Everybody loves stationery. Or at least I’d like to believe so. I mean, who doesn’t get attracted with colourful pens, perfectly bound notebooks, postcards with quirky art or even plain old post-it notes! (If you’re one who doesn’t, you’re going to stationery hell.)

So I’ve been collecting stationery for as long as I can remember. I say collecting because I very rarely land up using them. They are just too pretty to use! (Also yes, I’m a hoarder.) Off late, I’ve taken that obsession to a new level and started subscribing to stationery boxes. For those who don’t know, subscription boxes are the rage these days and a few stationery companies have started sending out an assortment of beautifully curated stationery centred around a theme that is put into a box and delivered to your doorstep every month for a certain fee. These boxes are usually a mystery, meaning you don’t actually know the contents till you get the box.

In the past few months, I have subscribed to boxes from Spotlight Stationery (UK) and Moustache Stationery (Canada). It’s a pretty new concept in India and I know of only one brand doing subscription stationery boxes – Origin One. I subscribed to one of their boxes too and was pleasantly surprised with the quality and designs.

I just got my Moustache Stationery July box yesterday (International delivery timelines can really suck sometimes) and I thought I’d review the box so you guys have an idea of what to expect if you’re thinking of ordering one.

Each box usually contains 5-6 different items based on a particular theme. The July box was all about food-themed stationery. Drool! A first glimpse inside the box reveals a funky mix of cute little items. This box was particularly colourful compared to the previous boxes and definitely played out to the theme very well.

So what’s inside the box?

1. Limited Edition 3-pack of Sweet Tooth Field Notes

When it comes to pocket notebooks, Field Notes stands above the rest. It’s an incredibly popular brand that creates smartly-designed, vintage-styled pocket notebooks and stationery and is super proud of manufacturing everything from the paper to the ink, all in USA. This box contained a limited edition of candy-coloured notebooks called Sweet Tooth. Each book is an A6-sized solid block of bright colour with 48 pages and rounded corners. As per their website, this edition is also the first in their history to include perforated pages for easy use and tear. The first and last pages inside the book contain some interesting information that you can fill out and about the brand including a handy printed ruler at the back.

Retail price: $ 9.95

2. Exclusive magnetic market list pad designed by Moustache Stationery

This is a cute little list pad to write down your reminders to buy daily essentials or groceries. It includes an attached magnet at the back so you can just stick it on the refrigerator and never miss out on your to-do list when you need it. Super handy! The pad has a colourful floral pattern with a watercolour effect that reminds me of the lovely designs from Rifle Paper Co. (Must see for those who love anything floral.) As useful as the pad seems to be, I do wish it included a pen holder too.

Retail price: $ 9.50

3. Sprout Pencils

This is my favourite item in the box. It claims to be the only pencil in the world, which you can plant after use. It is made out of sustainable wood with a dissolvable end capsule containing seeds. This box contained 3 different herb seeds – Mint, Basil and Cilantro but there are a variety of fruit, vegetable and flower seed pencils available too on their website. I was pleasantly surprised to find these on Amazon India too.

I haven’t tried planting these yet but I do hope they bloom into beautiful plants when I do.

Retail Price for pack of 3: $ 9.50

4. 3 Earthy Greeting Cards designed by Moustache Stationery

Personally, I’ve never been a fan of greeting cards much. These, however, feature cute, whimsical food-themed illustrations and come with matching envelopes. Priced at $ 4.50 each, I find them a bit price-y if I had to buy them individually.

Retail price: $ 4.50

5. Macaron Erasers

A pack of 5 colourful erasers shaped like macarons. What’s not to like! I pulled apart one of the macarons to see what’s inside and it seems to be made of 3 different parts. Cute and erases well too!

Retail price: $ 7.95

6. Pineapple Sticky Notes

This bright pineapple sticky notes is a fun way to brighten up your desk. It contains 75 sheets and is fairly large enough to jot down more than a few pointers. Personally, I found the orientation of the note to be upside down since the sticky part seems to be at the bottom of the pineapple but I think it makes it a tad easier to peel off a sheet.

Retail price: $ 5.99

So that sums up the Moustache Stationery July box. The box is priced at $ 39.95 and has a $10 shipping fee to deliver it to India. For a box that contains products worth about $ 56, it’s not the most cost effective option for me considering I paid $ 50 anyway but I guess there’s no way to bypass the shipping fee to India. Although, I did receive some fantastic, quality products that I would probably never find in India. So win-win.

Have you subscribed to any stationery boxes? Would love to hear all about it!