About us
How a love of making
became Wishly.
Wishly grew out of a wish for gifts that are thoughtfully conceived and feel personal. We are Carmen and Michiel, the creators and makers of Wishly. Below you can read how our wish became Wishly.
The beginning
Two enterprising minds, one mission.
We found each other at Frisse Blikken, a project management agency for young professionals starting out in business. A breeding ground for headstrong, hands-on types, so exactly our thing.
What connects us, besides liking each other a lot, is the drive to make things. Carmen is always bubbling with ideas, and Michiel turns them into something tangible. That is how we work as a team, and ultimately how Wishly came about.
We live in Utrecht, where the idea for Wishly was born at the desk in our attic. What began as a small gift for a friend soon grew into something bigger: that same attic was transformed into a proper mini Wishly factory, and prototype after prototype rolled off the line, in between cups of coffee and leftover lunches and dinners.
By now Wishly has grown from an attic project into a real company, with each of us having our own role.
Our wish
It's the small gestures that feel big
At Wishly we believe that small moments of attention can have a big impact. Not that one big, expensive gift, but a daily message that lets someone know they are being thought of. In a world that is getting faster and more digital, where a heart or a thumbs-up has become the answer to almost everything, we want to make people stop for a moment. A moment, a glance, a smile; when waking up, before going to bed, or simply at a time that feels right to you.
Because attention does not have to be big to have an impact. That is exactly what Wishly stands for: tangible, daily attention for the people who are dear to you, even when you are not nearby.
Our own wish is simple: that nobody feels overlooked. That a small message in the right place, at the right moment, gives someone just that little bit extra they need!
Carmen
The design skills behind Wishly are Carmen's. She decides how a product looks, feels and comes across. From the shape of the WishTree to the colour of the WishBear. The ideas form by themselves in her head, after which she starts sketching at the table or on the sofa. That way a new product comes to life in no time. She pushes the sketches under Michiel's nose, and he then gets to work on them.
Michiel
The fact that Wishlys actually work is entirely thanks to Michiel. He has pored over books, read thousands of documents and dived deep into circuit boards, electronics and firmware. His programming knowledge is hidden in every product, invisible but essential. Without Michiel, Wishly would never have got further than a sketch on paper.
The idea
If it doesn't exist, make it yourself.
Our ideas usually start when we want something we can't find. A while ago we were looking for a gift for a friend who had been through a rough time. We had a thousand and one things we wanted to wish her, but cramming them onto a single postcard just didn't do it for us.
Surely there had to be something on the market that would let us make her feel, every single day, that we were thinking of her? And no, we don't mean just a quick text message, but something physical, something that can have a place at home and that she could walk past every day for a new wish from us. Brilliant idea, we thought, at least. And.. it didn't exist yet..
“Why don't we just fix it ourselves?”, Michiel blurted out. “Great plan, love, but how?”, Carmen wondered. “Give me a moment,” said Michiel.
A few days later, a first prototype was on the table..
To be honest
“Sunday a day of rest? No way in the Van Beers house.”
Michiel has spent countless Sundays at his desk in the attic. Carmen found that so lonely that she bought a chair so she could come and sit with him up there.
“Just quit, love.”
Carmen has told Michiel several times to let the idea go. Too much time, too much energy. But this man doesn't give up easily, and thank goodness for that ;-)
“Out of bed in the middle of the night for a bug he finally understood.”
Michiel has jumped out of bed in the middle of the night several times because he thought he'd figured out where the bug came from. Sometimes he was right. Sometimes he wasn't.
This is only the beginning.
We are proud of what we have made and grateful to everyone who has given or received a Wishly. Every product that leaves the door carries a piece of our story with it. And that makes us happy every time.
Curious about our products?
Discover the WishTree, the WishBear and, soon, the WishFlower.