Top of the Shops

Shoppy Holidays to you!

Happy almost Xmas, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah to you all!

If you are reading this, then wow — I’m surprised. Because it’s dead zone time in Internetland. Are you hiding upstairs from your mother-in-law? Pretending you have a “work email” to read? I’m happy to be your excuse.

There’s some fun stuff for you in here! I’ve removed the paywall from my two major shopping guides — one is renovation-focused, the other is more furniture/decor. I’ve also added 20+ new sources. There will be a third guide coming in early 2024. Make sure you are a paid subscriber to get access. (Also the paywall on the two guides will go back up on the 26th.) Find the un-paywalled shopping guides at the end of this email.

I’ve also set up “shops” or whatever the influencers do. I honestly have zero expectation to collect any revenue here. They were just fun to curate and I’ll keep adding to the “Schmatta Faves” one.

• Shop My House

• Schmatta Faves

And now for the thank yous/end-of-year things.

First, thanks to you, my wonderful subscribers. If you don’t know the backstory behind Schmatta, here it is in a nutshell: In December of last year, I was laid off from my full-time job of six years as editor-in-chief of Hunker, a design publication I co-founded. (It has since been sold and is now an embarrassing SEO farm.) Although I’d started Schmatta in spring of ‘23, I really gave it focus in 2024 as my “plan B”…having no idea what that meant. I had 104 subscribers.

Schmatta only grew thanks to the help of some fantastic people:

FOR SCALE

/David (who offered to do a guest post when I only had 104 subscribers);

Kelsey Keith

who said this guide was the best market editing she’d seen in (I think it was) “the last five years”;

Christene Barberich

for her mentorship and collaboration;

Leandra Medine Cohen

for restacking Grotto Girl Summer (and brining in my first meaningful wave of subs). Also love to

Downtime

,

Sami Reiss

,

Best Friends

,

Jess Graves

, and more.

Here we are today. There are 3,994 of you reading Schmatta. You have all been so helpful to me in a year that has been incredibly unstable financially. 105 of you are paying subs: thanks! And even if you aren’t paying, you’ve helped me reach some amazing partners who payed me to write content I would have written without being offered money. Unheard of these days in media! I made about $8,500 from paid subs + partnerships in 2024, which saved us from having to move in with my parents. And it was also through Schmatta that I finally found a part-time job just last month with this amazing team.

I write Schmatta because it gives me immense joy…and because I actually think it’s really good? If I won the lottery tomorrow, I’d still be writing Schmatta and figuring out how to make it even bigger and better. In 2025, I’m hoping to find partnerships with my favorite brands so I can work on getting you guys more freebies and discounts.

If you’re still reading, congrats on staying hidden from your mother-in-law. If you have some time, feel free to leave a comment. I want to know what you’d like to see more or less of in 2025. Also, don’t be shy about leaving some constructive criticism!

Best,

Leonora

Schmatta’s Ultimate Home Shopping Guides:

Favorite Posts of 2024:

This AI decorating tool turned my daughter into a giant butt plug

Sharpie Diem

The Emotional Architecture of 'Bluey'

Fuck "Decorating for Fall"

Schmatta’s Ultimate Home Shopping Guide, Part 1

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Schmatta is written by Leonora Epstein, a former shelter pub editor-in-chief. Follow at @_leonoraepstein. For consulting and collab requests, please visit my website.