Modern Ferret Magazine - Awards and Honors

Modern Ferret Awards, Honors, and Great Moments

Mary and Eric accepting their award - Click to open a larger picture in a new window

Mary and Eric accepting the min award for producing one of the 12 Best Magazines

The other 11 winners were: The Economist, The New Yorker, MAXIM, Racer, Elle Decor, Broadcasting & Cable, Red Herring, Information Week, Teen People, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, and ESPN The Magazine.

Modern Ferret magazine, the first on-going color magazine for ferret owners, was named one of the 12 Best Magazines in the industry by min magazine (a publication of the Media Industry Newsletter and Phillips Business Information, Inc.). Entrepreneurial ferret owners Eric and Mary Shefferman publish the bi-monthly Modern Ferret out of their home in New York. The couple's business grew out of a desire to work from home and spend more time with their ferrets.

"In choosing these exceptional magazines," said David Shaw, senior vice president of PBI, "the min staff looked primarily for publications that were doing something very special. They were either hugely strong financially or totally in tune with their target readers - or, ideally, both."

"Staying in tune with our readers' concerns is easy for us since we are ferret owners ourselves," said Mary. From Modern Ferret's inception, the Sheffermans have aspired to create a full-service ferret magazine, providing everything from proper care information to funny stories, poems, and clever photos. "When we started Modern Ferret, there was nothing out there for people like us - ferret owners who were looking for ways to learn about and celebrate our pets," Mary explained.

"We love our ferrets and they are a big part of our lives. Ferrets have a lot of bounce and energy, so we've always tried to reach past the boundaries of traditional pet magazines. We're the Rolling Stone of pet magazines," said Eric. Modern Ferret strives to break new ground with every issue. Past issues have featured such things as a phony movie ad (There's Something About Trixie), tear-out ferret gift tags for the holidays, and a cover spoof of Gap commercials ("this is incredibly easy").

"Ferrets are enthusiastic animals and they deserve a magazine that reflects their energy and flair," said Mary. Modern Ferret's playful identity is evidenced by its humorous full-color ferret centerfolds, columns written from a ferret's perspective ("Marshmallow Explains It All"), and ferret-style takeoffs of classic fairy tales. Modern Ferret also provides keeping, training, and health care information that is consistently accurate - with the singular perspective that only other ferret owners can provide.

According to min, the top magazines were selected because: "They are the titles that pushed the envelope of creativity and carved out a definitive identity that set them apart from their competitors on the newsstand. … Simply put - they are the best at what they do." Of the magazines honored by min, Modern Ferret is the only pet magazine and the only home-based business.

The Sheffermans decided to start Modern Ferret when they realized they could provide a valuable service to other ferret owners and earn a living by photographing and writing about their experience with their own ferrets. Since starting the magazine, the Sheffermans have become established as well-respected experts on ferrets. Mary is the author of The Ferret: An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet (published by Howell Book House) and The Wit and Wisdom of the Modern Ferrets: A Ferret's Perspective On Ferret Care (published by Modern Ferret). Since 1994, the Sheffermans' staff of ferrets has grown from three to a peak of nine: Sabrina, Marshmallow, Knuks, Trixie, Bosco da Gama, Balthazar, Cauliflower, Koosh, and Gabrielle.

Cover of Samir Husni's Guide to New Consumer Magazines - Click to open a larger picture of the cover in a new window

Modern Ferret was chosen as one of the 50 Most Notable Magazine Launches of 1995

There were 838 new magazines launched in 1995. Modern Ferret was chosen as one of the 50 Most Notable Launches by Dr. Samir "Mr. Magazine" Husni and was even featured on the cover of Samir Husni's Guide To New Consumer Magazines 1996 Edition along with such notables as George, This Old House, The Weekly Standard, and Time Out New York.

In the foreword to Samir Husni's Guide To New Consumer Magazines, John Mack Carter (President of Hearst Magazines Enterprises) calls it "The Year of George, Martha & Those Adorable Ferrets" and says, "Beyond the publishing behemoths, some of the most daring new magazines of the year were created by entrepreneurs with a vision who went after a niche -- like the young Long Island, N.Y., couple the Sheffermans, whose love of an animal that loves niches caused them to spawn Modern Ferret."

Trivia Note: According to Samir Husni, as of 1999 only 26.67% of the magazines launched in 1995 are still alive. That makes us one of the rare survivors. (And this doesn't include things like the recent demise of fellow Notable Launch: George.)

I (Eric) was upstairs working on the computer and Mary was downstairs flipping channels when suddenly Mary started screaming. I thought a ferret had gotten hurt and ran downstairs to discover that Craig Kilborn (who we're big fans of from his hosting The Daily Show) was holding up Modern Ferret and talking about it.

Modern Ferret Awards, Honors, and Great Moments