Gothic Martha Stewart: starting, shopping, motifs, projects, resources, notes

What They've Said
About Gothic Martha Stewart

A modest collection of comments and honors...


Entertainment Weekly, May 19, 2000
on page 5 of E.W. Internet guide pullout section

Review: Martha Stewart may eventually add a Goth motif to her popular Kmart decor line. Until then, check out Gothic Martha Stewart, a site created by Trystan L. Bass, a San Jose-based style maven for the moody and morbid set who applies Stewart's "good things" philosophically to the Goth lifestyle. You'll find recipes for faux absinthe, flower-drying projects, and suggestions for must-buy accessories (linens, urns, crucifixes), all explained with a Martha-like zeal for detail. There's even a wedding planning section, where you can choose from Victorian, medieval, or the ever-popular Edward Gorey. Now, that's a Goth thing! -- SK



Jane Magazine, April 2000, page 90

Amusing and very positive 150+ word article by writer Gigi Guerra (who, like me, hates seafoam green). Featured a picture of me and this picture of my dressing table. Even got in a lovely mention of my wedding (which hadn't happened at press time).



The New Yorker, 75th anniversary issue, February 21 & 28, 2000

In Joan Didion's deconstruction of the Martha Stewart phenomenon ("Everywoman.com: Getting out of the house with Martha Stewart"), she devotes over 100 words to Gothic Martha Stewart and quotes extensively from my site (without permission, btw -- hey, any press is good press ;-).



Carrie Carolin, creator of the premiere Gothic links site Dark Side of the Net, features GMS on her Best Bets page.

Review: I was stunned when I saw this site. My jaw dropped open. There is SO much original content here! Find out ideas and tips for decorating your home in a gothic way. Get tips on shopping, sewing projects, crafts, utilize the resources list, and find out what motif your decorating tastes fit into (I tend towards Fairy gothic, myself). This site is very well organized, and easy to navigate, with a bare minimum of lovely graphics. This seriously gives me what I need to go on, when I get depressed after seeing hundreds of identical, boring gothpages.



Guardian site of the day

London Guardian's Web Guide "Pick of the Clicks," September 27, 1998

Review: If you're a goth, being asked if you "ever wanted to live in a graveyard?" is not an insult. The 'cemetery' look is one of the dozens of motifs a discerning goth might choose to decorate a home. It's no longer good enough to simply stick on a Joy Division record, look glum and paint everything black. The Gothic Martha Stewart site will help you select the look you want and show you how to dry those blood-red roses.



Cleveland Magazine ran a very thoughtful article on me and my site in the February 1999 issue. Associate Editor Michael von Glahn took the time to interview me (by email, of course!) and presented me, my site, and the whole gothic subculture in a very positive light. Too bad the article's not on their website.



Sacramento Bee News Media ran an amusing review titled "'Goth Talk' goes gaberdine" on May 1, 1998, in the Webby section of their site.



Yahoo Internet Life review on May 18, 1998:

2.5 stars (out of 4 total)
Wanna deck your house out like Frankenstein's manse or Count Dracula's coffin? Consult Gothic Martha Stewart for pointers on cemetery and dungeon motifs. At the very least, it's definitely one way to keep your guests from stealing your silverware.
-- Ray Tennenbaum

(The category my site was put into was "Horror Movies (summer '98)." Just what the hell does home decorating have to do with vampire flicks???)



The Washington Post printed the following item on Thursday, November 27, 1997, in the "Surfing" column:

WE'RE TALKING WIRED-JAW ACCENT...
"Convergence" is the term of the hour. Trystan L. Bass converged two hot trends when she created "Gothic Martha Stewart." As obsessively elegant as if the "Living" legend designed it herself, the site offers detailed, practical decorating advice for "the morbidly inclined" to transform their homes into "Victorian," "medieval," or "cemetery" showplaces. Covering everything from musical backgrounds to the effects of smoking on home decor, there are tips even the un-Goth can appreciate. For the site's presumed largest audience, teens living at home, Bass wisely warns, "Don't paint everything black."
-- DAVE NUTTYCOMBE
nutco@cis.compuserve.com



PC magazine site of the weekPC Magazine "Sites of the Week," October 27, 1997

Review: In your black velvet world, you sit by the fire reading Poe by candlelight; the wind howls gently, blowing lace curtains; incense smoke curls through the air. How did you get so much style, your friends want to know: design school? woodworking shop? Well, not exactly--you went to Gothic Martha Stewart to find home decorating tips and ideas from that gothic point of view, and to learn the differences among Victorian Gothic, Medieval Gothic, and Techno-Modern. It's a good thing.
(There's some irony here in that I'm a rabid Mac supporter...)



Tallahassee Democrat, November 4, 1997, article titled "Oh My Goth!," gives a rather pleasant mention of the Gothic Martha Stewart site and is a surprisingly goth-friendly piece of press overall.



The Globe-Gazette, Mason City/Clear Lake, Iowa, has Gothic Martha Stewart listed as a "Recommended Link."





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