Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart may be the first name in everything craft-y. She has a hand in weddings, cooking, home décor, and can be seen on TV and online.
Martha was born in New Jersey in 1941. It was her mother who instilled in her a love of things for the home. She taught her how to cook and sew. Her father loved to garden and he passed his skills on to his daughter. When she went away to college she majored in European History and art. She eventually began a career as a stockbroker. After she left the company she began a massive restoration on her farmhouse. During this period she realized she had a gift for restoration and home decorating.
The next step up for Martha came when she started a catering business with a friend. Eventually Martha bought her friend out. As all this is going on Martha’s hubby was promoted to president of Harry N Abrams Inc, which is a publishing company in New York. It was at a party that the publishing company threw for a book opening that Martha met Alan Mirken who convinced her to write a cookbook. Entertaining was a huge success. She went on to publish many more in the coming years including Weddings, The Wedding Planner and Martha Stewart’s Christmas. She began to show up on TV shoes like Oprah. In 1990 she signed a deal to develop Martha Stewart Living magazine. After the success of the magazine Martha made the move to her own TV show. Despite legal troubles in 2001 she has rebounded and remained on top of the home maker business.