I don’t know how many of you remember me, but I used to work at CUSTOM HOME back in the day. In fact, I was here almost at its very beginning as a startup magazine in Hanley Wood’s old Publishing Development Division in 1991. Ultimately, I became its senior editor, working until 1999 with Leslie Ensor, one of the finest editors I’ve ever known, on the version of the magazine that continues to this day. I even wrote the first On Site stories for the magazine—a special pleasure for me. Back then, my friends were in awe that my job took me to such places as Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.; Sausalito, Calif.; and Bucks County, Pa. Why did I get to go see all those great houses in all those gorgeous places, they’d ask, when their business trips took them to characterless conference rooms in stultifying cities? Because those gorgeous places are where people with means tend to build the most handsome custom homes, I’d answer. Lucky me, I’d think to myself.
And lucky me that I’m back working with the terrific staff I know so well and admire so much. My longtime colleague Bruce Snider replaced me as senior editor back in ’99 and has exceeded my accomplishments on the magazine in every way. Meghan Drueding came aboard in 2000, at the same time I promoted her from associate to senior editor at residential architect magazine. Leslie and I shared her prodigious talents on both ra and CUSTOM HOME. Leslie and I were also fortunate to share top-notch managing editor Marla Misek Clark, associate editor Shelley Hutchins, and Web editor Stephani Miller on both our staffs; associate editor Vicky Markovitz doesn’t work on ra, but she contributes adroitly to a number of other sister pubs. And I’m delighted to work again with art director Brian Walker. He’s kept the magazine looking beautiful for 13 years and continues to push us editors to uphold his uncompromising standards.
It’s a happy coincidence that, following Leslie’s retirement from Hanley Wood, I take up the reins of CUSTOM HOME with this issue, covering the annual CUSTOM HOME Design Awards. I helped start the competition 17 years ago, when it was called the Paragon Awards and drew a modest 35 entries. CHDA has come a long way since then—we received 513 entries this year, making it the largest, strictly custom design awards program in the country. For this and so many more reasons, I’m thrilled to come home again to CUSTOM HOME.
Email: cconroy@hanleywood.com
