When we asked if it was just too much - Martha’s expectations for us to cover our string lights in origami or make homemade shower curtains - he disagreed.

His shower curtain was homemade, just like Martha’s. His furniture included pieces that had been antiqued and gilded according to Martha’s instructions. Paul loft that had string lights covered in Martha’s origami paper boxes. Actually, she was probably at the height of her stardom for all things home and garden (it was about a year before she was indicted on federal charges related to insider trading).Īhead of Stewart’s appearance at “Art in Bloom” at the Minneapolis Institute of Art that spring, we profiled a few super fans - or, as we described them, “Martha groupies.” Richardson was one of those fans (this was before Richardson had met Raihala, who started at the paper in 2004).Īt the time, Richardson lived in a St. It was 2002 and Martha Stewart was coming to town.īack then, Martha was the rising star. So a few of us here at the paper, especially those of us who also write about arts and entertainment, have known Richardson for years, since before he became known locally and nationally as a laundry expert.Īctually, some of us have known Richardson even longer than we’ve worked with Raihala. Richardson, 48, is the partner of Ross Raihala, the Pioneer Press music critic and an arts and entertainment reporter. Paul’s cleanest celebrity for a disclosure:

The laundry guy on discovery