Martha Stewart

Is she still alive? That's the question I got asked by one of the resident millennials as I sat at my desk reading a Staples’ press release announcing the chain had reached a deal to sell a line of home office products under the Martha Stewart brand. The deal marks the second time Ms. Stewart and Staples have worked together. The chain began selling Ms. Stewart's branded office supplies, such as sticky notes, journals and rubber bands, in its stores and on its website in 2012.

A New York state appeals court on Thursday revived most of Macy's lawsuit accusing J.C. Penney of interfering improperly with its exclusive merchandising contract with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. The 5-0 decision by the Appellate Division in Manhattan restored two claims by Macy's that a lower court judge had dismissed. It also upheld the validity of a third Macy's claim, but said Macy's didn't deserve punitive damages. Thursday's decision is the latest step in an unusual battle over the right to sell home goods from a company named for one of the most famous U.S. names in homemaking.

To walk into an Anthropologie store is to experience another state of consciousness. You've never been the type to own a Peruvian-style poncho, and yet, once you spot one artfully displayed on a mannequin, you suddenly imagine yourself swaddled in it while frolicking with alpacas on a hazy hilltop. You don't typically purchase girly kitchen gear, but one look at the brand's collection of ruffled aprons, whimsical doorknobs, and mismatched teacups