She’s Happy, and Very Lucky Indeed

By Yuan-Kwan Chan

Los Angeles-based Anjali Pathak (un-juh-lee paw-tuck) was a full-time lawyer. Now she’s a full-time designer and the founder of Happy Lucky Me, which sells handbags, camisoles, baby tees and other goodies with cheeky messages such as "I Love Sashimi" and "Sundays Mean Dim Sum." All her wares are completely handmade by the designer herself, whose love of Asian food and culture merge with her love of design, resulting in fashion accessories that double as conversation starters. In this interview with Meniscus, Anjali talks about the pros and cons of running Happy Lucky Me entirely on her own, what inspired her to run it, and her future plans for the business.

Meniscus: Does [your name] have a special meaning, out of curiosity?

Anjali Pathak: Anjali means "offering" in Sanskrit. The Pathaks are the teachers...people who read "path." Path is the holy texts. That's what my dad told me anyway.

About your business...for background info: it started in 2002 and you turned to it full-time in 2003?

It started in October 2002. It became full time almost immediately. December was insane. I had so many orders that I don't think I rested until Christmas Day.

It sounds like the popularity of your products really skyrocketed. How did you get most of the word out...trade shows, adverts, word of mouth?

I had a strategy, really. I had no money to spend on advertising so I consigned at every Web shop that would take me. Then, I linked with others online that I shared an interest with. Lastly, I mailed magazines (like yours) that I thought would be interested in my story. ALL WITH NO MONEY. It worked. I consider it as working so far at least.

Ah, the power of the Internet.

It's Internet guerilla marketing.

And now, ELLE Girl and YM.

Yeah. I never contacted them. They come to me now. I think they must have people searching for new stuff online all the time.

So everything is handmade…in your kitchen?

All handmade. Kitchen and dining room too. My husband jokes that at least those rooms get used now. New meaning to "working at home." I love it. I really love it.

Do you want to eventually open a boutique, or continue working out of your house?

Good question. I've thought about the long-term plan a lot. I don't want to go the boutique route; at least I don't see that in my future anytime soon. I enjoy selling to small independent boutiques and also making relationships with each customer I have online.

Your husband, Young, is Korean, right? It must be fun swapping cultural experiences. I think I read in one of the articles on your site that he gives input into your products.

Yeah, he does. He is really a great person. We are meant to be together. Although we may look mismatched from the outside, we both grew up Asian American. [We were] both born here and experienced a true bicultural experience. That makes us very similar. He gets what I am trying to do, so he gives me a lot of valuable input. Yes, he's Korean.

From Los Angeles as well?

No, he was born and raised in San Francisco. We met at [the University of California at] Berkeley when we were undergrads there. He never thought he'd live in LA.

About the products on your site: You started out with totebags, correct? I've visited the site several times and noticed that there are now tanks, etc. Why did you decide to expand your merchandise?

The Desi stuff came about when I decided to have a booth at the India Day festival in 2001. I wanted to create a fusion item for the Indian kids who came out. The totes were my first Happy Lucky Me products. From there, people asked for shirts, so I went with it. The summer line will be the first real collection I am putting together without customer input. It's stressful and thrilling too.

Is it still essentially a one-woman operation now? Also, why the emphasis on food?

Yes, I don't know how much longer I can stay "one-woman" though. I spent a lot of time doing chores I can parcel out, so I may get an intern this summer. FOOD is meaningful to me on many, many levels. Most importantly, it's the way we all cross cultural boundaries in our everyday lives without much notice. Food is something that is such an intimate part of a culture. It speaks about how the [people] lived and what was around them and what they respected. Each dish is meaningful and personal. I wanted people to take notice of that. Also, it's a way for people to connect to each other.

I noticed all the references to food in your journal and thought, "Yes, it's so true about the correlation to culture!"

If I walked into a party and saw someone carrying an "I LUV Mochi Ice Cream" tote, I'd be compelled to run over and talk to them. It's an instant connection. And what better than to have people connecting over Asian culture? It makes me happy.

It must be difficult handling every aspect of the business on your own. About how many clients do you have, or how many orders do you handle on, say, a monthly basis?

GOSH. A lot. I get at least 10-15 orders a week, not including boutiques. I now have five boutiques reselling my items and they all re-order on a regular basis. So just Internet orders are 40-60 a month...and growing like crazy…YOU READ MY JOURNAL???? Whoa. I really didn't think anyone did. Ha ha.

I clicked on it out of curiosity! All those boutiques are online, I take it?

No. Online and brick-n-mortar too.

Cool about the brick and mortar. Where? (So our dear readers can see the products in person!)

Rouge Beauty in New Orleans; Moshi Moshi in Chapel Hill, N.C.; Heavenly in Atlanta; and Henrietta Fahrenheit in Ypsilanti, Mich.

That is quite an assortment of stores, in terms of location.

I'm adding Seattle and San Francisco soon, but I don't want to jump the gun and name them yet.

Was it difficult to make the switch from practicing law to doing this business full time? What did your parents think?

My parents have an interesting perspective. They come from a culture where the craftspeople are the uneducated people. So, at first it was pretty difficult for them to understand.

You did take a number of arts classes when you were young, right? And also in college?

I took three years of art in high school. I took language during summer school just so I could have art all year long. In college, I was a permanent fixture in the art studio. I took all the classes that were open to the public. Printmaking was my favorite.

