Andrew Beierle

The longer I work as a freelance journalist, the more obscure the publications I discover. I’ve written about all manner of curious things, and have come to realise that the more niche the magazine’s subject, the more successful it’ll be in these cash-strapped times.

With limited spare money to throw at new, exotic possessions, traditional hobbies are hotter than ever, especially when they don’t cost more than the price of, say, a skein of yarn and a mag subscription.

However, I just come across the best yet. My daily Gorkana fix has alerted me to the rambunctious world of Only Doormats (www.onlydoormats.co.uk), which I initially mistook for a witty site about unhappy spouses, but turns out to be “a niche, destination site focusing exclusively on doormats: coir doormats, cast-iron door mats and contemporary, designer doormats…”

Fantastic. And I didn’t even know doormat fancying was a sport.