New design and decor title, Montreal Home launches

A new English language design and decorating magazine, Montreal Home, has been launched that hopes to go national. Publisher Leah Lipkowitz says the magazine is dedicated to covering the city's best interior design, architecture and landscapes.

According to a story in The Gazette, the inaugural edition is limited to Quebec, but will go to the rest of Canada with its next issue.

Lipkowitz is quoted as saying that the next issue will be sold nationally "and give [Canadian] House & Home a run for the money coast-to-coast." Distribution of the inaugural issue is 90,000 -- 70,000 distributed in The Gazette, 20,000 on newsstands in select cities in Quebec. It sells for $5.95 a copy.

"Montreal Home is the kind of magazine I've always wanted to read, but there was nothing like it in the Montreal market so I launched it myself," the 32-year-old founder said yesterday.

She managed to produce the summer issue in 75 days despite the difficult economic climate and a tight production schedule.

Doubling as sales director, Lipkowitz sold $140,000 in advertising on her own to create the 132-page premier issue.

"Montreal is a trend-setter in design and I think this city should be a beacon for the rest of Canada," Lipkowitz said of the magazine's high-end target market. "We should be showing the country what great design is and we can do that because we have it here."