In recent years, social media has exploded with the art of turning the unusable into something tangibly beautiful: junk journaling. Whether it’s collaging with a receipt from the grocery store, a clothing tag, a fruit sticker or any piece of so-called “trash,” there is a certain satisfaction in documenting memories inside a journal until it’s too full to shut.

For Kurstin Mazzoni and Victoria Murillo, the practice has become not only a personal creative outlet, but a shared communal journey that they are at the forefront of. Born from their desire to mingle with other creatives, they took it from an online trend to a full-blown, in-person junk journal club. Like most junk journaling enthusiasts, it started with an appreciation for sentimentality.

“I had always taken a lot of pictures, printed them to put around my house. I’ve been collecting junk without knowing that I was collecting junk, and it was just sitting in a dusty box in my bedroom,” Mazzoni said. “When we saw the idea to actually do something with it, and be able to reflect back on your memories, it just made sense.”

Called Festive Fantasmas and hosted at Milwaukee’s Brew-Jas Coffee House, Mazzoni and Murillo originally intended the events to be held around holidays– “fantasmas” meaning ghost in Spanish to incorporate their affinity for “spooky vibes.” After selling out their first “Craft-oween” event, it quickly grew past holidays into more frequent meetings with various themes. 

While the early events were popular, the club began during the height of the craze on social media. Mazzoni and Murillo expected the fad to wear off. Instead, the opposite happened– the one-off events became a community of journalers committed to sharing a physical creative space. 

They have continued to sell out their venue as the outpour of community support has proved steadfast. Mazzoni explained this as a cultural phenomenon that spans generations. 

“That’s a post-COVID era thing, where people are looking for community again, looking to get out of the house and do things with other people to tap into that creativity,” Mazzoni said. “It is the younger generation, too. We get all different ages.”

At many themed events, they provide pre-made packs with stickers and other supplies. Whether it’s based around a trend, like Sonny Angel packs for their “Sonny & Scrap,” or intro packs for their “Junk Journal 101” workshop, they make sure to supply the tools necessary for a crafting extravaganza. 

Besides providing the means, Mazzoni and Murillo uplift the communal aspect. They stress that making their club feel comfortable is a catalyst for creativity. Most of all, it’s supposed to be fun.

“We’ve had a lot of first-time junk journals come our way. We really take the time to sit down with them and show them examples of our journals. I think it’s important to stress that you can’t mess up junk journaling. It’s your own creativity,” Mazzoni said. 

With people of various backgrounds and crafting abilities, it opens a space to pitch ideas, share recent spreads and wade in the creatively-charged environment. The satisfaction that comes from communal making is what inspires Mazzoni and Murillo to keep up the club. 

“One of the women that was there was letting us know that she had been stuck in a rut and was depressed recently, but that this was the first thing that got her out of the house. It sparked her joy again,” Mazzoni said. “We didn’t know the impact it would have on people– to give them a creative outlet and that sense of community.”

Mazzoni and Murillo do not let the bonds end with the events themselves. Outside of pay-to-play events, they post when they are at Brew-Jas as a free invitation to come hangout and create, and they have a WhatsApp group for former attendees to send weekly journal spreads or inspiration. 

In an age of doom scrolling and false social media identities, an event that combines the analog nature of a junk journal with the value of real human interaction is refreshing. 

“Everything’s so online now that people don’t know how to make friends. If they don’t want to go out in the bar setting, what do you do?” Murillo said. “Seeing people go to these events, and a lot of them leave as friends, it all goes back to community.”

They take pride in uniting Milwaukeeans. Besides the event-goers, they have gained relationships through sponsorship from local shops like Fischberger’s Variety, as well as from Wisconsinite sticker-makers. Milwaukee craft and food vendors often come to support and sell during junk journal events. Being creative doesn’t have to be solitary– clearly, it can benefit a city as much as an individual.

“Our event player on TikTok has 11,000 views. That’s Milwaukee showing up hard for their people, for their city,” Mazzoni said. 

TikTok has done more for them than just exposure to Milwaukee and its greater area. After intercepting the idea while scrolling, Mazzoni and Murillo entered Festive Fantasmas as Milwaukee’s representation in the “World’s Largest Craft Club,” where 33 clubs across 7 countries will host craft-centered events on the same weekend. For Festive Fantasmas, this is June 27 from 5-7:30 P.M.

“We’ve been meeting once a month with craft clubs all over the world,” Mazzoni said. “It’s with the same materials that we’ve curated together, and we’re putting our own spin on it in each city.”

As they expand globally for this event, it has become apparent that the desire for community is universal– it’s a medium of expression that is more necessary than ever. 

Each time Festive Fantasmas comes up with new themed events, community outreach and local business integration, Milwaukeeans gain an opportunity to engage in the joys of real community– and hone a crafty skillset along the way.

For more information on upcoming events, ticket information and the owners, click here.