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House of Fifty magazine is an online publication and lifestyle app with a focus on finding inspiration in the everyday. From beautiful interiors, fashion trends, food and entertaining, reviews on books, movies, music and apps, to stories about women pursuing their dreams, House of Fifty inspires readers to live their best life.
As the Founding Editor of House of Fifty, Janell Beals draws upon her varied background, education and work experience. Growing up in Nome, Alaska she is very familiar with adventure and the reward of taking risks by striking out on one’s own. She is also no stranger to city life, moving to Chicago to study painting where she received a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1986. Two years later she returned to study Fashion Design and upon completion launched a clothing line which received accolades from The Chicago Tribune, Crane’s Chicago Business and WWD. Janell operated this business for 12 years prior to starting a family. Taking a break to enjoy this phase of her life, the focus turned towards creating a welcoming home for her family, leading to the lifestyle and interior design blog Isabella & Max Rooms. From this came numerous opportunities to write for publications including HGTV and Houzz, setting the stage for the launch of House of Fifty magazine in 2011.
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Publishing Six Times a Year, House of Fifty is Available to Read in Several Formats
1. Online at the House of Fifty Website Visit us at www.HouseofFifty.com.
2. On the iPad and iPhone Each new issue can be downloaded as an app at the iTunes Store.
3. On All Other Mobile Devices A PDF version of each issue can be downloaded and read on mobile devices from MagCloud. 4. And the “Old School” Way, in Print A high quality hard copy version is available to order from MagCloud. 5. House of Fifty Maintains a Growing Subscriber List Through AWeber Communications Subscribe Here
House of Fifty Stays Connected With Its Readers
A Gallery Of Images From Each Issue Available Here
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The Story Behind the Launch of House of Fifty, Published in the May/June 2012 Issue
Happy Anniversary House of Fifty!
On this first year anniversary of House of Fifty, I wanted to share the story of how this publication came to be, for those of you who may not be familiar with it. I know the story well - I’m Janell’s husband. She came up with the idea for House of Fifty while we were spending time at a friend’s beach house on the Oregon coast the week of Thanksgiving in 2010. The coast is a place we often go to get away, to spend quality family time together and it’s become a place where some of our best clearheaded thinking and talking gets done. Janell had been enjoying success as a freelance writer for HGTV and Houzz, built a strong following on her blog and had just returned from an appearance on The Nate
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Berkus Show in New York City. It was fun to see her feeling so positive about the direction of her work and career, and then the phone call came. A well-known casting agency was calling about a new show being developed and they were interested in talking about it with her. The conversation seemed to be going well, with talk of paperwork and next steps mentioned when she was asked her age. Janell hesitated, surprised, and then replied, “I’m 49.” Later Janell relayed how there had been an awkward pause on the other end of the line and then the response, “You look younger in your photo.” The call ended soon afterwards with a promise that the paperwork to proceed would be emailed over immediately. Well, as you might have guessed, it never did arrive. It didn’t matter that the likelihood of actually landing the opportunity was a long shot and that such work would be a stretch to fit into a lifestyle where Janell strives to maintain a balance between work and family. This run-in with ageism threw Janell completely off balance. She had been feeling very optimistic about the opportunities available to her, but now wondered if she had been mistaken. Perhaps her best days were indeed behind her. “I am not 25, not 30, not 45 – I’m going to be passed over because of my age.”
Proof that Good Things Can Come from Disappointment For several weeks Janell was very discouraged, even depressed. But eventually she began to get tired of feeling down about it all and decided she should start thinking about how to make her own opportunities rather than waiting around for someone else to hand them to her. With Janell’s 50th birthday fast approaching, I saw that she really needed to enter this new decade excited about things, her career, with a belief that there was still a strong future for her. So after some brainstorming, along came the idea for House of Fifty. It seemed like the right thing – the only thing - to do. She started with the concept of expanding beyond the topic of interior design and DIY projects covered on her blog to include all the aspects of a full life. Work began on creating a publication that would focus on finding inspiration in the everyday. Janell contacted friends and fellow bloggers, putting together a team of contributors. Five months later the premier issue of House of Fifty was released. Now one year later, Janell is thrilled to be celebrating House of Fifty’s first anniversary
with this fifth issue! From my observation, working with the contributors and all the people featured in the issues to date, creating something that has made a connection with its readers has been one of the most rewarding pieces of the House of Fifty story for Janell. On this first anniversary the story remains the same. She and her team want to continue improving House of Fifty, focusing on the content and making it the best that it can be. Janell shares, “It’s important to me that people get a lot out of it; this keeps me knowing that this is what I want to do. My work before was quite solitary, writing for the blog and other publications. Now work involves a team and it’s an aspect I just really enjoy! It’s exciting to work with all the people we feature and the contributors - identifying stories, talent and putting all the pieces of the stories and issues together. I feel like I have found the vehicle which draws on all my work experience and education to date and that is very satisfying. Prior to launching House of Fifty I was searching, but now I am not looking for what is next. I think I’m where I am supposed to be.”
For More Information & Media Inquiries, Contact us at info@houseoffifty.com 5
The Issues:
WELCOMING SPACES
Creating Homes That Invite Real Living!
SINGER KAT EDMONSON
Writing Her Own True Story
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Issue 6 July/August 2012
Issue 5 May/June 2012
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Issue 4 Winter/Spring 2012
Issue 3 Holiday 2011
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Issue 2 Fall 2011
Issue 1 Summer 2011
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