Looking for a place to buy original trinkets, stationery and jewelry? Megan Fleenor has you covered. Operating in Fullerton, California, she opened her shop Unlucky Wishes shortly after graduating college with the goal of appealing to fans of DIY crafts and scrapbooking. That appeal has resulted in unprecedented success after just a year of business as a result of her booming popularity on TikTok. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Fleenor sat down to discuss her creative process, her business philosophy and where she wants to go from here.
The Michigan Daily: Where did the phrase “Unlucky Wishes” come from?
Megan Fleenor: It was kind of a trend on TikTok. Everyone was talking about “Lucky Girl Syndrome.” “Lucky this, lucky that, I’m so lucky all the time.” I myself am a really big manifester. I bring a lot of things into fruition for myself. But as much as you can sit there and be like, “I’m a lucky girl,” sometimes some of those things just don’t come true, no matter how badly you want them to. So that was kind of where I came up with Unlucky Wishes. I really liked the idea of using a candle as a motif. Like you blow on a birthday candle, but your wish just doesn’t come true.
TMD: That’s a really cool origin!
MF: Yeah, I just was like, “Let’s do a spin on this!” because it was just so big at the time. And even now you see things similar to that, like “clean girl aesthetic.”
TMD: Yeah, like everything has to be perfect.
MF: Exactly. That kind of notion of being perfect. So that was kind of a counterculture to that. We can celebrate being lucky, but sometimes not everything is perfect and it’s cool to embrace that.
TMD: What are your main inspirations for your designs and your themes?
MF: I personally have a very colorful design aesthetic that I like. It’s kind of funny because in real life I feel like I dress not super colorful or eclectic. … But I feel like I can take all of my desires of what I think is cool and what I wish I could look like and put that into what I design and create. I feel like that’s my outlet. I do get a lot of inspiration from Pinterest, and funnily enough, I love stuff that is more of that early 2000s or 2010s kitschy. Because there’s the Pinterest that looks aesthetic, and then there’s the side of Pinterest that’s pom poms and polka dots and paper cutouts.
TMD: Yes, very twee.
MF: Yes, all of that older stuff. I just love how physical all of the media elements are. Going back to making things out of paper and decorating your space that way. I do like a lot of things that are just based off of simple patterns and prints, gingham, polka dots, stripes. I do follow a lot of brands. I’ve always kind of been on the lookout for visual aesthetics and I kind of have that eye for picking out certain design features I really like. It kind of all comes together as Unlucky Wishes. For whatever reason, it’s incredibly colorful — I don’t know why! I think it kind of has a sense of childlike nostalgia to it, which I think people really enjoy.
TMD: In terms of actually making the products, what is the process for physically making the products?
MF: I source from all over. I work with different manufacturers. What’s really awesome is that almost all of our paper products are made here in the U.S. I actually work with a local printer in LA and they print off things for us like our postcards. I have our stickers made in the U.S. as well. I think what a lot of people are unaware of is that when you want to design things that are really detailed and customized, like things that are made from plastic or metal, anything to do with jewelry, that typically actually comes from overseas in China. So I like to work with responsible and ethical manufacturers. … For example, I have a guy who always makes our air fresheners and he just has all of the materials there to make it, and he can make it on a really large scale. I think a lot of people, when they hear “made in another country,” they kind of feel turned off to that idea. But it’s actually such a great process because they have all the materials and the knowledge and the expertise. When I’m able to go in there and talk to their experts and their designers, they know exactly what I’m looking for and they can really take my vision and bring it to life. … Over time, I feel like that’s why our products get better and better. When you start to really develop the relationship with your manufacturers, they can start delivering you the kinds of products you’re really looking to make. I’m also really inspired by brands like Chunks, the hair clips, they’re another brand that looks to break that stigma around what it’s like to make products in other countries. I think a lot of people don’t understand how many products come from other countries, or even made in small businesses in other countries. There are small businesses that are making your stuff! We choose to do that because I think they make really great quality products and that’s always what I want to deliver to our customers.
TMD: Absolutely. I really love how you’re keeping sustainability at the root of what you’re doing, making sure it’s all ethically sourced. That’s a great thing to keep in mind.
MF: Yeah, I try to keep plastic out of our packaging whenever I can. Even if that’s just telling the manufacturer that we want them to reduce plastic in shipping it to us. Sometimes if you order things, everything will come shipped in plastic, so I’ll just tell them, “Please ship it in something else. This is not a product that’s going to go bad, so we don’t need it shipped in plastic.” (We also do) things that kind of stray away from having too much plastic (inherently). We do buttons, sticker sheets, metal safety pins, things like that that I know can be reused for many years to come. Every product that you make, you have to think about how many years it’s probably going to be on the earth after you’ve created it. I want to spend the time to make something good that doesn’t feel like junk.
