Jonathan Brickman, who runs Community Magazines LLC out of his furnished basement is planning to launch "Metrowest Magazine" in March. Brickman, who already publishes glossies in Brookline and Newton, said the magazine would be mailed to upscale homes in suburbs including Needham, Wellesley, Weston and Framingham.

The free monthly will also go after lucrative ads, such as those for fancy cars and designers "stuff you and I drool about," Brickman said. The magazine will start with a controlled circulation of nearly 41,000, focusing on hyper-local profiles of people and businesses.

Brickman said the magazine will resemble the publications he has in Newton and Brookline. He bristles at it being described as a lifestyle magazine.

"I don't like the word 'lifestyle,' thank you," he said. "We have a number of stories that we're working on that I think will give the magazine some balance between some of the lighter stuff and some of the heavier stuff." Metrowest could present another challenge to the monthly Boston magazine, which reaches out into the suburbs. Boston magazine is owned by Philadelphia based Metrocorp.

Niche Media Holdings already publishes Boston Common, which it mails out to affluent households in those communities. And Brickman is looking to grab some of that audience as well.

Daniel Scully Jr, president at Boston magazine, said the magazine spends millions on its editorial product. "So we don't particularly worry about the free magazines very much," he said.

Brickman said all his magazines are produced by editors working out of their homes, and that his son oversees the art direction. The writers are freelance and his sales team works mostly on commission.