making as much money as possible becomes more important than quality and customer satisfaction….well, that’s when the downhill slide begins. “Underperforming” is simply corporate speak for ” It’s not making huge profits for us so we’ll scrap it. “
I am still miffed that Quilters Newsletter folded. Quilting Arts was offered as QN’s replacement but they have two different audiences. QN was the one magazine that covered ALL of the quilting world.
Cloth, Paper, Scissors is one of the best magazines out there for mixed media. I don’t think anything else can compare. It inspired me. I am so very sad to see it leave the market. Sad for the readers and also the editors, and contributors. They are all awesome. I had hoped to be good enough to contribute some day. This just makes me so sad.
So, how are they handling those who have remaining issues due them? When they shuttered QNM we were given an extension on our Quilting Arts subscriptions if we had them. Meander Publishing just took off with our money….and THEY were still taking payments the weekend before they shut down.
And people wonder why I will no longer subscribe to magazines. If I want it that badly I’ll go buy individual issues. I’ve been burned twice now…never again.
Another sad installment of the ongoing saga of F+W. They have a long history of taking great magazines like Sew Beautiful/Martha Pullen Co. and milking them and ditching them. I had subscribed to Sew Beautiful since 1987, so it was quite a loss when they closed the magazine and then took away the retail portion of the company so I lost my wholesale account with Martha Pullen Co. This continues to affect my business, as I have to pay a lot more for items to use in teaching kits. What they also do is cherry pick projects from the magazines and republish them digitally. The original designers have no rights to the republishing and receive no additional money from the new use. Yes, you can buy online copies of some of the old magazines, but they are expensive, and it’s a pain to print out the patterns because they have them in a strange type of PDF file.
Don’t hold your breath for a refund either. They will try to substitute another magazine like Sew News, which is not anywhere near the creative and beautifully designed magazine that Cloth Paper Scissors is. Just another instance of large corporate greed taking over a very people-oriented business. It’s a sad day. I have chosen to spend my magazine money on Classic Sewing by Hoffmann Media. Many of the Sew Beautiful people have migrated to that publication. I hope that the creative people from this round of cuts will be able to find their voice quickly without being bound by F+W’s oppressive non-compete agreements.
Love you’re reporting Abby!
I hadn’t even heard of Curated. I’m picking up back issues online now.
Laine is insanely lovely, but sadly only at knit shops. No online issues right now. I love all types of Nordic knitware, but with Ravelry I’ve become accustomed to save things in the queue and then pick them up when/if I’m ready to knit them. I see earlier Laine patterns available to purchase from Rav online, so maybe after a time they will all become available. I use knit Companion App to knit by so I can keep track of complicated knits, so I like to be able to load the pattern right to the app now. Plus I need to stay out of knit shops, as I have achieved SABLE status.
I do still love magazines and books, but really love when they have the digital option, with the ability to print out a pattern (or load them to knit app) or pattern pieces as necessary. Only so much space to store all these things. I’m now starting to go through my old magazines and pulling out the things I like to scan those and store them to the cloud for future use.
I think there is only so much media we can all consume. I find I’ve joined several online streaming services for all things TV/Crafts/etc., but really I can’t watch it all and will have to cull some soon.
When a print magazine closes, it’s like Tinker Bell losing her wings. I loved, loved, loved writing for and reading Cloth Paper Scissors, I loved working with editors Jeannine and Barbara, I loved meeting and interviewing the creative people who were featured … I loved it all. What a shame.
This is not surprising. Many have already mentioned many of the causes for the publications’ ceasing to be published.
I see this outcome as a direct result of print advertising no longer being the only way to reach one’s target audience and the publishers not being able to ‘sell’ advertisers on their value proposition. Magazines usually only survive if ad sales are high and they’ve been dwindling for years.
I’m contacted weekly about advertising in creative publications and have yet to take out an ad – the prices are outrageous and there’s no good way to track the ad’s effectiveness.
Contrast that with connecting to an audience online (via email or social media, both of which cost so little), an audience I KNOW wants to hear from me (because they’ve subscribed or follow), and it’s not surprising the ad sales folks can’t sell print ads. Yes, many have digital ad packages too, but the costs are prohibitive.
If I’m spending money to advertise, I spend the budget online and/or with those (podcasts, online mags, websites, etc.) who target the same audience I want to reach…and it’s much less expensive and much more effective than any print ad could ever be.
