Jeannine Saba, The Covent Gardener
After two decades as an art director in luxury publishing, Jeannine Saba set up Piero Publishing in 2016. The company produces a series of free local London magazines.
Jeannine is passionate about print; as well as producing her own magazines, she regularly speaks in schools and universities about creative careers and storytelling, and for the past five years has run an after-school magazine club at St George’s Hanover Square Primary School.
One of Piero’s magazines, The Covent Gardener, celebrates its 10th anniversary this month with a special issue. Here, Jeannine tells us more about the challenges of publishing a free local magazine as she shares her week.
What are you doing this morning?
This Monday began, as most do in Covent Garden, with the clatter of beer barrels being delivered to The Porterhouse bar and the morning alarm at the Adelphi Theatre. Then a Turkish coffee, a nod to my Lebanese side. With no commute I step straight into the week.
Describe your work environment.
From my window I see the back of the Adelphi Theatre—twice a day my flat fills with the music, singing, and cheers from the musical ‘Back to the Future’. It’s an unusual office soundtrack, capable of testing the sanity of mere mortals, but I’ve grown fond of it. Inside, every inch of wall is covered with artwork, gifts from artists I’ve worked with, from a Milton Glaser poster he handed me on my first visit to him, to our very first Covent Gardener cover.
I run the magazine with a small and brilliant remote team: Rachel Meddows, who I met while working at Harper’s Bazaar, my associate editor who has as eye sharper than a scalpel; Sophia Razvi, our lifestyle editor; and a remarkable group of contributors, some of the most brilliant art historians, theatre experts, and specialists in their fields. I’m lucky to work with people whose knowledge and insight elevate every issue.
Which magazine do you first remember?
Story Teller... a fortnightly delight from the eighties that came with a cassette tape, perfect for someone like me, who at that time was too impatient to read. I was hooked on the stories and illustrations. It was my first taste of how storytelling and visual design worked together.
Aside from yours, what’s your favourite magazine/zine?
A Cartier press pack I saw 18 years ago. Usually, a press pack is a few sheets of A4 half-heartedly designed, but this one was a 40-page hardback book devoted to a single watch, illustrated in comic-book style by seven completely different artists. Whimsical, chaotic, dark and edgy. If Cartier, the epitome of luxury, could take such a risk, it opened my eyes to what was possible—that even the most traditional formats could be transformed into something bold and unforgettable.
When I became Creative Director for Diplomat Magazine, a very conservative title, I convinced the editor to let me put two giant rats by street artist Roa on the cover (above). That Cartier press pack gave me the courage.
What other piece of media would you recommend?
Walking… with my legs—outside in the world.
Describe The Covent Gardener in three words
Delightful, interesting and quirky.
Why does Covent Garden need its own magazine?
The stories here are just too outrageous and delicious to ignore, from the 100,000 Costa Monger donkeys who trotted the cobbled streets of Covent Garden to Eliza James, the self-made watercress queen and even the hedgehogs sold in the market as Victorian pest control.
The Covent Gardener reflects the area through illustration, 80% of the magazine is illustrated, giving each story a little more personality than words alone. The covers of course are the jewel: we’ve been trusted with original art from Sir Quentin Blake, Royal Academician David Mach, and graphic design legend Milton Glaser, who gave us his (I heart NY) heart—the highlight of my career (the two together, above, the cover design, below). That issue, which we dedicated to him, now resides in the archives at the School of Visual Arts in NY.
The business model? Advertising. A business that doesn’t make money is a hobby—and this is very much a business. I can find content with my eyes shuts, it’s making this work as a business which has been the biggest challenge.
The Covent Gardener is free if you pick it up around Covent Garden—£15 if you’re a diehard and want it delivered. 
Who are your readers?
Locals, tourists, history buffs, artists
How has the magazine and its role changed over the ten years?
Robert Elms from BBC London radio called The Covent Gardener, ‘a voice for Covent Garden,’ and I believe that has not changed. From day one I wanted it to be the kind of magazine you pick up with a coffee, raise an eyebrow at one story, giggle at another, and take home to share.
What has changed is the quality, when I look back at issue one, I cringe a little at my design choices. Ten years on everything is sharper, tighter and clearer.
Show us one spread that sums up how the magazine works.
I have given you a feature from the new 10th year issue—it shows all of the incredible cover artists I’ve been lucy enough to work with—I think this is a decent shot at summing up 10 years of work. It makes me very happy to see all this art together.
What has publishing the magazine taught you that may be helpful to anyone else planning to launch one?
Every magazine I create has a heartbeat—the hard part is keeping it alive. For me, it comes down to persistence, consistency, and knowing when 90% is enough (because half the world won’t notice the tiny details I obsess over, like the extra hedgehog I sneak onto the map).
Perception and priorities. I call myself founder and editor because only another creative director understands what a CD is, and while I’d happily spend forever on the design and commission an extra illustration, the truth is: the magazine only survives if I bring in money.
Advertisers care about numbers—how many people read it and where it’s distributed. I’ve had to learn to think creatively about business as well as design, whether it’s sending a digital edition to 32,000 Royal Opera House members or combining The Covent Gardener and The City Courant (my third magazine created for the City of London) the intention was practical - to increase distribution and save money—though the story I told readers was that it was that it was a design choice. The results were outstanding, and I doubled my advertising opportunities, but this was about survival.
With the last issue we used newspaper instead of our usual 300gsm paper—again I framed it as a design decision—it was really about budget. NO ONE needs to hear about these challenges only those who truly understand print. What matters is that I keep going and whatever I produce is something I can feel proud of. If I don’t believe no one else will.
What are you most looking forward to this coming week?
Celebrating the 10th year issue with everyone who has believed and supported it and seeing and hearing the reaction to the new issue which is a bumper issue—24 extra pages—with 10 feature stories from the archives.