b'became friends. Their work collabora-tion began in 2003, with Romanaux What Can I Make for You? writing an essay for the Final Matters page. Duncan invited her to become an editor of the magazine, and she held Isourcequalityanddurablethat position for about five years.materials, and painstakinglyWe would take a great big exhale embroidereachdesigneach time we put an edition to bed, myself with great atten- Romanaux says. And then we were on tion to detail. If thereMatters Magazine staff in 2010. L to R: Joanne DiPasquale, Mary Jo Malone,tothenextstoriestodevelop,write, is a specific designKaren Duncan, Joy Markel, Katherinephotographandpublish.Itwasan orideayouhaveWile, Rene Conlon, Jane Collins-Colding, for a gift to yourand Leslie Gilman. enormous amount of fun and I became specialsomeone,a better writer through the experience.please reach out toKaren was so warm and welcom- LikeotherMattersalumnae,Ro-me. ing to our kids," Conlon recalls. If wemanauxremembersitsteamspirit. didnt have child-care, wed bring themKaren was always cooking up some-in to the office with us. That made forthing for us to do as a team, she says. an atmosphere, she says, that attractedOne particular memory involved pole Perfect for holiday gifting smart, talented people. Leslie Gilman,dancing lessons. I wasnt very good at Custom Embroidered Handkerchiefswho has been with Matters Magazineit, but we certainly had a spectacular Artistically Embroidered Denim Jacketsfor 18 years, concurs. She says, "Notnight together.Embroidered Linen ~ Gifts only was Jared [Gilman\'s son] the un- Store owner Lena Zajac reveled in officialmascotofweeklysalesmeet- the collegiality that surrounded Mat-ings, but he was the first boy to ever beters. A neighbor and commuting friend Lisa Goad featured on a Matters cover." ofDuncans,shebecameoneofthe hello@thehankyshoppe.com Initially, the publication was slen- agencys first clients when she opened 973.204.6305 der,andblackandwhite.Growthher womens fashion store, Lena Rob-thehankyshoppe.com came gradually. Duncan says, Watch- erts, at 165 Maplewood Avenue, and ing the page count grow was excitingone of the magazines first advertisers. and when we finally went to all colorAlong with other owners, as Zajac put [in 1995] it was equally exciting. Theit, they tapped their sophisticated city next big step came in 1999 when sheskillstopromotetheirsmall-town, addedSouthOrangetohercircula- neighborlybusinesses.Thatincluded tion.Thenamewaschanged,drop- creatingacollaborativemailinglist, pingtheMaplewoodpart.Duncanandworkingtogethertoorganize was thrilled, given her attachment tosidewalk sales and Thursday shopping both towns. I had the unique positionnightsandfestivecelebrations.We of having lived in Maplewood for 26had a great time, Zajac says.years and South Orange for 11. Of course, there were rough patch-Regina Romanaux first met Dun- es. As the economy rose and fell, keep-can in a fiction writing class throughing the magazine afloat took creativity. the South Orange-Maplewood AdultButDuncanissupremelyresilient. Schoolintheearly2000s,andtheyShe says, Most who know me know Ithriveonchangeandplowingthrough. I dont like status quo and strove to continu-ally adjust and move in different directions. And even the tough times had their shine. OF THE SEASONIn 2012 when Superstorm Sandy knocked out power acrossLooking back, Duncan WISHING YOU ALL THE WARMTHrecalledSuperstorm Sandyin2012,when juliamaloofverderosa.comdowned trees knocked outpoweracrossthejulia.verderosa@gmail.com tel 917.566.1521 the region, Matters Magazine\'s tiny Maplewood Villageregion.Ourtiny follow me@juliamaloofverderosaphoto MaplewoodVillage PORTRAITLIFESTYLECELEBRATIONSEDITORIAL office got power back on the second day. All the staff\'sofficegotpowerback husbands and friends worked from the office during the next two weeks.on day two, so we had 40/ matters magazine / holiday 2020'