TMD: I noticed there’s a scrapbooking vibe to your brand. Is that something important to you? Making memories through stationary?
MF: Absolutely. Back when I developed the brand, over a year ago now, I really thought about what kind of brand that I would want to create. Because it’s so accessible to do things like create your own website, start your own fashion brand, create your own products, I was really turned off by the idea of making clothing, because there’s already so much clothing out there. … So I wanted to deviate from that. I took time to think about it and I was like, “Wow, every other industry has merch. There’s things for fashion lovers, there’s things for girls who like makeup, there’s things for sports teams. Why is it that crafty girls don’t have their own merch or brands or things they can wear that they feel can represent them and their hobbies?” Obviously you can go and shop at a Michaels or a Joann or a Hobby Lobby, but it’s not the same as saying, “I really love this brand and they make these items specifically designed in mind for someone like me who loves to scrapbook and craft or sew.” To put a bow on that and deliver it as a micro-brand.
TMD: It also offers a more original take on crafty stuff. Hobby Lobby is such a mass, broad, public thing. I think it’s really neat for a smaller, more independent business to cater to somebody who might want something more original or handmade, so that’s awesome.
MF: I take a lot of influence from real-life things that I would actually use. My favorite product we have right now is this collapsible pair of scissors. It fits on your keychain and I used to carry one of those with me everywhere I went for two years. Every day I would use it to open my boxes or cut up a little craft, so I was like, “Ok, let’s make this for Unlucky Wishes.” It’s been one of our bestsellers, actually! So I think I just try to mimic things that I find really helpful or useful that I haven’t seen on the market already.
TMD: For those curious about joining your mailing list, or your “junk journal” as you put on the website, what is the sign up process and what do they receive?
MF: The Postcard Club is a monthly subscription. We recently just updated to new terms. There’s two colors, silver and gold. So some months you might receive a piece of jewelry — that’s where the distinction comes in, if you like silver or gold jewelry, so that if we send a little accessory in the mail, you can expect the right color! But other than that, you get a postcard, a sticker of some sort, sometimes a sticker sheet. Other examples of what we might send are air fresheners or a magnet. We’ve also done temporary tattoos. All sorts of different goodies that all center around a theme. Once you sign up it’s just like any other subscription. You’ll be auto-charged on that same day every single month. And you can expect the letters at your door.
MD: All that stuff sounds cute!
MF: We try to keep the variety each month and change everything out. It’s definitely never boring, I know that! Every time we do a new theme, everyone’s like, “I didn’t expect that but I love it!” It’s kind of funny how many people tell us, “I thought last month was my favorite, but now this month is my favorite!” I try to put in items they can use in their junk journals or in a scrapbook. A lot of people just like to put them up on their wall and look at them, and I think that’s really cute.
TMD: What’s next for Unlucky Wishes?
MF: I do have a big surprise and I actually haven’t told anyone this yet. But we are getting a new, bigger office!
TMD: Congratulations!
MF: Thank you so much! It might sound boring to everyone else, but to us it’s super cool. The last couple months, we haven’t been able to release any new products because we physically do not have the space in our office. It is filled floor to ceiling with boxes. This kind of upgrade is really going to be able to allow us to take things to the next level. We’ll be able to ship out your order faster, we’ll have a lot more product variety, and hopefully with that, we’ll have a special little office party and put something out on our Instagram (@unluckywishes). … As for long-term goals, I really hope in the next year that there might be some sort of Unlucky Wishes photo booth somewhere. That’s my bigger dream. Right now we have products in one store in the city that we’re located in, so being able to put out more products and more stores across the nation or to have some sort of physical interactive experience like a photo booth would be really awesome. That way, people who love physical media like that can come and take photos and participate. So we’ll see! That’s already been a six-month-long project to figure out how and where to customize your own photo booth. But I can definitely see that being a real possibility for us.
TMD: I feel like that really ties the scrapbook and memory-making driving force behind the brand together. I hope that comes true!
MF: Me too! … That’s definitely my bigger dream for this year. I think we did so much in our first year of business that was beyond anything I could ever predict in terms of growth for the brand. I’m still trying to come up with what’s next because we grew so fast. But I think that would be really awesome and I love doing interactive things with people who are fans of the brand and being able to host things like workshops and events. Hopefully that’ll come!
TMD: That would be incredible!
MF: Yeah, if you’re ever in Orange County, come by and visit our office!
The products made by Fleenor and her team can be purchased on the Unlucky Wishes website. You can also email Unlucky Wishes at contact@unluckywishes.com.
Daily Arts Writer Isabella Casagranda can be reached at ijcasa@umich.edu.
