Word: stewart
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...taken on a partner: K mart, the nation's second largest retailer. They make an odd couple: K mart, long plagued by its low-rent reputation, and Stewart, whose life looks like a Ralph Lauren ad. But next spring, as K mart's first "life-style consultant," Stewart will launch under her own name a line of K mart products, including linens, dishes and flatware. This marriage stands to benefit both parties: K mart can trade on Stewart's patrician polish and she on a whole new audience...
...products will sell at K mart prices (a five-piece place setting should be about $20) and will necessarily reflect a compromise between Stewart's champagne tastes and the retailer's beer budget. Class, in most cases, carries the day, but there are exceptions. Says K mart executive Marilyn Gill: "It was difficult for Martha to understand why not everyone would want a 100%- cotton tablecloth." Looks as if practicality won that round: the cloth will probably be a blend...
...Stewart's latest and largest venture provides additional ammunition for her detractors, who criticize what they see as her relentless self-promotion and a tendency to value presentation over flavor. Stewart says that if she were an insider in food circles, the voices would be muted. "People think because I haven't worked in a restaurant that I haven't paid my dues. I am not a chef, but I do my own cooking and my own creating." Self-promotion is not unhealthy, she notes, saying, "If you have an idea, you should make it your own idea, with your...
...adoring fans agree. The few among them who pay $900 to attend one of her quarterly seminars -- waiting time is about a year -- feel fortunate to get an up-close look at glamorous country chic. For three days participants study the Stewart style, committing to memory her 1805 farmhouse, its 19th century English and American antiques, almost six acres of gardens with 15 varieties of lettuce, and barn with Araucana chickens that lay blue eggs. Heady stuff, but Stewart makes her guests feel at home in it. Says Michigan housewife Lynda Byer: "I worried that she'd be a little...
There is nothing down-home about Stewart's demonstrations, however. Her trendy chocolate truffles are decorated with pure -- therefore edible -- 24- karat gold leaf. Presentation is critical, whether it consists of sage leaves inserted under turkey skin "in the design of your choice" or "botanically correct" pastry leaves on a sweet-potato or pumpkin pie. Few details escape her attention, as when she insists on freshly ground white pepper in salmon and scallop timbales: "If you put black pepper in, people will see the big flakes and won't know exactly what it is." Says Dallas caterer Janet Showers: "There...