OSSINING, New York -- Sipco Publications Inc., publisher of Fabrics & Furnishings International for 20 years, has sold Boutique Media Group to Cincinatti-based ST Media Group International, a publisher of information products for the design, signage and graphics industries for more than 100 years. The sale includes boutique DESIGN magazine, BoutiqueDesignNY to be held November 14/15 at the Javits Center, New York and other ancillary events.

The purchase price was not disclosed.

Sipco Publications will continue to publish Fabrics & Furnishings International and launched a new website, fabricsandfurnishings.com. Eric Schneider, founder and sole owner of Sipco, will remain editor/publisher of this title. He is joined by Marc Weinreich who has been named associate editor of F&FI. Sipco Publications will move its base of operations to Miami Beach, Florida on or about July 1.

In addition, Eric Schneider will serve as a consultant to ST Media and represent BoutiqueDesign in South Florida as business development manager.

Michael Schneider, previously a principal and president of Boutique Media Group, will join ST Media Group as Publisher, Hospitality Products. He will be moving to Cincinnati from the New York area on or about August 12. Michael said the synergy between the two magazines is exciting. "HospitalityStyles focus on standout projects across the hospitality spectrum makes it the perfect complement for boutique DESIGN, which profiles the people behind those amazing designs, with a focus on the boutique segment," Michael said.

Michael was a principal in the transaction along with his father, Eric, the founder of Sipco. "We both felt that boutique DESIGN and the related activities of BMG needed to be placed in even stronger hands in order to grow its market share going forward," the Schneiders said. "In just five years, BMG has become a recognized, major force in the hospitality industry, especially with leading edge designers. ST Media Group is poised to continue that growth."

Launched in 2005 initially by Sipco Publications, boutique DESIGN is the only hospitality magazine focusing exclusively on the boutique niche of hotel, spa, restaurant and nightclub design. In 2008, Boutique Media Group was formed to better represent its growing hospitality business which included boutique DESIGN magazine and its related events.

In addition to the bimonthly print magazine, website and e-newsletter, the brand has grown to include boutiquedesign.tv, a first-of-its-kind, video-based extension, and four annual industry events:

-boutique DESIGN New York, a new trade show for 2010, co-hosted with the International Hotel, Motel, & Restaurant Show (IHMRS), a 95-year-old NYC fair in November

-Hospitality Match, an invitation-only, three-day event matching hospitality designers/buyers with fabric, furnishing and equipment (FFE) suppliers

-The boutique 18 Bash, a celebration of 18 rising stars in the hospitality design industry

-The boutique DESIGN Awards, recognizing the best high-end, boutique-style designs of the year in the categories of hotel, restaurant, spa and nightclub.

The purchase of BMG also comes on the heels of the March 2010 relaunch of ST Medias Hospitality Style, a quarterly idea book for designers across the hospitality spectrum. "The addition of boutique DESIGN gives us a firm foothold in the hospitality design industry," said ST president Tedd Swormstedt. "And because theres little overlap in their circulations, the two magazines offer advertisers a broader reach at bundle rates."

Subscriptions to Hospitality Style and boutique DESIGN are free to qualified industry practitioners at HospitalityStyle.com and boutiqueDESIGN.com, respectively.

ABOUT ST MEDIA GROUP INTERNATIONAL Located in Greater Cincinnati, ST Media Group International serves the visual communications industries with its trade publications, branded websites, custom book division and industry events. Publications include Hospitality Style, boutique DESIGN, VMSD (Visual Merchandising and Store Design), Package Design Magazine, Screen Printing, Signs of the Times, The Big Picture, Industrial + Specialty Printing, and Signs of the Times & Screen Printing en espanol. For more information, visit stmediagroup.com.

Contact:

Eric Schneider
917-251-9922
eric@sipco.net
3 Island Avenue
Miami Beach
Suite 6I
Florida 33139