I view print ads as a great way to establish a brand, but once the brand is known, other options are much more effective in inciting action.
I’m beyond sad to see Cloth Paper Scissors and Modern Patchwork ceasing publication – I love both and feel horrible for their talented staff. I sure hope their staff is quickly snatched up.
Is it just me, but if we reduce everything to “digital”…. what are we left with? The tactile experience of holding a print publication is part of the creative community that …. creates…. we paint, cut, sew, glue, brush, distort, mold, and CREATE. Clicking and swiping are fine, but…. the loss to our sensibilities by reducing the publications we can hold is not a good thing. Messy hands, and cluttered art tables are part of the culture that wants magazines with vibrant pictorials and insightful articles and advertisements for great products and workshops. Just so sad
It’s not just you, Vicki.
I work on a computer most every day and when I want to take a break and be creative, I want to do that in a physical way: print magazines and physical art supplies. I miss many of the magazines that are no longer published. There are still very good ones that are published and which don’t rely on ads to make the numbers work and I am willing to pay a lot more for these ad-free magazines. But I’ll no longer pay for thin magazines that are mostly ads with much less content than they used to offer, especially when those magazines now cost more.
Thanks for reporting on this, Abby. Very sad news. I haven’t read Cloth, Paper, Scissors in a while but I always thought it was a cool magazine. Ironically, I received the current issue of Modern Patchwork in the mail today – it is one of two print magazines I currently subscribe to.
Honestly, I feel like F+W has been somewhat of a villain from the get-go and I really wonder what exactly it is that they plan to do in our industry. They are shuttering magazines, scaling back ecommerce, and taking a “hard look” at events… but starting a podcast. Ugh. [insert eyeroll] Scrappy, nimble indie podcasters will always provide much more interesting content than big biz podcasts, IMHO.
The crafting industry is a $40+ billion dollar industry. I’m not sure about knitting but I do know quilting is a multi-billion $ slice of that pie. It boggles my mind that companies can’t seem to come up with ideas on how to evolve or pivot. Quiltfolk (my other print subscription) is doing well because it is different. Too many companies jump on fleeting trends – or jumping on bandwagons – instead of coming up with unique and original offers.
Hopefully their staff will quickly find great new opportunities.
But here’s the thing that is troubling to me: While the new quilt and craft magazines that are being published are absolutely beautiful, they are very pricey. Many of us can’t afford the subscription costs. There are many special interest mags that I’d love to have, but my craft budget won’t allow it. I bought about $75 worth of designer fabric this past month; it was either the fabric or a quilt magazine subscription (which was $75 per year for four issues). I try to buy back issues, if they’re available at a reduced cost, or digital copies when I can, but nothing replaces the feel of the page beneath my hands. I can’t imagine that most of us who work full-time and quilt, sew, etc. when we can could afford those types of subscription costs. I rarely get to spend $75 on fabric (that’s two-thirds of my “allowance” per month, and I know I’m lucky to have that), much less $75 for a quilt magazine. I don’t doubt that it’s worth every penny, but those in the business need to keep in mind that it just isn’t realistic for many of us.
This completely sucks. I’m so old-school that I can’t stand digital magazines. I love physical magazines and physical books. I regularly go back through old magazines for fresh inspiration, since I rarely follow a pattern as it’s printed. Thankfully there are new magazines out there, here’s hoping they keep the print option.
Really sad about Modern Patchwork, one of the last surviving magazines for modern quilts. Last time one of F & W Mags that I had a subscription to( Stitch) went out of production, they extended another subscription of mine ( by 3 years! No offer of refunding my money back. I loved Meander Publishings’ 2 magazines and had just renewed my subscriptions to both the week before they closed, complete with my money. Could you possibly give me some recommendations for some modern quilting magazines? I’m getting a little bit shy about subscriptions though.
Knit.wear is by far my favorite of all F&W publications, so sad. I don’t enjoy the digital format for knitting magazines so Wool Studio isn’t going to fill it for me.
Knit.Wear is/was the best knitting pattern magazine that I have ever seen. I have knitted more of these sweaters and vests than any other patterns of any other magazines. I am so sorry to see it fold. In this magazine I had seen new designers for the first time. The magazine opened up new avenues for me.
