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Dara Caponigro

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Décor author and editor Dara Caponigro

Dara Caponigro is a design executive and editor of design magazines, currently Chief Creative Officer for the design house F. Schumacher & Co. and Editor-in-Chief of the design magazine, Frederic.[1][2] Over her career as a magazine editor she has held senior roles at House Beautiful, Elle Décor, Domino and Veranda[2] Caponigro is the author or co-author of four books about design.[3] Caponigro's personal style choices, including the homes that she has lived in, have been the subject of numerous publications.[4][5]

Early life

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Dara Caponigro was born in the Bronx, NY, graduated from Suffern High School, and attended Barnard College, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa.[6]

Magazine career

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Before the start of her magazine and design career, Caponigro’s first job was with the Bronx Zoo, followed by a stint at the Cooper Hewitt Museum. In 1986 she began working at House Beautiful magazine, owned by Hearst as an Editorial Assistant, rising to Decoration Director under Editor-in-Chief Louis Oliver Gropp.[7] In that role she contributed to the discovery of emerging interior designers who would go on to high profile acclaim, including Miles Redd, Thomas O’Brien, Sheila Bridges,[8] and Vicente Wolf.

In 2000 she left House Beautiful to become Design and Decoration Director at Elle Décor magazine, owned at that time by Hachette Filipacchi. In 2004 she joined Condé Nast as Style Director at Domino magazine.[9] Although Domino won a "cult" following[10] and received multiple honors including being named Hot List Start Up of the Year by Adweek, it was closed by Condé Nast during the financial crisis in 2009.

In the spring of 2010 Caponigro returned to Hearst as Editor-in-Chief of Veranda magazine,[11] contributing to its transition from a primarily regional southern magazine to one with more of a national audience. She left Hearst in 2013.[12]

F. Schumacher & Company

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In 2013 she joined F. Schumacher & Company, the iconic design house, originally founded in 1889, as Creative Director.[13][14][1] Caponigro launched exclusive collections with high profile designers including Miles Redd, and with prominent brands including Vogue.[15] She also reintroduced significant designs from the company’s past,[16] including a fabric created by Stanford White for the Theodore Roosevelt White House in 1902 which Jacqueline Kennedy later had reinstalled.[17] In 2021, Caponigro was later named Schumacher’s Chief Creative Officer.

In 2015, Caponigro launched the Schumacher Bulletin, which was re-branded as Frederic magazine with Caponigro as Editor-in-Chief. She has been quoted as describing Frederic as "the culmination of all the best parts of the magazines I’ve been a part of — House Beautiful, Elle Decor, Domino and Veranda."[18]

Author

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Caponigro is author or co-author of four books about design: Domino: The Book of Decorating;[19] The Authentics;[20][21] S is for Style[22] and Decorate Like a Decorator.[23]

Personal style

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Caponigro’s style choices have been an area of interest explored in many publications.[4][24][5][25][26] Her homes have been featured in House Beautiful, Domino, Elle Décor,Veranda, Frederic, and Homes & Gardens.[27] When asked by The Wall Street Journal about her all-time favorite car she described a "red 1964 Volvo 122S that I bought on eBay in 2000…If you turned the wheel too hard, the horn went off. But the car made everyone smile."[17]

Personal life

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Caponigro lives in the Fieldston section of the Bronx with her husband,[28] the publishing executive David Steinberger, with whom she has two children.[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b Treffinger, Stephen (April 21, 2022). "When it Comes to Cameras and Wallpaper, Bold is Better". The New York Times. Section F, Page 4.
  2. ^ a b Freestone, Camille (2022-03-15). "The Bronx Home of Schumacher's Creative Director Dara Caponigro". Coveteur. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  3. ^ "Dara Caponigro". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  4. ^ a b Brazilian, Alexa (2013-03-01). "Inside Jobs: Wallpapering Your Closet". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  5. ^ a b Costello, Sara Ruffin (2010-11-19). "Gorgeous Storage Baskets". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  6. ^ "Caponigro-Steinberger". The Journal News. 1992-02-23. p. 34. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  7. ^ Caponigro, Dara (2019-07-25). "Dara Caponigro on how mentorship honed her leadership style". Designers Today. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  8. ^ Nicolaus, Fred (2020-02-03). "Sheila Bridges is always reinventing herself". Business of Home. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  9. ^ Green, Penelope (May 6, 2009). "Remnants of the Boom Years on Sale". The New York Times. Section D Page 1.
  10. ^ Green, Penelope (July 7, 2010). "Styling a Downsized Life". The New York Times. Section D Page 1.
  11. ^ Keeps, David (2010-08-16). "Editors play musical chairs at Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, Elle Decor and more". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  12. ^ "Veranda Editor in Chief Dara Caponigro to step down". Business of Home. 2013-05-16. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  13. ^ Kwun, Aileen (March 9, 2023). "When Pretty Walls Tell a Deeper Story". The New York Times.
  14. ^ Beddie, Alainna Lexie (2015-03-02). "A 125-Year-Old Textiles House Teams Up With a '60s-Inspired Fashion Label". T Magazine. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  15. ^ "Vogue Living and Schumacher Debut an Exclusive Collection of Fabrics and Wallpaper". Vogue. 2017-08-07. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  16. ^ "Decorators Club to Honor Dara Caponigro at Annual Holiday Party". Architectural Digest. 2018-11-19. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  17. ^ a b c Romano, Catherine. "Wallpaper Whiz Dara Caponigro's Top Picks". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  18. ^ Sarlo, Dennis (2023-05-11). "Dara Caponigro Talks Vintage Favorites, Fabrics, and Frederic". Chairish Blog. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  19. ^ "Domino: The Book of Decorating: A room-by-room guide to creating a home that makes you happy|Hardcover". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  20. ^ "The Authentics: A Lush Dive into the Substance of Style by Melanie Acevedo, Dara Caponigro: 9780804189255". PenguinRandomHouse.com. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  21. ^ "Highlights from 'The Authentics'". The New York Times. 2017-11-09. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  22. ^ Caponigro, Dara. "S is For Style: The Schumacher Book of Decoration". Rizzoli New York. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  23. ^ "Decorate Like a Decorator | Interior Design and Decorating | Store". Phaidon. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  24. ^ Alpert, Yelena Moroz. "The Return of Luxurious, Traditional Drapes: How to Make Them Fresh, Not Fusty". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  25. ^ Truman, Lucy (May 2021). "Style Maker". Better Homes and Gardens. pp. Last page.
  26. ^ "Milieu Honors Style Makers". Milieu. Spring 2018. p. 90.
  27. ^ McCarthy, Fiona (October 2022). "Leading Light". Homes & Gardens. pp. 116–123.
  28. ^ "Dara Caponigro, Editor, Is Married". The New York Times. February 16, 1992. Section 1, Page 68.
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