I first became interested in design and independent publishing when I decided to design my own magazine as a personal exercise. At the time, I had no design experience and the project was meant to be seen only by me. Before I knew it, I had a whopping 11in x 16in, 10-page magazine. But in the process of creating, I became more and more fascinated with the world of independent publishing. I eventually landed on a 5.5in x 8.5in saddle-stitched design, and for brevity, I decided to hand-make the design with a typewriter I had at the time, graph paper, and scotch tape. I added my own photography, I added my little writings and notes, and I reached out to a writer I was a fan of that I followed on Tumblr to ask them if I could interview them for the zine.

It wasn't until I started selling the first on Etsy that I began to see the real potential of independent publishing. The reception of that first issue sparked my interest in finding new ways to promote the work of undiscovered creatives and challenge the traditional art industry. I started to see the potential for creating something that would challenge the traditional narrative and give a platform to undiscovered creatives. And so, FAMELESSZINE was born.

For the first few issues of FAMELESSZINE, I stuck with the saddle-stitched, photocopied format. I wanted to keep things simple and DIY, and I loved the charm of a hand-made zine. With Issue 4, I began experimenting with creating the zine on Photoshop and featured the writing of Taby Gil. For Issues 5 and 6, we explored a square format but still kept the saddle-stitched binding, featuring the illustrations of Stephanie Guez and the artwork of Andres DeFreitas, respectively.

The first few issues of FAMELESSZINE stuck with the saddle-stitched and photocopied format. We featured the writing of Stephanie Zander in Issue 1, the photography of Alaina Sacci in Issue 2, and the artwork of Ruben Cedeno in Issue 3. With Issue 4, I began exploring creating the zine on Photoshop and featured the writing of Taby Gil. Looking back, it seems absurd that I was trying to make pages of a magazine in Photoshop, but at the time it felt like a natural evolution for the project. I explored a square format, but remained saddle-stitched for Issues 5 and 6, featuring the illustrations of Stephanie Guez and the artwork of Andres DeFreitas, respectively.

With Issue 7, I made the decision to switch to a perfectly bound magazine format and started using a print-on-demand model powered by HP’s MagCloud. I wholly committed to the project and used the opportunity to learn InDesign and embrace a more professional approach to design (DIY til I die). From Issue 7 onwards, everything was designed using InDesign. I also decided to give each issue a theme rather than numbering them, and the theme for Issue 7 was fittingly named "Transition." This issue featured the photography of Rodolfo Diaz.

Shortly after, I registered the magazine with the Library of Congress for an ISSN to make things “official.” That was the beginning of Fameless Quarterly, an ambitious project with the goal of expanding beyond the usual narrative and highlighting the work of undiscovered creatives. Our goal was to change the art industry, which we saw as the taste of few dictating the tastes of many. We believed that promoting creativity and risk-taking, and providing a space for honest and open dialogue about the issues that mattered to us, was the key to a better future.

At that time, print magazines weren't doing so great (they were boutique, and independently published). A lot of them were struggling to find their digital identity. Most publishers were simply posting PDFs of their printed matter on the web for their readers to see. Some print magazines had blogs that ran in parallel and felt like an afterthought. That didn’t seem like enough for me.

That feeling drove my research in exploring the relationship between print and digital media. I noticed that very few were using the digital media landscape to their advantage. There were tons of publishers doing amazing work in print (looking at you The Great Discontent), but I was indifferent towards anyone’s attempts to take advantage of the web’s potential to augment text-based stories with audio companions, video essays, graphic animations, etc. There was a battle for e-reader dominance, and RSS reading platforms like Feedly were on the rise. An app called Flipboard came onto the scene. There were very few tools available to bring your idea onto these platforms.

I realized that digital publications have the potential to be so much more than just a digital version of a print magazine. A digitally-native magazine can take advantage of its multimedia nature and include things like audio companions, video essays, graphic animations, and even interactive elements using tools like d3.js and p5.js. It can also grow and evolve organically over time. But at the time, our small team was stretched thin just trying to produce our print issues, and we didn't have the resources or knowledge to focus on a digital presence beyond social media. We didn't want to just recycle the same PDFs we printed, but we were held back by the limitations of our resources and knowledge. It was a case of paralysis by analysis.

With the idea of a digitally-native Fameless still baking in my mind, we produced and published the eighth issue. I took the plunge with bulk printing for Issues 8 and 9, featuring the art of Jae Kim and Zoe Ligon, respectively. The theme for Issue 8 was Dedication, while the theme for Issue 9 was Pleasure. The Dedication issue was funded purely out of pocket by me. If I remember correctly the cost was about $6k just for printing for 1000 issues. The marketing attempt for the Dedication issue was aggressive. A lot of free copies were given away, a lot were dropped off at independent magazine stores around New York on consignment, and ultimately not enough were sold to recoup the costs.

Because of that, we decided to crowd-fund the ninth issue via Kickstarter. The Kickstarter campaign for Issue 9 was unfortunately unsuccessful, but the issue itself was extremely well-received. I’m still proud of the creative direction for that issue. I’m still infinitely grateful for the contributors I worked with that dedicated their time and effort pro-bono or agreed to be paid contingently on the success of the Kickstarter.

Through my journey with Fameless Quarterly, I learned a lot about the independent publishing industry and about myself as a Creative Director. I discovered that I have a passion for curating and promoting the work of other artists, and I found that there is a real need for a platform that speaks about art simply.

Now what?

I’m rebranded Fameless Quarterly as Opera, with the same vision but a refined approach based on experience. I am excited to continue this journey.

Opera will continue to grow and evolve, and constantly strive to improve the quality of its content and better serve its readership. Opera remains committed to its founding principle of promoting creativity and risk-taking. With each new issue, we strive to push the boundaries of what a magazine can be by taking advantage of the medium we publish on. We believe in the power of honesty and open dialogue to foster growth and understanding, and we constantly seek new ways to share our thoughts and experiences with our readers. We hope you will join us on this journey and add your own unique voice to our vibrant community.