I just recieved a subscription form for Modern Patchwork. Now, if I hadn’t read your email, I possibly could have sent in money and thought I would be receiving magazines along with the other ‘gifts’. I agree with Vivian, I’m really shy about subscribing, but it’s difficult to catch the new issues on the news stand. I have a digital thru Zinio, but I’ve had issues accessing my current issues. They did help me, but I don’t think I’ll renew next time.
There are simply too many craft mags out there and the quality has suffered. The quality of project designs can be pretty poor and basic and they are full of ads or stuff already seen online. I have looked on so many occasions for a magazine to buy, that had things I wanted to make in it. I would spend so long trying to find one that resonated; it was so frustrating. I mostly left empty handed. Too expensive and too much filler material. Too much choice also makes it difficult to commit to one title. I never subscribed to any magazine partly for that reason and also because I wanted to know what I was getting, as the content quality is so variable.
Many years ago back in the nineties, I did buy a sewing magazine which was mostly embroidery and I got it every single month and excitedly anticipated its arrival. I never subscribed, I looked through it first, and every month it was well worth buying. I loved it. It disappeared when crafting got more popular and there were too many mags for it to compete with. One by one they come and go. The other thing that has made it hard to keep magazines afloat is the internet. Everything online is simply newer and fresher. I find the content of magazines dated and old in comparison. The demise of most paper magazines is probably inevitable. That being said I don’t get drawn by online magazines at all.
I asked about my Modern Patchwork subscription. This is what I received via email from The Quilting Company! – “Since we began planning to shut the magazine down, a potential buyer has stepped forward. We would prefer to sell the magazine and have it continue to serve its readers. If that does not happen, you will be offered the choice to receive a refund”
Interesting. We are following up.
I wish someone would step up and keep CPS running… I am a little worried about Watercolor Artist now:(
I hope we receive a refund. I have another year on my subscription. This happened to me once before, a long time ago. I never received a refund. And, really, what other magazines can they offer as substitute?
Oh no! I waited eagerly for each issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissor (not to mention my subscription is for 2 years!) So sorry to see it go.
I think Quiltfolk is a lovely magazine, but ad free publications are just too-o-o expensive. That whole genre needs to rethink it’s model or they, too, will be history.
I am devastated by the discontinuation of Cloth Paper Scissors, my favorite magazine. I don’t trust the reasons given in the article and think it is just an attempt to make more money. I certainly hope to receive a refund for all of the issues I have already paid for, though I would rather receive the magazine. I am really angry about this. They said, “F+W is trying to hone in on its core business: creating compelling media that its audience wants.” They didn’t ask me. They had better keep their hands off of Quilting Arts.I will be looking up the company and boycotting everything they offer. I’m sick of corporate boards thinking they own America.
My opinion is that FW is not interested in offering publication geared toward creative arts market… to throw away CPS, one of the best publications for multi media artists… says they could care less about the arts community. I feel like box stores with their generic house brands of low quality art supplies probably fed this need to pull back on publication expenses. Once the retail sources for products starts shrinking, advertising does too and then the magazines getting on shelves starts to shrink…. think about all the places that stopped carrying magazines and art instruction publications. Within the past 2 years, Michaels went from having full walls, to nothing. I can’t even shop at Michaels for some of the most basic art supplies. They don’t have them…. they have “their house versions”. Ugh!
I am disappointed to hear this as I enjoy the magazine. Also, I just renewed my subscription for 2 years, and find it hard to believe they haven’t known about this for a while. Also, the subscription page on their website is still active. What’s up with that? I hope they will not follow the lead of Meander Publishing. They accepted my 2-year subscription a week before they announced they were stopping publication of Machine Quilting Unlimited and just kept my money, and wanted me to pay more to see the final issue that was only published digitally. I am wary of these companies now and will not renew Quilting Arts for more than one year at a time in the future.
Cloth, Paper, Scissors largely created my sense of exploration and vision. It provides portals into the minds of working artists, and now, all that will change.
Cloth Paper Scissors is a huge loss to me personally and to the Mixed Media Community as a whole. I am sad to see it end. As a subscriber, I was disillusioned to find out in the media blitz, a week before receiving my “letter.” Stampington now seems like the best hope for us all.
Funny too… go to the CPS blog and look at what they posted from October 15…. a repeat of project and offered under a digital issue for Winter???? So not anything new, but you can pay 10.00 for their “digital” winter issue…… my guess is that if they have a digital magazine they plan to satisfy subscribers with that? Not that there is a peep about unfolding any future digital issues.
