Cooking and quilting—two hobbies that require a lot of love and patience—find their match in homecooked magazine and Quiltfolk magazine, each providing that same love and patience to their audiences every quarter. These two beautiful, ad-free publications bring a tactile experience to two tactile crafts.

Michael McCormick is the young man behind both magazines. He started Quiltfolk nine years ago and launched homecooked just last year. You may ask, why would a young man start two print magazines in this digital age? His answer is simple: “I love magazines, and I believe in the business model.” It’s a model that has served him well with Quiltfolk and now with homecooked: 164 pages, no advertising, and excellent content. Each issue carries a premium price—$22 on the newsstand, or $16 per issue by subscription.

Michael is quick to credit his success to the art of storytelling and the tactile nature of his products. His passion for these topics is evident in every issue of both magazines. He is constantly on the road, searching for stories to tell, and focuses on one region at a time. As one Facebook ad for homecooked puts it: “You’ll read it like a magazine. And keep it like a cookbook.”

I had a fascinating interview with Michael, where we discussed both magazines, his love for print, and the challenges of owning a small business. Without further ado, please join me on this journey with Michael McCormick, publisher of homecooked and Quiltfolk magazines.

But first, the soundbites:

On the reasons he is publishing printed magazines: “I’ve always loved magazines, I believe in the business model fundamentally, and we like storytelling. I think the combination of storytelling, the tactile nature of what we’re producing, and just an underlying belief in the business.”

On why “Live to eat and not eat to live”: “It would make sense that we wouldn’t just do it just to live. It’s not just like breathing or whatever, it’s an outlet. I would say the same thing for quilting.”

On whether the ad free business model is working: “Yes, it’s working. If you a single issue, it is $22. And when you join us with a subscription, you get a discount plus you get a free issue. It works out to be about $15 or $16 an issue for your first year.”

On the challenges of owning a business: “Owning a business, no matter what it is, it’s just never a straight path. It’s never a straight line.”

On using Facebook for marketing the magazines: “That’s pretty much our number one paid platform would be Facebook and Instagram.”

On the reason for regional coverage of each issue: The “reason why that makes sense for us is that both Quilts and Food, you do have regional differences and curiosities and different pockets of the world that you get to explore.”

On what he does to recharge at the end of the day: “I would say right now in this stage of my life, there’s not a lot of recharging, relaxing. It’s sort of we’re going 100 miles an hour from usually 5:30 in the morning till 8:30 at night.”

On what keeps him up at night: “The answer is always, at least for me, it’s always cash flow.”

 And now for the lightly edited interview with Michael McCormick, publisher, Quiltfolk and homecooked magazines:

Samir Husni: My first question to you is, why would a young guy like you start a print magazine in this digital age?

Michael McCormick: Actually, I don’t know if you know this, but I have another magazine called Quiltfolk that we started about nine years ago that’s very similar to homecooked. It’s very similar format, 164 pages, no ads, we travel around.

And why? I’ve always loved magazines, I believe in the business model fundamentally, and we like storytelling. I think the combination of storytelling, the tactile nature of what we’re producing, and just an underlying belief in the business, I think, why not? I mean, there’s not as many people doing it. I feel like in a way it’s a little bit less competition, we get to go out there and make the thing that we really want to make, and we love doing it.

Samir Husni: Both magazines deal with tactile issues, Quiltfolk and homecooked. Are the printed magazines a reflection of the concept of the two magazines?

Michael McCormick: I think so. I think especially for quilters, that’s the space that I know the best.

They are tactile, and they’re getting that joy and that pleasure from feeling their materials and sitting down in quiet time and producing something that means a lot to them. Quilts hold a lot of stories in them. And then food, it’s amazing, the similarities between food, cooking and quilts in that way.

A lot of times it’s something you’re making for somebody else, it’s creative, it’s traditional, but you can also put a new spin on it. So, there’s a lot of overlap there, and I think the audience is to your point, appreciate being able to hold something in their hands and pass it around, and even enjoy it in a quiet setting.

