BarBara Sallick, co-founder of Waterworks, was once asked why a big French bathtub in her showroom, called Candide and priced at $10,000, was so expensive. “Good things usually are,” she said. “Candide is hand-finished, with lots of quality. When you find cheap things, there’s always something missing.”

What price quality, and how do you define it? Is it in the eye of the beholder? Have we lost an appreciation of quality in our quest for getting a deal?

We wrestle with this every day at Cottages & Gardens, as we publish oversize magazines that are printed on heavy, glossy paper stock—more expensive, but it allows us to accommodate huge photographs and showcase wonderful design. They’re produced by dedicated, award-winning superstar editors in all our regions, who know and understand the passion our readers have for design.

And our readers know this. I never want to lose how humbled and delighted I feel when readers tell me how much they love our magazines. Note they say love, not like. They are passionate about our titles because we don’t stint on quality. And they know that our editors have been at the helm for years, have their finger on the pulse of the community and surprise them with delightful editorial issue after issue. Our pages are brimming with content that is of the highest quality and is 100-percent unique to each region, representing the soul of the community. We don’t share content across our titles (more expensive to produce), and are the only design magazine with award-winning editorial written by experts on one of the hottest topics in our market—real estate! Our “Deeds & Don’ts” column is earnestly followed by our readers and the biggest brokers in the industry.

So, dear readers, whether we are showing you top-of-the-line bathtubs, hand-painted wallpaper and fabric, rugs, furniture, or the brightest hand-chiseled jewelry, rest assured that you are uppermost in the minds of our editors. Their passion for excellence is matched by yours, and their choice of content is driven by a desire to show you the very best, no matter the cost.