Party with the Founders!

Who is currently leading the movement to bring the beautiful media of magazines back?

Here is your answer; Mark Bluemle, Editor-in-Chief, Executive Editor, Director of Photography, and Co-Founder of 47Magazine and Media; and Sophia Querrazzi, Editorial Director, Executive Director, and Co-Founder of 47Magazine and Media.

Bluemle and Querrazzi are driven people who not only attend school but also direct a magazine and media company, all while fulfilling art projects for themselves. They currently attend Pace University. Bluemle is a junior majoring in Communications and Media Studies who, on top of that, manages two artists, Wild Blue Yonder and Sam The Woo, and is actively building up his photography portfolio. Querrazzi is a senior studying political science and about to start her law journey as she has just been accepted to law school. She is the driving force behind creatively managing and consistently coming up with new ideas every month for every issue and photoshoot!

I sat with Bluemle and Querrazzi to discuss their journey with 47Magazine and Media, their artistic views, their friendship, and so much more!

What made you start 47 Magazine and Media?

Sophia: Originally, we created a magazine called MBPMAG, as it was more of a portfolio for Mark’s photography. As we started to expand and work with other photographers we realized we needed to rebrand. 

Mark: What she said! I wanted to include other people's work and creativity - so had to rebrand to 47Magazine! It was the best idea of 2023. 

Did you think 47 Magazine and Media would grow as big as it did?

Sophia: I think Mark always saw the full potential of 47, as for me, I have always been more focused on having fun, creating connections, and getting the chance to work creatively with so many different people. That being said- I’m so thrilled people enjoy what we have been making. 

Mark: Honestly, I am pretty shocked with how much we have been able to do in a year. We have worked with so many amazing creatives and writers; it’s always so great to meet new folks who have the same passion for making art. As I always say, never underestimate the power of some bored college students who want to make art!! 

Has working together changed your relationship with one another? Become more professional. Stronger?

Mark: I think 47 brought out other sides of us that we weren’t able to tap into before. We’ve been roommates for two years and friends ever since my first day at Pace, so that said, we’ve been close for a while. It’s been cool being able to share my passion with somebody I trust and love so much. Like any relationship, there have been tense and down moments, but we always end up just sitting down and talking it out and are fine. I don’t think I could do this with anyone else and be as comfortable as I am doing it. 

Sophia: Mark and I started out as friends, then became roommates, then co-owners of a magazine. Through these changes, we have definitely taught each other how to grow and adapt, but overall we are generally really good at separating our different relationships. I honestly would never have done anything like this without Mark, and while we fight like siblings sometimes, we still manage to communicate well and execute our ideas. I think 47 has 100% brought us closer. 

How do you go about choosing the themes or concepts for each month?

Sophia: Well… I always ask our editorial team if there’s an idea they’d like to work on or bring up at meetings. I find it so extremely important to make sure everyone on our staff feels like they can see some of themselves in every issue. Mostly though, I find inspiration in music, dreams, poetry, life events, and random things that I am then able to expand into a full concept. For example, Floral is based on all of the books and years I have put into teaching myself the Victorian Language of Flowers. I attended both a wedding and a funeral in the months leading up to our 6th issue and took note of the fact that flowers are used for so many different moments in life. It's usually easier to create photoshoot plans than an issue theme, but I haven’t run out of ideas yet! 

Mark: Happy wife, happy life. 

What has been your favorite issue? Favorite feature? Favorite photoshoot?

Mark: My favorite issue is this one and my favorite feature was Ked; I loved the campaign and shoot we did with him and I hope we can produce more feature content like that in the future. My favorite photoshoot is the glam shoot - on top of the stunning shots, it felt like the first time I kind of knew what I was doing and wanted to continue doing it. Shoutout Ashley and Sophia!! 

Sophia: Every time we make a new issue it becomes my favorite! Usually, I say floral, as that was the first issue we organized more my style, and when I really got to step into my role as editorial director and start planning shoots and creating themes. Now I definitely have to say issue 12- the photoshoots have been so fun, we have more time to do more with the shoots and it was so nice to look through our past issues in order to reference them in new ways. My favorite feature is between Wilmah, just because they’re really cool and I love their manager (Hi Brooke!), and Reagan because those pictures are so cunty and her outfit kills me. Picking out my favorite photoshoot is so hard because I try not to choose based on how the behind-the-scenes of each shoot went, but by judging the outcome. With that, The Birthday Party shoot was my favorite both in results and vibes. 

What are your favorite things to do during each issue? Whether that is the shoot, concept talk, or artistic direction.

Mark: I like the meetings. It’s fun to see everyone together and get so inspired… I also like public speaking. I love connecting people and seeing the final product from hours of planning and work - always such a great feeling. 

Sophia: My favorite part of all of this is creating all of the ideas, making pinterest boards, and presenting them to the group. I’m always really nervous before meetings but so far none of my ideas have flopped yay! I also love love love working with designers. Playing dress up is so fun! 

What or who inspires you the most artistically?

Mark: Music and my friends. I love seeing my friends who are passionate about what they do, so I always try to get their advice. Music will paint a picture for anything, so it can help me finish ideas and even come up with new ones to do! Recently, Eli from Wild Blue Yonder has been inspiring me a lot and I get inspiration from noted photographers Annie Leibovitz, Sinna Nasseri, Mert Alas, and all my friends who take pictures tbh. Creatives support creatives!!  I’ve also been super inspired by Jungle's new album and music video series; that type of artistry is just so beautiful.

