When Gloria Hildebrandt looked around her hometown, she saw no regional magazine for people living along the Niagara escarpment in Southern Ontario. Taking advantage of the open market, Hildebrandt, along with co-publisher Mike Davis and art director Branimir Zlamalik, launched Escarpment Views, a 28-page magazine designed to serve everyone in the Niagara Falls area up to the Bruce Peninsula. “We are looking at this area in a new way,” says Hildebrandt, a freelance writer with 25 years experience who has contributed to Canadian Living, Flare, Maclean’s, Financial Post, Homes and Cottages and various American publications.

Escarpment Views is “about the lifestyles and values of people living along the Niagara escarpment,” says Hildebrandt. “We feature nature, outdoor recreational activities, gardening, interesting house profiles, artists, local history, hidden treasures which might be public spaces that are not well known, inspiring community efforts by groups, and features on unique independent shops and retail areas. And a big element that we’re getting known for is really impressive photography. There is a lot of talk about our quality of photography and subject matter.”

The standard-sized quarterly has a circulation of 30,000 and is printed in Brampton, Ont. About 25,000 copies are delivered by controlled circulation through Canada Post to selected postal walks while the remaining 5,000 are distributed through advertisers. Subscriptions are $21.

With a shoestring budget, minimal staff and few overhead costs, revenue from advertising and subscriptions is expected to sustain the publication. “We are funding as we are going,” says Hildebrandt.

Hildebrandt points out that “because our readers have wide interests, we’ve got individual retailers, restaurants, car companies, cultural groups like theatres and music societies, conservation authorities, and tourism boards” advertising with us. A one-time, full page, color ad is $2,400.