Creative
Blunt.
Mean Mail
Vicky Simmons ditches the cheesy and sentimental messages usually found on greeting cards and instead tells it like it really is through her card company Mean Mail. Their success, from being sold in Liberty London and a recent launch in Australia, prove that people want to tell and want to be told the brutally honest truth.
How did you come up with the idea for Mean Mail?
I couldn’t find a card that was suitable enough for my relationship with my boyfriend. We don’t celebrate Valentines, but I wanted to find something on the market that if we did, it would express how I felt about it. One of the first cards I designed said ‘I’d like to keep this when we split up’. We’re still together.
What is Mean Mail’s mission?
It’s to make people smile. Ultimately I’d also like it to enable people to have better relationships but that’s quite a lofty ambition. I think if you can make people smile and connect people in that way, the job’s done.
How long did it take from the idea to launching the business?
It actually took ages. I was waiting for that tipping point where I knew I just had to do it and had to go for it. I’ve been sat on variations of a card company probably for about 3 / 4 years. It was the side project that wouldn’t go away. Originally it was called something else and I was working on a design that I just kept stumbling on. I just felt the name was too long and too confusing, so I read a great naming book called 'Don’t Call It That’ by Eli Altman. It helped me come up with the name Mean Mail.
How did you develop the Mean Mail brand?
Because my background is in branding and art direction, it took a long time. I was my toughest critic so it was never good enough. I explored different printing techniques and that’s why I chose hot foil because I like the specialness that it provides. I explored lots of versions of what the cards would look like, but ultimately it came down to the importance of the message. I went for the pastel colour palette because I love the contrast with the words – I enjoy the relationship dynamic between the saccharine colours and sarcastic words. Every card has a different colour combination.
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What’s the whole creative process behind producing the cards?
Listening in to what’s going on in the world informs my work. I read a lot; books, newspapers, magazines, blogs … whatever I can get my hands on. I listen to a lot of podcasts too. And I love Radio 4 in the morning. I’ll write loads of notes down in my phone for card ideas, from something I’ve been talking about with someone, overheard or read.
For example the ‘Fantastic. Great. Congratulations. Whatever.’ card was inspired by a lacklustre chat with a kitchen cabinet sales guy who kept saying fantastic or great in response to everything I said, even when it didn’t feel appropriate. I have him to thank for inspiring one of the first cards.
Why do you think the cards appeal to people?
I think they appeal to people because they say something that’s often left unsaid in traditional cards. They’re based on conversations, they’re kind of throwaway comments that you’d say to people but they’ve been committed to print. I think people sometimes love the fact that they can be so outrageous, like “Are you sure we’re related?”. Some people have said they’re passive aggressive and that they’re too rude, which is totally fine, because they’re not the cards for everyone. I think people appreciate their truthfulness.
Do you think people are becoming more straight talking and honest like your cards are?
I like to hope so. People’s power to speak up and use their own voice about what they believe in has never been stronger than now.
Mean Mail are inspired by Oscar Wilde’s words “True friends stab you in the front.” I always appreciate honesty. Sometimes it hurts but ultimately it helps.
Mean Mail tries to be environmentally friendly where possible, how do you implement this?
If you’re going to bring more stuff into the world I think you need to be really mindful of how you create it. You need to ensure whatever you produce is sustainable and justify its existence. When I create a new card I’ll test it in a small batch first and if it’s successful, I’ll keep producing it.
The majority of the greeting card industry use plastic cellos (the wrapping around the cards), which I used at the beginning, but I couldn’t really trace the reliability of how you can recycle them. So I moved over to biodegradable cellos, which means if you put them in the earth, 6 months later, they’ll be gone. Yes it is triple cost over the regular cellos, but it’s completely worth it.
As well as this, every single wholesale order we’ve packed so far has gone out in boxes that the stock arrived to us in. I’ve also been known to go to the cardboard recycling container at the end of my road where my local newsagent throws out boxes, obviously checking with them first and then get plain as possible boxes from it. One of my first orders to one of my high profile customers went out in a box of Skips – I did warn them and it made them laugh! I just feel you should re-use what you can from around you.
I also try to make all the cards occasion neutral for two reasons. Firstly, I like the ambiguity of the messages and want it to be up to the customer to decide how brutal they want to be. Secondly, I don’t like the fact that seasonal cards have an expiry date. For example, once Valentines day is over, the Valentines cards need to come off the shelf. They’re either put into storage, which costs money, movement and the resources to do that, or they get pulped. A surprising number of stores still pulp their cards and I think that’s a terrible waste, so I’d rather design cards that can stay on the shelf all year round. In fact, a few of our Christmas cards are still in Liberty London, because they can be used for any occasion.
You say your mum helps you out with Mean Mail, in what capacity is that?
Yes, my mum actually prints all the cards at her place at the moment. My place is Mean Mail HQ 1 and hers is Mean Mail HQ 2 and we work between the two. She’d gone into retirement, but I asked her if she wanted to work with me and she was up for it. She’s brilliant at it and so much better than I ever was on the hot foiling machine. She’s got really good attention to detail. I really love working with her, it’s been fun for our relationship.
Was it daunting to start your own independent company?
Yes it was, because I guess, with everything it’s the unknown; you don’t know what you’re going into. With launching a business you’re terrified of it because you don’t want to fail and you don’t know what you’re doing. Saying that, nobody really knows. It’s only when you’re on your second, third business, when you find out what to do. Theory is great but you can only really learn by experience.
How much time do you focus on Mean Mail?
I think about it all the time however one of the reasons I set up my own business was to have more of a work / life balance. I loved my old job as an art director in advertising (and still do it freelance from time to time) but the full time hours were just not sustainable. I think we should take a lesson from the Danish - their working day is 8am-4pm. If you’re at work past 5:30 it’s considered pulling a late one. Obviously not every day can run that smoothly, especially as a new business, but I’m not hard on myself if I need to finish early or want a day off. I try get out and exercise in the morning if possible, and try to get out once I’ve done my work for the day or see friends. It’s super, super important to build those things in. We’re always complaining, “we don’t have enough time” and “I’m so busy” and I call bullshit on that. I think it’s just we’re all a bit bad with our time.
How do you stay motivated?
On the back of the door in my living room I write down all the good things that happen on post-its, no matter how big or how small. Sometimes it’ll be a new wholesale account or reaching a certain goal with sales. I’ve got the first card I brought from Liberty London when they started stocking them, because that was a really big moment for me, a really proud moment. If I’m having a shit day, I look at that and I go, actually this is going alright.
I also try and get out of jogging bottoms as much as possible when I’m working from home.
I know you sell prints and tote bags too, are you planning on expanding the brand in any other way?
Yeah, I’m in the process of working out some apparel.
What’s the next step for Mean Mail?
We’ve just picked up a distributor for Australia and New Zealand and that’s going really well. Launching in America and Canada would be the dream. At the moment we’ve done commissions for brands, like Nike London, Cosmopolitan and Candy Kittens, but no actual collaborations, so that would be the next step.
Image by Stephanie Ross