It was a surprise to me when a very kind reader from Italy told me that Italian Vanity Fair did a small feature on Made by Joel in their September issue.  And she even mailed me a copy!  I’m on the “Style Tecno” page as an alternative entertainment to video games and television.  For those of you that don’t read Italian, it says, “Are you a parent trying to remove your children a bit from video games and television?  To find some idea about what to do, mothers and fathers can visit www.madebyjoel.com and find many toys of yesteryear with good taste.”  Grazie Vanity Fair!

22 Responses
  1. ana @ i made it so

    congrats joel! i still find it odd that you can be featured like that and not be notified by the magazine, but i guess that's just how things are done :) i like the category in which they placed you… alternative entertainment! cool.

  2. Marisa

    Nice! Like Ana, I would be a little stunned that the magazine used pictures of my kids without permission. But I suppose it happens all the time…

  3. fridica

    That's wonderful Joel, congrats! :) I agree with Ana and Marisa about using the pics, but hey, this way Tess and Jack get to tell their friends some day that they were in Vanity Fair! ;)

  4. Joel Henriques

    Thanks! Yeah, I usually get emails from magazines asking for permission and setting up an agreement etc. but this was a surprise. I guess they figured I wouldn't say no, and they were right. They must have added it last minute or something. But yes, now Jack and Tess can say they were in Vanity Fair Italia. Pretty cool.

  5. Lori Henriques

    love it! does seem odd they didn't give you a heads up, but what could be better than helping to coax back the "plugged in" kids that one sees at alarmingly younger ages all the time. never fear, joel to the rescue!!! :)

  6. sstamoul

    You are quite famous all over the world! We are fans here in Greece too! (several blogs refer to madebyjoel.com!)

  7. foundobjectbeachart

    super cool that you are getting well deserved international exposure.. but super creepy that your kids photos were published without permission. nice work.

  8. Corylus

    I'm an Italian father with two kids (3 and 5 years old) and I discover your blog reading Vanity Fair.
    Many thanks Joel: your works are affordable and easy to repeat to my babies.

    Fulvio

  9. masey

    I think that's great you got some nice ink from VF. And not to be a killjoy…but as a journalist I think it really sucks they didn't ask your permission…because it's their professional (and legal!) obligation. Maybe you've already done this…but a tactful thank-you note, indicating you would have preferred if they asked you first, especially considering they're dealing with photos of minors, might be a good idea. FWIW. I'm just a random internet fan!