Cloth, Paper, Scissors was a great magazine! By magazine I mean a paper publication that you can feel in your hand, devour with your mind, travel with, and take to bed and ponder in a dream-like state.
This magazine was a communication tool for the artist community and food for the creative soul. It was a reference source that one could take off the shelf to read and reread when inspiration was needed.
I feel like I have suffered a loss of a very close and dear friend. This will sound dramatic to some, but the artists out there will understand. We don’t have a bottom line that is evaluated with monitary gain, but with the expression of our soul and core values.
I would like to thank all those that contributed to this wonderful magazine. I will miss your wealth of information.
So sad to see Modern Patchwork disappear – I hope they find a buyer. The original Quilty was the best – quirky yes, but brilliant. Quilty 2.0 never really hit the mark for me. Sad news for the industry overall.
There’s a new note that they may have found a buyer for some of the magazines. Let’s hope that comes through!
This is an unfortunate sign of the times. I want to wish the staff of F+W the best in moving forward, and continuing to provide their customers with wonderful information about what they love – art and craft.
I just received a subscription notice from F & W media today to renew Cloth, Paper, Scissors. This seems very dishonest to me.
I’ve been a subscriber of CPS since Issue 1. It is the only Mixed Media Magazine out there with tutorials. I’ll miss it. Will they be continuing with digital issues though?
No one wants an E-Magzine – especially for papercrafts. Case in point, actually, Papercrafts went digital and then – gone! Just like that.
Totally bad news across the board.
I have a subscription to CPS that expires in May/June 20/20. What happens to me? I don’t want a sewing magazine or a quiltimg magazine to fill out the run of my subscription, I am a papercrafter. And I just received an offer to order a gift subscription, two for one. Why are they sending those offers out?
You can tell I’m upset, but I’m also sad. I’ve subscribed for years. I love CPS. I do save all of my issues and love looking through them, inspired by the wonderful work in its pages.
Well, I have been getting CPS for a long time and LOVE it. Today is April 10, 2019 and I just got a Quilting Arts in the mail…..this is the first I have heard about them discontinuing CPS. I DONT WANT A QUILTING MAGAZINE. I didn’t get any kind of notice. Where is my refund? I am so bummed.
I, too, got my “Welcome” Quilting Arts magazine yesterday, 4/12/19 and I am PISSED! If I had wanted an QA I would have subscribed. I loved Cloth Paper Scissors and have saved them all from the time I started subscribing (So glad!). I had no idea that this was going to happen and I didn’t receive a letter, either. I’ll just have to grab one from the book case each month and pretend. And “no thank you,” I don’t want to extend my replacement subscription to QA at a reduced rate! Such a shame.
I just received my last copy of Quilting Arts and need to renew. But I am concerned that F&W will carelessly kill it too. Ok there are lots of Quilting magazines many on death watch.
But Cloth Paper Scissors was truly a one of a kind magazine. The murder of it did not just affect the subscribers! It affects the advertisers, many of them small businesses that have been built upon new products developed because of the love of mixed media . And the stores , the big and little that sell those products. And the Artists that have built teaching careers as well as selling their art . It goes on and on , no inspiration for new people to become mixed media creators.
So they are not just murdering a magazine of importance to creative people , but to those who have spent years developing their companies and products around this amazing creative magazine.
And the stores and selling outlets for the related products.
Did F&W take all of this in account. I think not. Most big companies take over small important publications and expect them to make them millions. But that is not the important part. They need to support it and all of the extensions that come from it.
CEOs that have no personal understanding of their product and its connection to the creative realm , choose to murder something because it is not producing $$$!
I have my art products that are profit margin balanced by others because I love making those but can’t get the margins I need at the moment. You adjust ! Cloth Paper Scissors needs to be brought back and its quality, which had gone down a bit Established and understand the true importance of its place in the creative world publications.
Start talking to us. Do the research and do not make decisions Willy nilly.
Too many lives , and businesses are going to be detrimentally affected
It’s funny, I received today (11/29/18) a renewel notice for CPS….they even want me to renew for 2 years to save $40.93.
Today I just found out CPS is folding. So unfair. This magazine is one of a kind. I went to BAM yesterday and discovered what I thought was a new Studios magazine and it was actually an issue from Fall 2014 with a 2019 date on it!
My heart goes out to the hard working and creative people that worked to put CPS together.
This really sucks.
