Sunset Magazine request

[james]

We have been putting out the word to the press on the Pompeii Oven e-book, and have received some good response. Sunset Magazine (a very good house and garden magazine on the west coast) has contacted us and asked if they could talk with a few builders in the western states.

Does anybody want to volunteer? It sounds like fun; we have been Sunset readers for years, and they do a good job of writing about projects like this.

If you are interested, drop me an email (james@fornobravo.com).

We have had requests from several newspapers as well, and I will make another posting with states where reporters want to talk with oven builders.

As a funny aside, I am not a big fan of Martha Stewart, and we received a rude email message from one of her editors in response to our email explaining the oven, and why we thought it was cool. I guess it starts at the top. Funny.
James

[jengineer]

Re: Sunset Magazine request

Julia may have been more receptive

[Richard]

Re: Sunset Magazine request

James,

Can you share the response received>

[james]

Re: Sunset Magazine request

Hi Richard,
As a marketing person, I occasionally recommend a story idea to a writer or editor. You write a personalized note and take care to write a good (and short) story idea. The response you get ranges from "Dear James, thanks for the idea, but no," to ignoring you, to "Dear Sirs, please do not send me this type of story idea in the future, I do not cover that topic," to "Sirs, you should send this to 'Bob' not me," to "Thanks for the idea; I would like to talk to someone who has done this."

In this case, the response was "take me off your list". It did not say "Sirs", or "please take me off your list," and it did not have a signature.

Not a big deal. Just rude. I have shared it with a few marketing friends, and they all thought it was sort of funny.

The much more important news is that Sunset liked the story idea, as did several newspapers.
James

[redbricknick]

Re: Sunset Magazine request

My parents were in Sunset in the late seventies (the cover i believe) for their restoration of a triplex in Pleasant Hill.. I would be interested in talking to someone there about our project. Being that "Global warming is so hot right now" our recycled materials oven may be of particular interest..

[james]

Re: Sunset Magazine request

Hey Nick,
Nice idea -- Tammy will forward your contact info along.

Your parents were on the cover of Sunset. That sort of makes you famous. My one connection is that I lived in Walnut Creek right after college. That's pretty close to Pleasant Hill. We also lived in Palo Alto, and drove past the Sunset offices to get to the 101. It's a very nice place.

James

[DaveHI]

Re: Sunset Magazine request

where in P-hill? we used to live off of Taylor

[redbricknick]

Re: Sunset Magazine request

I was born in Walnut Creek. Lived until I was two in Pleasant Hill. My Dad grew up in Danville.. Went to San Ramon High. Mum born in Cyprus, moved to Melbourne when she was fifteen, went to discover California at eighteen, Dad met her on the S.S Canberra as she was heading back to Australia, he was going there to discover Australia.. Fell in love, moved back to the states, had my sister and I, got paranoid, moved to Tasmania, etc.

[redbricknick]

Re: Sunset Magazine request

I think I might have cracked it. The backyard proofing dilemma. Install a cedar sauna. Somewhere in between not finishing the oven, reclaiming and reinstalling numerous plankage of redwood and cedar lumber, I came across a free cedar sauna. It's in bits in the back yard right now, and it when it got rained Last Friday here, it filled the backyard with numerous cedary wofts. We are crushing our fruit this coming Saturday for Adam Olmsted's Mom's birthday. Birthday.. We're going to insulate with the Refrax blanket this week, and render our final shape in perlcrete.. I'm taking the cutest girl ever to the perlite factory. I'm going to tell her to act extremely bored, as the wonders of perlite manafacture are disclosed in full colour. Full AWESOME color.. That's our slogan. No it isn't. So. The party. Three day dough ferments.. Secret hydration.. Undisclosed amounts or origins of "salt." The late summer offerings of a very healthy basil population.. A thousand odd degrees.. Two minutes or so.. The backyard pizza throwdown.. Has anyone said their pizza is the best in the world yet? What pizza needs is more self proclomating geniuses of the art.. Smack talking pizza legends.. Regional comps with corpulent judges.. I want to be able to tell my progeny that I made it to State... and maybe beyond even.. In pizza..
Our Pizza is the best by the way.

[Nick]

Re: Sunset Magazine request

Hi Richard,
As a marketing person, I occasionally recommend a story idea to a writer or editor. You write a personalized note and take care to write a good (and short) story idea. The response you get ranges from "Dear James, thanks for the idea, but no," to ignoring you, to "Dear Sirs, please do not send me this type of story idea in the future, I do not cover that topic," to "Sirs, you should send this to 'Bob' not me," to "Thanks for the idea; I would like to talk to someone who has done this."

In this case, the response was "take me off your list". It did not say "Sirs", or "please take me off your list," and it did not have a signature.

Not a big deal. Just rude. I have shared it with a few marketing friends, and they all thought it was sort of funny.

The much more important news is that Sunset liked the story idea, as did several newspapers.
James

James,

I was once a magazine editor and I now work on the marketing end of publishing. That reply from MS was just very low class. If they had even the slightest desire to be a class act, they'd print form letters. It was really dumb, too, because you never know who might be a potential advertiser.

Sunset is definitely a class act and a probably the best place for a story about the oven.

I'll look forward to reading it.

DB

[Acoma]

Re: Sunset Magazine request

James, I remember you stating you love polls. Well, get a poll for us to choose 2-3 builders Is it still needed? You may have another opportunity and we will have them pre-selected The peoples choice.