North County Standout: New magazine shows off San Diego style

By: JESSICA MUSICAR - For the North County Times | Saturday, January 22, 2005 6:39 AM PST ∞

CARLSBAD ---- Editors of North County's newest publication say they are trying to show San Diego how classy it truly is by concentrating on what makes the region great. With an eye toward cuisine, fashion, travel, home design and society events, Riviera San Diego, a high-end lifestyle magazine, is focused on portraying the luxurious and stylish aspects of the county.

Led by Editor in Chief Kedric Francis, who also serves as editor of Riviera's sister publication, Riviera Orange County, the magazine has published four issues and will become a monthly in 2006.

Launched in September, the free, glossy, oversized magazine relies heavily on its full-page photo spreads, as well as its written content, to show these lifestyle trends. While one may occasionally find Riviera on the newsstand, Francis said the magazine is primarily mailed out to wealthy communities, upscale hotels and other businesses in the county. It has a distribution of about 35,000.

Although San Diego has its share of lifestyle publications, Francis said Riviera tries to separate itself from the competition by featuring what's new to San Diego through hot lists that name newcomers to the area, such as musicians, artists, boutiques, restaurants and galleries. It also keeps up a calendar of new theater and music shows that come to town. Francis said it is better to focus on emerging trends than to feature the tried and true.

"We focus on what's new in San Diego and what San Diego is becoming," Francis said. "We like to show people that there is a wide variety of things in their community and elsewhere."

Riviera also features society events such as charity galas and art openings.

"It's good to give coverage where people sort of get thanked for their good deeds," Francis said of Riviera's society pages. "We want to get involved with the community to help them do what they do."

Riviera is published by Modern Luxury Inc. Based out of Chicago, the company is also the publisher for similar magazines such as Agneleno in Los Angeles, Modern Luxury Dallas and CS Magazine in Chicago, as well as a publication in Palm Springs. Modern Luxury controls nine magazines.

Francis said Modern Luxury hopes to produce lifestyle magazines in most major metropolitan areas, and is set to launch a Houston publication and a Los Angeles men's magazine this spring.

Each issue is written and produced by Francis and his associate editor, Dawn Triemstra, along with the help of contributing editors from other Modern Luxury magazines, freelance writers and photographers. However, layout and design for the magazine is done in Chicago. Francis said that minimizing the number of editors and designers on a single publication allows the publisher to limit the cost of overhead while saving funds to create some flashy content for its many lifestyle magazines.

About 70 percent of Riviera is focused on San Diego County, yet its fashion section is shared by most of Modern Luxury magazines, Francis said.

The magazine's fashion coverage, which showcases new, hip styles and where to get them locally, is what sets it apart, Francis said, noting that many of the designers featured in Riviera can also be found in Vogue. Even celebrity interviews include fashion shots.

Triemstra added that the magazine tries to add a bit of style to people's lives.

"I think we are really here to preview things, and give people the opportunity to get out there and experience luxury things without just having to read about them," Triemstra said. "I think it's not like anything else, and that's what makes it so fun."

Francis said San Diego is an up-and-coming town, and that he wants to help locals realize what they have right in front of their noses.

"That's what we do. We are out there trying to find the cool, the unique, the beautiful and the luxurious to tell our friends and our readers about it," Francis said.

Standout Facts

Name: Riviera San Diego

Address: 6005 Hidden Valley Road, Suite 280, Carlsbad

Phone: (760) 918-9900

Web site: www.modernluxury.com

Year established: 2004

Products and services: Riviera is a luxury lifestyle magazine

Number of employees: 11

Size: 1,500-square-foot office

Gross sales: Expected gross sales of $2.7 million for 2005, for the magazine's first seven issues

Contact freelance writer Jessica Musicar at Gwyllion@aol.com.