ABOUT HOFFMAN MEDIA
Timeless Inspiration for Modern Living
Hoffman Media is an independent media company based in Birmingham, Alabama. For more than four decades, we’ve created trusted brands celebrating food, home, travel, and the art of living well. Today, our portfolio spans magazines, books, travel experiences, and creative services.
OUR FOUNDER
Phyllis Hoffman DePiano
1953–2023
Phyllis Hoffman DePiano founded the company in Birmingham in 1983 with a single publication, Just CrossStitch, and a belief that passionate audiences deserved publications created with equal passion.
A certified public accountant by training and an entrepreneur by instinct, she steadily grew the company into a portfolio of beloved special-interest brands, later renamed Hoffman Media.
Over four decades, Phyllis built more than a publishing company. She created a culture centered on serving readers well, valuing craftsmanship, treating people with kindness, and taking pride in doing things the right way.
That philosophy continues to shape Hoffman Media today, now led by her sons, Eric Hoffman and Brian Hart Hoffman, alongside a team carrying her entrepreneurial spirit forward.
OUR STORY
How we got here.
1983
Phyllis, her sister Janice and neighbor Barbara Cockerham launch Just CrossStitch.
1984–1996
Phyllis builds the magazine into a business while raising Eric and Brian. The boys grow up around the work—including the travel.
1998
When the company’s new owners plan to move the business away from Birmingham, Phyllis buys the brands back. The company later becomes Hoffman Media.
1999–2004
Southern Lady launches in 1999, TeaTime in 2003 and Taste of the South in 2004. The needlework publisher becomes a Southern lifestyle publisher.
2007
Eric and Brian join their mother in the business. Hoffman relaunches Victoria, dormant since 2003, and starts publishing books. The book imprint is later named 83 Press, for the year it all began.
2011–2012
The Cottage Journal launches in 2011, and Louisiana Cookin’ joins the portfolio in 2012.
2015
Bake from Scratch launches, out of Brian’s own love of baking, and wins Hottest Launch of the Year at the min Awards. Southern Home launches the same year.
2021
Hoffman Media moves to 2323 2nd Avenue North in downtown Birmingham and starts taking readers along on retreats. The building quickly earns an unofficial nickname: “The Hoffice.”
Today
More than four decades in, Hoffman Media is still family-owned and still in Birmingham, with eight magazine brands, the 83 Press book imprint, and reader retreats around the world. The next generation now leads the company.
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
The people behind the brands
Hoffman Media remains a hands-on company.
Our leadership team works alongside the editors, designers, marketers, photographers, test kitchen stars, and publishing professionals who bring our brands to life every day.
Eric Hoffman
Chairman and CEO
Eric Hoffman is Chairman and CEO of Hoffman Media, where he leads the business side of the company, from finance and operations to strategy and growth. A former investment banker and Ernst & Young associate, he brings deep experience in finance and publishing. An Alabama graduate, he is active in the New Orleans community, serving on the boards of the Louisiana Children’s Museum, St. Charles Avenue Association, Academy of the Sacred Heart, and Ronald McDonald House Charities.
Brian Hart Hoffman
President and Chief Creative Officer
Brian Hart Hoffman is President and Chief Creative Officer of Hoffman Media, where he leads editorial and creative across the company’s brands. He is also the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Bake from Scratch. A self-taught baker, author, and television personality, he has grown the brand into a baking platform that spans magazines, bestselling cookbooks, products, classes, and international retreats. Through his passion for baking and travel, he connects and inspires home bakers around the world.
Work with us
Be part of what’s next
Whether you want to reach our readers or join the team behind our brands, we’d love to hear from you.