Samir Husni: I read an article in the first issue of homecooked, “Live to eat and don’t eat to live.” What do you mean by live to eat, but don’t eat to live?

Michael McCormick: It was a quote from somebody in the article, but I think just on the topic we’ve been discussing, There are things we do every day, like as an example, eating and preparing food, that you can put a little bit more care into, a little bit more creativity, elevate those things into something that expresses who you are and what you love a little bit more deeply. And especially with cooking and food, we’re doing it multiple times a day, all the time, all around the world. We’re doing it with people that we love in the spaces that are the most intimate to us.

So, it would make sense that we wouldn’t just do it just to live. It’s not just like breathing or whatever, it’s an outlet. I would say the same thing for quilting.

You could just have a blanket, but in the case of quilting, that thing is with you when you’re sleeping on your bed and again, in the places that are the most used. So, as humans, we find ways of adding our own personal spin and our passion and our creativity into the things that we spend the most time with. I think that’s one of the uniquely fun things about being human.

Samir Husni: You utilize an advertising free model and even no sponsorships, nothing. 164 pages of editorial and a hefty cover price of $22.  Why do you believe this business model works or is it working for you?

Michael McCormick: Yes, it’s working. If you a single issue, it is $22. And when you join us with a subscription, you get a discount plus you get a free issue. It works out to be about $15 or $16 an issue for your first year.

I don’t think it’s astronomically more than a lot of other newsstand prices. It does catch people off guard the first time that you see a magazine that’s priced at that price point. But we believe in the model because in the end of the day, people will pay for stories and content, they love and that they enjoy that inspire them.

So, for me, it’s not so much will the customer pay, it’s can we produce the kind of magazine that they really, truly love and that has the potential of transforming their lives? Because if that’s the case, whether it’s $15 or $20 or whatever that price point is, it’s still a small price to pay for, what in a perfect world, they’re getting back from us.

Samir Husni: Since you started Quiltfolk like nine years ago and now homecooked, has your journey been a walk in a rose garden or there have been some challenges?

Michael McCormick: Owning a business, no matter what it is, it’s just never a straight path. It’s never a straight line.

Sometimes maybe for a selected few people, but most people, it’s full of ups and downs. That’s certainly been my experience. I tend to always be overly optimistic about how long it’s going to take us to hit certain goals.

On one hand, that’s frustrating because I always feel like we’re sometimes missing the mark. On the other hand, I think that optimism is probably why I felt we could start a print magazine in 2024. But I would say the education of the customer, in terms of what we really are, is difficult because when you say the word magazine, particularly now, people have a specific idea of what comes to mind.

It’s usually thinner and there’s ads and whatever that is, what we expect from a magazine.  The process of trying to educate the audience is what we’re trying to and this is what makes us different It can take a lot longer than we anticipate. It’s been a slow but pretty steady climb, I think for us in terms of subscriptions.

We’ve been fortunate. But it’s always something, if it’s not selling things and whatnot, it’s something else, it’s paper costs or shipping costs or whatever it might be, there’s always something going on.

Samir Husni: How are you marketing the magazines? I first saw it on Facebook…

Michael McCormick: That’s pretty much our number one paid platform would be Facebook and Instagram. And then we are on newsstand for homecooked, which we think more as a marketing value to us just to get us out in the world.

It’s really word of mouth. I would say paid Facebook, Instagram to kind of amplify that message.

Samir Husni: With homecooked, with every issue you concentrate on an area, either a region or a city, why is that?

Michael McCormick: Well, it’s two reasons.

And they’re very different, but they come together, which is great. The first reason is, it’s just more cost effective to, because, let me back up. One of the things that’s different is we send photographers and writers on the road for these issues that we produce.

So, I just got off the road from Kentucky a week before that we were in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. And so, we’re in their homes, in their spaces, in their studios, on the road for two weeks at a time at the bare minimum to produce these issues. It’s very difficult logistically.