Well, this was a shock! I sent in a subscription card a month ago, got a bill for it and sent a check. The check came back today with a letter saying they were no longer going to publish CPS. At least they sent my money back, but why send me a bill in December if they knew they weren’t going to keep publishing? Good grief. I will miss CPS immensely. At least Stampington is still publishing Somerset Studio, even though they’ve also dropped a large number of titles.
Just checked in with F+W last week on Modern Patchwork status (I have a subscription paid through at least another year). Their customer service has minimal information, only that they “haven’t yet made a decision” on its viability going forward. My option were to check back in a while, time frame unknown, or get a full refund for remaining portion of my subscription. I really hope another buyer steps up, but if there’s still no word by mid-February I’ll be requesting a refund.
Thought I’d provide another update re: Modern Patchwork. Just spoke with F+W Customer Service yesterday. Modern Patchwork has now officially ceased publication, so I guess they weren’t able to sell it. They have transferred remaining subscriptions to Quiltmaker; mine is going to start with the May/June 2019 issue. I’ve had Quiltmaker before and dropped it in favor of more modern focused magazines. I’m going to try again for a couple issues and hope that some of the more modern sensibility transfers over. If not, I’ll be calling back for a refund.
Thanks for the update. I purchased a 2 year subscription for Modern Patchwork in September 2018 ans haven’t heard anything from the company.
Yes, I didn’t hear anything either. I had to reach out to them. The Contact Us page only allows emails now, but I wrote down the phone number I used, if it’s any help to you: 866-805-1580.
there’s an article about F + W filing for bankruptcy over at Craft Industry Alliance https://craftindustryalliance.org/fw-media-files-for-bankruptcy/ – there is a link to a creditors list that has over 16,000 names – maybe if you’ve paid for a subscription you may be on the list ??
I found out today that Cloth Paper Scissors has ceased production. They want me to subscribe to Quilting Arts. While I do enjoy Quilting Arts, I am not renewing any of my subscriptions until this company can tell me without a doubt that there will be no more cancellations. I will not subscribe to a magazine and have it cease production without warning, given another magazine, or lose my money altogether.
The thing that bothers me the most is the dishonesty of Cloth, Paper, Scissors. I was offered a subscription renewal with a free issue for a friend. I renewed in good faith. I received one issue and today I received Quilting Arts and was told this magazine was replacing Cloth, Paper, Scissors. They HAD to have known that there were problems and that Cloth, Paper, Scissors was going to cease. I had even heard rumors from a friend and replied that they couldn’t be stopping publication because I received a renewal notice. I am not a quilter and I am certainly very unhappy about this deception! This is simply wrong.
Geez, I’ve been wondering where CPS went and all the wonderful videos the company produced as well. What a kick in the butt to all the artists who loved it. Stampington seems to be doing well, so somebody at CPS/Interweave/Whatever screwed up big-time. Was a subscriber for years — glad that I didn’t renew the last time. They must have known even then what was going to happen – I would not have been happy. If they think there was not a place in the market for CPS, I’d say they are dead wrong, and now they’re just “dead.” Sounds like poor management to me. It sucks for those of us who loved it.
Well very disappointed in this cancalation of the subscription of Cloth Paper Sissors !! I sent my check in for a years subscription and am very Unhappy about this!!
I received an magazine yesterday, Quilting Art, I DON’T SEW!! IT IS USELESS TO ME!!! I WOULD HAVE PREFFERED A CHOICE OF A MAGAZINE!!
I would hope you will be sending me the balance of my subscription price and would hope for Honesty in the Future!!!
Please let me know what your remedy is for this problem!!
Thank You!!!
Stacy
Craft Industry Alliance publishes news about the craft industry. We don’t have anything to do with magazines subscriptions referenced in this article. You’ll have to reach out to F+W directly.
I, too, am unhappy with the forced switch from Cloth, Paper, Scissors to Quilting Arts. I don’t sew and simply want the balance of my CPS subscription refunded. Not sure who to contact. Has anybody had success with a refund?
I bought a subscription to Modern Patchwork August 10 last year and have just received one single issue and no information at all!
Are we to be reimbursed or get another magazine, if so I want to decide which one.
Last week I got a mail telling me about reconstruction of the company and that there will be no change in the service, which I kind of hope isn’t true since it hasn’t been very good in this matter.
Please reply!