What was your undergrad major?

I double majored. History and Political Science. I started as Political Science and then took some classes on the Middle Ages just for fun and got hooked. So I took more and more and before I knew it, I was like three classes away from another major.

And then, the decision to go to law school at the time?

I never said NO to being a lawyer. I went with it until last October. My parents wanted me to be a lawyer since I was 12 years old. I never said, "No," I just said, "Okay." When I was old enough to realize I didn't want it, it was almost too late. I had been moving in a certain direction my entire life. I didn't even know what I would do if I wasn't going to be a lawyer (that's what I thought then). Now I know: Happy Lucky Me.

But it's good that you did find out that passion for what you really wanted to do...as the saying goes, "Better late than never." Because some people get stuck in a job or profession that doesn't suit them and never break out of it.

I don't think I’m late. I feel good about doing it now. I am confident. I am 29, not a kid. I have the resources to do it right.

Whoops, it looked like I implied that the realization was "late" for you...I really meant in general, whether it be 10 or 60 or whenever, that you discover what it is that you want as opposed to never doing so.

No worries. I didn't think anything of it.

Phew.

And I think I am supposed to be doing this NOW. I don't know about forever...I don't want to know about forever. I like the idea of doing your best when you can.

What was the inspiration for the name of your business?

Where did the name come from? I thought about it for a few days. I just wrote all types of names on a big stack on note cards. When I wrote "Happy Lucky Me," I just had to stop and smile. That was it.

How much of an influence did culture, growing up in Cali, but visiting India often, have on your life, and in your products?

I don't even know how to answer that. It's like asking how much of an effect America has had on me. My culture is a true mix of everything I have experienced. Growing up in LA and visiting villages in India when I can speak the language and talk to the people who bake cow patties on the street.

A trip to London inspired your business?

YES. That trip was the final push I needed to go for it. I can really remember the moment exactly. Young and I were sitting at a sidewalk cafe in SoHo and I told him I wanted to create a line based on "Cowboys and Indians," but with Asian Indians. We laughed and then I realized that it really struck a chord with me. I wanted this.

Asian Indians? I’m trying to picture that!

It's like a lady wearing a Sari and a 10-gallon hat. Or cowboys with henna on their hands. It inspired the Asian Fusion idea. I want American kitsch and Asian culture. It's me. It's Happy Lucky Me.

That's really cool.

Aw, thanks. Wanna know more?

Sure -- spill!

He he. I kinda have a subversive plan too. It's to incorporate Asian culture into the historical creations. Like the tote: the tote is a total ‘60s and ‘70s retro item but now it has Asian foods on it. Rewriting history. Kinda like we were there. And WE WERE THERE. They just didn't notice us.

One of the articles on your site did touch upon that a little bit, how your products seem to be modernized totes (can't remember the exact wording, but I looked at them and thought, these are not your typical totebags).

I had no idea that totes were going to make a comeback and now Marc Jacobs has one for sale at Neiman Marcus that sells for 90 bucks. Who knew? And his are not handpainted, just machine screened.

What are your plans for future products? Non-food items, perhaps? And what are your future plans for the business?

Yes, I have non-food plans for the future. That sounds funny. It is always going to be Asian fusion though. It's what I believe in.

We see fusion in cuisine -- why not in totebags? Are the bulk of your clients American?

I have yet to see anyone I don't know carrying one of my totes. I cannot want to see that day. Clients? Female. American. I do get a lot of orders from Canadians though and a few Europeans here and there.

What is your most popular product?

The All Natural Tote is the most popular item. It's the one that is in all the magazines too.

Can you guide me through the process of making one of your bags...the amount of time involved, labor, cost of materials, etc.?

Each bag is handmade, handpainted and then hand lettered. I also make all the tags by hand. It takes at least an hour or two from start to finish. It's not cost effective if I think about it that way because I could be making $150 an hour practicing law...so I think of my labor as free (for now, at least). I did purchase my first advert in April. It was for Bust Magazine. They featured me in their last issue and stocked my tote in their online boutique. Bust readers seem to get and appreciate what I am doing. They are also chicks who enjoy wearing handmade goods. Not everyone does...all my friends are the name brand, big-label types. To them, handmade means something you throw on when your granny comes over because she knitted it for you and you don't want to hurt her feelings on Christmas.

I was at the Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival in NYC...met a girl who does all her own handmade jewelry. I think it totally rocks. It just makes the customer service and all the products more personal, in a way.

I think you are right. I think folks should think about who actually profits when they are buying goods from large department stores.

A LONG list.

When you buy from a craftsperson, you know you are paying for someone to keep alive his or her passion. And they put their heart into something that you can now wear on your body. It's a special feeling. Since I started my business, I buy handmade almost exclusively. It just feels better and I want to support my contemporaries. I also buy handmade as gifts. People really love it.

What is your big dream for Happy Lucky Me? Short term, long term, etc.?

Short term: to be able to afford to grow the line without thinking about the up front costs, so to be able to afford to grow it the way I want. That includes buying ads, marketing, etc. Long term: to have a cultural impact. To be part of the popular landscape of America. Is that too grand?

Nothing is too grand!!

Get some great gifts for you and yours at www.happyluckyme.com.

 

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