CITY FOCUS:Laguna prized in print

Laguna Beach has a new local publication.

The first issue of the quarterly “Laguna Beach Magazine” debuted this month, officially launched at a reception Monday night at Claes Restaurant in the Hotel Laguna. It is published in town by Ben Warner and Steve Zepezauer, veterans of the magazine publishing industry, who saw an opportunity and seized it.

“We are magazine junkies and city and regional magazines are the growth market,” Zepezauer said. “We looked at Laguna Beach and said, is Laguna as strong a brand as Aspen? That’s where we saw a void in the market.”

The partners figured they could come up with product that would better showcase the qualities that make Laguna so appealing.

“The magazines that have been available did not do Laguna Beach very well,” Warner said. “We respect them, but our product is tailored for locals and visitors who appreciate Laguna.”

Their vision of the magazine — and the town they hope it reflects — is encapsulated in the three works that appear just below the title on the cover: “Beautiful, Inspired, Extraordinary.”

As the publishers explained in a love letter to Laguna positioned as the foreword in the first issue:

“Oft times, before a magazine launches, all departments join together to brainstorm three words that accurately describe the publication. It’s not a new technique in the magazine business and it’s certainly not exclusive to us, but it is helpful to really define the title, its focus and mission. In other words, it’s a map to ensure we stay on the right path.

“Yet when we sat down and started throwing out adjectives for Laguna Beach Magazine, we knew we had a unique challenge ahead.

“As you might expect, Laguna Beach is hard to capture with just three words. With the diversity of Laguna running the gamut from hippie to hipster, we knew that summarizing the town and all it has to offer wouldn’t be easy. Laguna Beach is simultaneously bohemian and conventional. Liberal and conservative. Modern and traditional. Sophisticated and simple, all at the same time.

“Add in the cultural institutions, eclectic people and sheer beauty of this world-renowned destination city and you can appreciate our challenge.”

Their stated goal is to present stories, photography and top-notch design that bring a sense of the Laguna lifestyle to the reader, whether resident or tourist.

Stories in the 122-page premiere issue included profiles of artist Leonard Kaplan and tips on art collecting, beach gear and stunning photographs of city beaches and coves, hot spots and coffee shops, the many facets of guitarist Donovan Frankenreiter’s life and the facelift that added drama, not to mention space, to the home of Festival of Arts exhibitor Gerald Basil, creator of the bronze sculpture, “Repose,” at the city’s Treasure Island Park.

“Finding the right balance of subjects is a challenge,” Warner said.

To help meet that challenge, the publishers created an Advisory Board with diverse interests and expertise: Louis Roth, president of the board of the Laguna Art Museum; Dennis Power, president of the Laguna College of Art & Design; Michael Beresford, president of NetScope Inc.; David Wilhelm, president and chief operating officer of Culinary Adventures; and Karyn Philippsen, president of board of the Laguna Beach Visitors & Conference Bureau, who introduced Warner and Zepezauer to the City Council at the Aug. 7 meeting.

The magazine sells for about $5 at bookstores and supermarkets.

“We didn’t just want to throw it on every driveway and just get tossed away,” Warner said. “It devalues it,” said Zepezauer.

The partnership is based on shared business philosophies, dreams and remarkably parallel lives.

Both are married — Zepezauer to Kim and Warner to Kirsten. Both couples have two children of similar ages.

The publishers were equally matched in their professional lives. Both worked for Peterson Publishing — Warner in Los Angeles and Zepezauer in Orange County, in similar positions. They quit the company within a year of one another, each to open their own business.

They decided to share office space in Laguna as they pursued new career goals.

“The big impetus was to gain control of our lives and build media products that we are passionate about,” Warner said.

Zepezauer said, “We are better friends now.”

Magazine publishing was what they knew best as individuals, so it is not a surprise that in their shared offices they talked about the business — and voila a new publication was born.

The website www.lagunabeachmag.com is a partnership between the publishers and website developer Michael Beresford.

Single copies of the magazine are available for $4.99 at Borders and Barnes and Noble, the World News Stand on Ocean Avenue and selected Orange County supermarkets.

A one-year subscription is $18 delivered in the United States, $32 outside the country. For more information, call (800) 999-9718 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. or visit the website.