Sophia: Wow this one is hard. I am often inspired by specific lyrics or poetry lines. From a fashion perspective, I’ve always admired Cher’s aesthetic, Stevie Nicks, and the iconic 90’s supermodels. More recently I’ve found a lot of my inspiration coming from drag queens who have mastered the balance between fashion, art, camp, and irony. Specifically Yvie Oddly, Sasha Velour, and Dawn give me so many design ideas. I was also a tumblr teen so some aesthetics are just engraved in my mind. 

Being two individuals who have different artistic visions, how do you manage both of your ideas and combine them?

Mark: That’s why Sophia is our Editorial Director! She will come up with the issue ideas and I will usually manage/shoot the feature. Of course, I sprinkle some of my shoot and article ideas in there, but it’s mainly Sophia's mind creating the worlds we build. Our staff is also amazing and provides and produces some great ideas. 

Being creative beings, how do you bring what you have learned outside of 47Magazine not only into 47Magazine but also into your own projects?

Mark: I’ve been doing management, marketing, and content creation ever since high school, and really got to express and elevate that in theater - I actually applied to Pace as a Marketing major because I loved working as the marketing director! With that said, I've brought a lot of what I've learned from those years into 47, and a lot of my sheets and the way I organize things for the magazine are set up like how I learned in theater; I feel like it applies because we are creating a production, but just in a different format! Many of the departments in theatre apply to photoshoots as well. I'm so excited we are starting in-person events so we can tap into a new side of productions and I’m honored and thrilled to dive into that passion with other creatives and artists.

Sophia: If 47Magazine taught me anything it’s just to go for it. There are so many people in NYC who want to work on creative projects and be involved in art. It’s so much easier than you think to expand your knowledge and understanding of art and postmodernity. 

What are things you’ve learned by leading 47Magazine that you've brought outside of the magazine?

Mark: I would say it’s helped my work as a manager for Wild Blue Yonder and Sam The Woo. Outreach is key and we do a lot of that here - never be afraid to reach out!

Sophia: I learned my public speaking class wasn’t all for nothing. 47 has also taught me how to better manage my time, cause there's always something to do! 

Is it ever hard to manage your own artist projects and 47Magazine?

Mark: For the sake of the brand I want to say no but I’ll be so real - yes 100%. Over the summer I was doing class, working with Sam The Woo and Wild Blue Yonder, but I burned out hardcore right after tour with WBY. I got so sick and couldn’t even look at my phone; I just needed to sleep. Since that, I have found a great balance between school work, band work, and the magazine. The past semester was great with the best grades I've got at Pace so far! 

Sophia: Sometimes it’s just very draining managing everyone, directing, and running around from shoot to shoot (plus everything else we do, plus just being a person). I love doing it so much though it's all worth it. We have an amazing team supporting us, I know we can rely on them to help us and make everything come together. I feel like at this point if Mark and I suddenly disappeared the team could keep everything running as if nothing changed. (shout out Jazzi and Jake ;))

There is so much good that comes out of 47Magazine, but has there ever been a moment where one of you struggled? How did you combat that?

Mark: The end of summer was a little rough for us and I was also trying to find my footing back from burnout. I trust our staff and team and they support us so much, so whenever I have to sit down and step back for a second, I know I can. Forever grateful to them. 

Sophia: I had a really rough summer. Both Mark and I had a lot going on so we really relied on our team to help us execute everything while we were otherwise occupied. We are all just trying our best (and sometimes even our worst makes an amazing issue!) 

What do you have planned for the future of 47? How do you see it expanding?

Mark: More print media and more community!!! We want to do more events and collaborate with brands and artists all over the city. I fantasize about expanding to LA and doing more stuff in the tri-state area, but for now, we are focusing on building our community here in NYC. I hope our content will also reflect that and be a little bit sharper now that we have our grounding. 

Sophia: I hope the future of 47, along with bringing back print media, will be invested in the nyc fashion scene, stepping out of comfort zones and modern trends, and creating original and fulfilling art. I also hope one day we have a platform that is a space for inspiration and activism. 

Are there any projects you are working on outside of 47Magazine for the near future?

Mark: Oh, yeah. Lots of video content and more artist editorial photoshoot content. So much of our staff is so dedicated and it’s crazy that we have grown so much that I've been able to step back and focus more on specific things for the magazine so I can also prioritize other projects as well! I love how everyone has their little jobs and everyone trusts everyone and it just flows so nicely. 

Sophia: Like personally, I’m applying to law school but creatively I’ve been slowly piecing together my poetry into a book and learning how to use a sewing machine to create more photoshoot looks. I’m also writing a dissertation type-thing on how cultural practices can be used in transitional justice methods. 

Lastly, what is a magazine that you grew up with and loved to read?

Mark: Sports Illustrated (the kid's version). I remember getting the little cards and reading the player spotlights in the car on the way to my soccer games. I do not play any sports anymore, but you will always catch me supporting the Eagles. Go birds. 

Sophia: Vogue, duh! My grandma used to have all of the fashion magazines and I would create outfits with her clothes and look through them for hours. I also loved those trashy pop magazines that spilt misinformation about One Direction all the time. 

Despite being young in their fields, they have gained a name for themselves and a name for 47Magazine and Media, where they are known in local communities and beyond. They are creatives who have used their craft to create an outlet for other artists and creatives to work on and work with.

Written and Interviewed by Veronica Anaya

Photography by Abigail Veruca and Thea Wiener