And from a cost standpoint, if we were doing that, across the country, across the world. So just logistically, it allows us to do what we want to do, which is be on the ground in person with our crew.

The second reason why that makes sense for us is that both Quilts and Food, you do have regional differences and curiosities and different pockets of the world that you get to explore.

So one thing we like to do is say, hey, look, there’s this through line of people who are passionate about cooking as an example. And there are things that they do that are the same. There are values that they share that are the same.

But also, when you’re doing that in Louisiana versus the Pacific Northwest where I’m from, you’re working with different ingredients, you’re working with different cultural things that add a little spice and a little bit of uniqueness to those home cooking dishes. So for us why not celebrate that? Why not lean into it and just make that both logistically make sense and editorially provide like a backbone for the way we do storytelling.

Samir Husni: If somebody comes to you and say, Michael, I want to start a new magazine, what do you tell them today?

Michael McCormick: I would say, well, the piece of advice I give people for starting anything is if it takes twice as long as you think, and it’s twice as expensive as you think, and you still want to do it and can afford to do it, then you’re in the right framework for kind of tackling that.

It’s just starting stuff is difficult no matter what it is, whether it’s a magazine or an app or anything like that. So just going in with the right mindset of knowing it’s going to be like a lot of pushing and a lot of getting that flywheel spinning. I think that’s important.

But from a magazine specific standpoint, I would say, make the thing that you really want to make. Don’t worry a lot about what’s out in the market or what people have done before. Just try to make the thing that really excites you that you believe other people will find valuable.

Then you just must have a crazy conviction for that. And you must be willing to adjust and pivot as time goes on. And that’s exactly what we did with homecooked.

We had the core of the idea, but I would say this first year has been a lot of trial and error, a lot of learning. So, the North Star remains where it’s always been. We know the product we want to make, but the whole team has worked hard to try to figure out how to get there.

So, it’s not, again, been a straight road. It’s a lot of trial and error and you must be kind of prepared to go on that journey.

Samir Husni: Can you pinpoint a major challenge that you faced and then you’ve overcome and how?

Michael McCormick: The initial marketing launch of homecooked was slower than I thought it was going to be.

It took probably four to six months to really figure out the messages that were resonating with folks online. So, you can imagine during that first four to six months, you got a lot of cash burn. There’s a lot of frustration because we’re producing this great product.

Everyone likes it. We believe in it. And you have enthusiasm on one hand, is at an all-time high, because you just launched something, but you’re not seeing things necessarily respond that way in the market when you first start.

That was very difficult. Thankfully, our team kept going, kept working on that. Now we’re in a good spot, six, nine months later, we’ve found our voice a little bit and settled in and things are coming along much better.

Samir Husni: Is there a question that I failed to ask you you’d like me to ask?

Michael McCormick: I don’t think so. Hopefully those answers are okay.

Samir Husni: My typical last two questions are, one, if I come uninvited to your house one day in the evening, what do I catch you doing to rewind from the busy day?

Michael McCormick: If you came to my house right now, I would be chasing my three children.

They’re six, four and two. And then my wife’s also pregnant with our fourth. She’s due in a couple of months.

I would say right now in this stage of my life, there’s not a lot of recharging, relaxing. It’s sort of we’re going 100 miles an hour from usually 5:30 in the morning till 8:30 at night. My wife and I get a half hour or so to catch up on the day.

Then we’re usually in bed and trying to get ready for the next day. So that’s sort of what it’s like right now.

Samir Husni: And my typical last question, what keeps you up at night?

Michael McCormick: It’s a small business. The answer is always, at least for me, it’s always cash flow. We bootstrap everything and we’re always constantly working on sales and managing costs and trying to balance what we can build and how fast we can go with what we have. I’m always paranoid about that. I’m always working on sales, and the team knows like Monday morning when I got off here, we’ll have a marketing call.

We’ll review our numbers. I’m pretty dialed into that. I would say around the clock, even when I’m sleeping.

Samir Husni: Thank you and all the best.