Lexington-based TSAInc. consults with publishers nationwide

A visit to any newsstand immediately informs you that there’s a magazine for everything. Despite the constant reminders that printed matter is headed towards obsolescence, publications continue to thrive and diversify. People seem to like the heft and design of well-printed, nicely bound volumes. In the end, there is no substitute for the beauty of the well-made thing.

Nobody knows this better than horse people. You can apply all the science in the world, but it comes down to the performance of that graceful creature, all muscle and leg, flashing eyes and a conformation that may derive as much from genetic attitude as chromosomes.

At TSA Inc., formerly known as The Stone Advisory, Charlie Stone and his colleagues have been bringing these two worlds together for almost 12 years.

"We call ourselves an advisory, and that gives us a pretty big umbrella," says Charlie Stone. "Our clients assume that they get my opinion as part of what they pay for, even if they don’t solicit it."

Stone’s opinions carry some weight in the world of horse publications and the design of printed matter. His pedigree includes nearly 25 years with The Blood Horse magazine, one of the elite thoroughbred publications of record.

"I came to UK in 1958, thinking I wanted to be an engineer, and for one semester I was," recalls the western Kentucky native. "I eventually earned a degree in journalism. So I went to work for The Blood Horse in 1963 as a staff writer, and worked my way up to executive editor for about 15 years."

"I oversaw three redesigns of that magazine. We went off to New York and engaged an expensive firm, and I learned a lot from that experience. That was how I gained my understanding of what really works in design. During that time I did a little of everything, except advertising – I never got over into that room. Some people are born salesmen, and I never counted myself as one of them."

Stone and his colleagues – production director Louis Hairston, art director Jason Wilhoite and technical director Nikki Berrong – do know how to engineer a publication however. TSA does no actual publishing, but consults for publishers nationwide. Some of their most prominent work includes programs for the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, the Grand National and World Championship Morgan Horse Show in Oklahoma City, the Lexington Junior League Horse Show and the National Horse Show, the nation’s longest-running annual show held in Madison Square Garden. They also assist in producing six magazines: The Lane Report, Hackney World, Kentucky Business Viewpoint, The American Saddlebred, Keeneland and, beginning last year, Horse Show magazine from the American Horse Shows Association, a large organization that just this summer relocated its national headquarters from New York City to Lexington’s Kentucky Horse Park.

TSA Inc. also helps assemble other types of publications, from antiques and art catalogs to a trucking calendar for Worldwide Equipment out of Prestonsburg.

So how did this business build up to such a pace? "When I decided to hang up my own flag, there was an opportunity with the American Saddlebred Horse Association, whose national headquarters are at the Kentucky Horse Park," recalls Stone. "It was just me then, and I agreed to take a look at their magazine.

"It was a great fit early on because they wanted to revisit their magazine, restructure and redesign it. One of the things I had done at The Blood Horse was get involved with the printing and the paper. I understood a printing contract and all of the other expenses that are involved in getting something from a notepad to the color layout.

"The horse show niche works well for us because those people don’t have a year-round full-time staff, and nobody has any reason to bring any printing expertise to a horse show – they’re worried about hay and oats and track surfacing and grooming," explains Stone.

There’s no doubt that new publishing technology has been a key for TSA’s growth and reputation for high quality throughout the horse world.

"Even as recently as 1987, we were buying type. We were getting a hard copy, specing it, and sending it off to a professional typesetter. Then we’d get it back and cut it up with our scissors and glue pot. That was a cost-intensive way to go!

"Printing quality is now better and quicker. Nearly half our clients are out of state – we couldn’t do that if it weren’t for desktop publishing, overnight couriers, faxes and disks and e-mail. They allow a little guy like me to be competitive, because if I can bring some design skills to the page, find a good printing contract and figure out how to save some money in pre-press, it doesn’t matter where I’m living. A little company like this couldn’t have existed 15 years ago."

That doesn’t necessarily mean Stone wants the company to get big. Over the years he has gained some insight into the virtues of staying small and focused: flexibility, quality control and relationship-building to name a few.

"We are extremely busy here all the time, so we have to pick and choose what we want to do," Stone notes. "We don’t have many ad clients, because we are not exclusively an advertising agency. We wouldn’t choose to take over a large account and do their entire advertising operation – it’s just not what we do. There’s a trick in running any company about choosing how big you need to get.

"It’s not hard for me to say to someone ‘You know, I’m not really the person you need to talk to about that.’ I think that’s the answer – nobody can do it all. We have really tried very hard to stay in a niche."

As for where they do it, Stone and his colleagues love working out of the 150-year-old house they occupy on West Main Street.

"Main Street, Lexington, Kentucky is a pretty good address for out-of-town clients, and within Lexington, we do things like the program for the Home and Garden Show, the Blue Grass Trust newsletter, work for the Junior League, design and layout for Keeneland Magazine ... this is a perfect spot for all of them to come review proofs," says Stone.

Stone revels in the enthusiasm and skills of his young team, guided by his steady and experienced hand at the reins.

"Everybody here does a little bit of everything," he beams. "They’re all equally capable."

For that reason, Stone decided on the recent name change. "Here we are now going into our 12th year," he points out, "and I think we’ve grown enough that it’s time to be more than a sole proprietorship. So we’ve incorporated as TSA. We’re a company rather than a one-man show, and the name needs to reflect that.

"We’re still small enough that most people don’t have a clue in the world what we are," laughs Stone. "It’s funny .... even though I hawk other people’s wares now and then, I’ve never quite figured out how to advertise us.

"That’s okay though, because if you’re a candidate to be one of our clients, we like to think we will come to your attention somewhere, through our work."