Sarah Hubbell is a big fan of Martha Stewart. She loves her how-tos on everything from garden parties to handmade wrapping paper and admires her simple, yet elegant style.
But when Hubbell moved back to Phoenix after short stints in Hollywood and New York City, got married, and had a baby, she searched for a Martha-esque solution to redoing her home, hosting get-togethers, and reimagining what was around her -- on a typical 20-something's budget.
She couldn't find anything. So she went to the drawing board.
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Hubbell is an Arizona native. She went to Desert Vista High School in Ahwatukee (where she met her now-husband on the speech and debate team) and studied broadcast journalism at ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Fresh out of school, she landed a spot on MTV's Real World: Hollywood where she duked it out with housemates, stuck it out for the full season, and made connections that landed her in New York. But soon after, a dream teaching gig for her husband brought the couple back to Phoenix.
Hubbell says she's always had a dream to start something of her own, and when the idea of a magazine for "city mamas, nesting newlyweds, and budding entrepreneurs" came up among friends, a few jumped on board, and they got to work.
The three, including Hubbell, and associate editors Shelly Sazdanoff and Jessica Helgeson are currently working on their fifth issue of EMMA, full of how-tos for Cinco de Mayo and summer-friendly projects.
Hubbell says her short term goals include working with more local businesses (she just hosted a garden party at GROWop last night and has plans to work with Frances boutique this summer) and meeting more Phoenix-based artists, photographers, models, and bloggers. Her long-term goal is to get the print version in stores and boutiques around the nation.
The EMMA name, Hubbell says, came from a list of baby names popular at the time of her starting the magazine -- she figured if she was going to be writing for new moms, she'd need a name that stuck. The magazine is available online and in print (by order) through EMMA's website. The next issue will be out April 1.