Hi Elisabet, We aren’t affiliated with F+W. If you need customer service regarding your subscription you’ll need to reach out to them directly.
Is F+W even still in business?? I am trying to get a refund for Modern Quilting after I sent them a check in November 2018, not realizing they were no longer in business. Maddening!!!!!!!!!! Glad I am only losing $20 and no more.
You could reach out to Peak Media Properties. They bought most of the quilting magazine assets.
Mad about the cancelation of CPS, love the magazine. Then they send me Quilting Arts instead??? I am not a quilter, I actually can not stand quilting, I am a mixed media artist. Feel betrayed in a big way!
I too am sad to realise this wonderful magazine has folded. How hard is it to set up an fund to get something similar going? The artists, editors and other wonderful creators are still out there.
Instead of taking it lying down why don’t we put our energy and eventually, subscriptions into funding a new independent magazine?
I have no idea how to do anything like this but maybe it’s a possibility.
What magazines do they still publish? I want to be sure and not buy any of them
F+W went bankrupt.
Yes, they went bankrupt after they took everyone’s money and solicited new subscriptions right up to the very end, knowing they were going to do so. It’s called theft. I wish they were all in prison, personally, but I trust in Karma and hope all involved get exactly what they deserve.
Where are our refunds? I paid in advance for several years. Collective lawsuit?
Good luck. They offered you a replacement. It’s up to you to contact them and inform them the replacement is unacceptable and you want a refund for all issues of whichever magazine you subscribed to.
I also suggest you never support anything related to F & W like the Expo, books, etc. It’s time publishers realized that continuing to accept money for subscriptions for magazine they know they will be phasing out is unacceptable. Of course, they do so without much notice so that advertisers don’t desert them.
Look at it this way, at least they are still in business for you to attempt to get your money. I had subscriptions to 3 magazines, two of them from the same publisher, that folded completely. No warning. Just “So sorry but we have shut down. Yes, we know we were still cashing subscription and advertising checks as recently as yesterday but, gee, too bad. If you want to file a claim in bankruptcy court….good luck.”
Seriously…I know people who had their checks clear the day before the announcement was made. Including checks for multiple ads that were not cheap. No one got their money back.
This is why I no longer subscribe to magazines. I have not renewed my Quilting Arts after the screw job on Quilter’s Newsletter but, at least they completed your subscription with a quality magazine (added to my subscription to QA) in the same genre. I had not renewed (thankfully) my Modern Quilts Unlimited when it folded and had only a couple of issues left on my Machine Quilter Unlimited (same publisher) and I was not happy when I got screwed out of the last issue she published which was only published digitally (because she owed the printer so much money) and my account info would not get me into the issue. So, instead of getting cheated out of 3 issues I was cheated out of 4. I know people who had mailed in checks for renewals on both of those and the publisher cashed them even though she had to already know she was not going to continue.
The only magazine I still subscribe to is QuiltFolk. And I won’t renew until I am down to one issue. Maybe. At this point I’m not sure I will even renew that. It really doesn’t offer anything I need.
And it’s not just craft magazines. I got screwed when Coastal Living ceased publication. They substituted it with Southern Living which was not at all what I wanted. I mean, seriously, if I wanted a subscription to SL I would have asked for that. Right?
So, bottom line, I will pick up a magazine at Barnes and Noble or wherever if the issue looks interesting. But I will never again pay for a subscription.
Magazine subscribers and contributors are unsecured creditors and are last in line when a company goes bankrupt.
Just to be clear, the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo (“Expo” in your recent comment) is NOT a part of F & W. They were in the past and then were sold to Hoffman Media before the big F & W downfall. Hoffman Media is still healthy and I get my checks on a regular basis (as a teacher for their shows). But I also was burned with magazine subscriptions and lost $$ as a result of unfulfilled issues. As far as getting your money in bankruptcy court, good luck. I lost a large fee when a quilting magazine went bankrupt and they offered me pennies on the dollar (told me to “take a number and get in line” after the advertisers). I rejected it and just repurposed the quilt in another publishing venture, but the whole thing stinks. Just my 2 cents.
I cannot believe you have quit publishing Cloth, paper, scissors. I wondered why I have not received a magazine. I have never loved a magazine more and will miss it a lot. I moved a couple times in the last 5 years, so I thought it was just because I moved that I did not receive CPS. Please create a publication with the same format and creative ideas. Will miss the whole magazine and concept.