Miami Beach, FL – December 6, 2013 – It was the Friday evening of Art Basel Miami Beach when guests filed into the corner of the Design Miami/ tent for a much-anticipated Design Talk with entrepreneur and domestic goddess Martha Stewart. Just shortly after 6 p.m., Stewart entered the stage, dressed in a modern white frock, and took her place next to W magazine editor Stefano Tonchi for a chat. “Tell us about writing  books,” Tonchi says, just moments after the audience was informed Steward  would be signing copies after the talk.

“In 1983 I wrote my first book, a book I wanted for myself, because I thought I was every woman. I thought what I needed was what all other women needed. My first book was a recipe book, a story book an ordinary homemaker could go to for beautiful things,” she explains.

Her latest project is entitled “Living the Good Long Life,” and it touches on the subject of getting older. Inspired by her 93-year-old mother, she says she felt  compelled to write about the topic, pointing out that we are youth-obsessed and need to think ahead. “We are going to live a long time, and we should live that long time well,” she says.

Martha Stewart

We are going to live a long time, and we should live that long time well.

It’s topics like living well that Stewart took to the next level by creating a magazine and a ready-made brand. “I could show people how to do things, but I heard not a lot of people had the time to do them,” she says, giving examples like dying your own towels. So Stewart expanded her business by partnering with K-mart to sell her creations to women who enjoyed her style but didn’t necessarily have her knack for craftiness. The results were a mixed bag, as not everyone was thrilled with her mass-market approach. “The Kmart contract turned a lot of people against me. I remember the Junior League of Greenwich cancelled a speaking engagement I was scheduled for and I thought, ‘Oh, they will invite me back someday.’ And they did.”

Martha Stewart & Stefano Tonchi

Design Talks with Martha Stewart & Stefano Tonchi

Today Stewart’s empire includes her brand, magazines, books, appearances and her show. At the heart of each of these are ‘good things,’ a topic Tonchi asks her to explain. “I made a garden tool with an orange handle and called it a good thing. That must have just stuck with me. And I’ve signed it many, many times,” she jokes. “A good thing is something you need, it’s practical and functional and also has to be beautiful. It’s simple,” she says.

“Let’s talk about that,” Tonchi says. Which of those is most important: Functional or beautiful?” “Form should never take over function for me,” she says, explaining how if she cannot fit her hand into the most beautiful teacup in the world, it won’t sell.

It’s the architecture of things that most influence Stewart’s aesthetic. “We recycle the vintage past,” she says, explaining how she draws from existing items and makes them better. “I love to take something in a past design that appeals to me and making it work for the modern home.”

Her latest invention is something the crafting world not only wants and needs but is something she couldn’t understand didn’t previously exist: A circle cutter. Considering how hard it is to cut a perfect circle, we must admit we are a bit curious as well.

But that’s what makes Stewart the queen of American design, as Tonchi so eloquently points out and the conversation transitions to Stewart’s dream home. She talks of taking marble from leftover statues and turning it into the floors and working with Frank Gehry to design a house. “For me, you need to reflect your own personal style when it comes to design. When I work with an architect, it’s a combination of our opinions. I like to debate and question when I design,” she says.

Changing the direction of the conversation, Tonchi asks Stewart how it’s possible she has an answer for everything. And it seems she does. From when to plant bulbs to frosting cakes to making centerpieces, Stewart says her secret is to turn to experts when she needs advice.

Muriel Brandolini

Martha Stewart Book Signing

And her broad range of interests doesn’t hurt either. Stewart reveals she loves gardening and that lilies are her favorite flowers. But she’s also just as interested in technology. She was an early adapter of Twitter and now has 2.9 million followers. As well, she was an early investor in Google. “I’m on the fence about Pinterest though, because they are using my pictures as their own,” she admits.

Ever the gadget girl, she can’t wait to use her new 3D printer. And she’s working with MIT to help integrate technology into the home. “The home has suffered in terms of technology,” she conveys. She was recently invited to the school to talk about how to make the home more efficient. The designs she saw included a talking refrigerator that constantly reminded her what she needed. “I don’t want to be reminded I need milk,” she jokes “But we can make the home much more efficient with good technology. Nest is now making thermostats that talk to your iPhone, and soon there will be fire alarms that do the same,” she says.

Martha Stewart

And I cherish my work a lot, because even though it gives me angst, it gives me pleasure and it’s something to look forward to every day.

And speaking of technology, Stewart herself is curious on what will happen with the future of print magazines. “Are people going to continue reading magazines? Actual paper magazines? Less than five percent of subscriptions are on iPads,” she says. “It’s more beneficial for all of us because it uses less trees, less paper.” Stewart was also an early adapter to online magazines. Members of the audience suggest Stewart even look into making her own tablet loaded with all of the things to make life a good thing. It seems she would be the perfect creator of such a gadget.

As the audience begins to pass around the microphone to gauge Stewart’s opinion on topics ranging from holiday cocktails to shifting her focus to stay-at-home dads, one question—what is most important to her—causes her to stop and think. “It’s my family, friends and pets,” she says. “And I cherish my work a lot, because even though it gives me angst, it gives me pleasure and it’s something to look forward to every day.”