Umba Box Review – July 2015

Disclosure: This subscription was bought and paid for by me and here are no referral links in this post. 

Umba Box brings handmade goods to your door each month form artists all over the world. They are dedicated to buying ethically and promoting a fair wage. Maybe they should speak to all of our bosses? I found out about this box from MSA and decided to go for it, then promptly forgot that I had signed up. It was a pretty cool surprise when this arrived on my doorstep!

There are two options you can choose from. Either the Discover or Delight. The Delight is more expensive and has different goods in it (from $56 to $45 a month depending on your subscription length). The Discover is $30 to $23 a month depending on your subscription length. I need to do some more digging because it is tough to say how the two boxes are different but I think Delight has more handmade home and kitchen goods. I could be wrong on that note. They also have a box that caters to babies.

I really am excited about the handmade movement and being more conscious of how my buying power can make real changes in another persons life. I forget that sometimes a few extra dollars for a product can be the difference between someone working for super low wages or getting a fair wage. We can’t all be perfect (I buy junk all the time without even thinking) but little reminders like what this company is striving to do make me want to change more and more!

Plus handmade goods rock am I right???

This is a review of the Discover Box. I really like how they say a lot about each artist. I like to hear the story of each piece because it adds to the “handmade special” quality for me. The good become less this was handmade by so and so, and more this was handmade by so and so who…

Because sometimes me and my cat just run out stuff to talk about!

Minor Thread – Set of Organic Lavender Sachets: I could smell these right when I opened the box! They smell so good. While I know a lot of people are allergic to lavender and would be super sad face to get any product with it, both me and Sub Bella love the scent. Well, I would say she REALLY loves the scent…

I love the print on these sachets! While the company seems to be in LA now, I always like to hear a good Oakland story because it is almost like a little taste of home! The fabrics are vintage and I think the creator has a great eye for what looks bright and fun!

They say you can tuck one of these into your pillow for sweet dreams, it makes me wonder if Sub Bella just sleeps on a mattress stuffed with lavender… if so, do her cats mind? 

AVIOR Pottery – Bud Vase: Don’t you just LOVE this vase?!? It is so pretty in person and the stoneware is heavy and really nice quality. I looked all over it for a mistake or an area that would really show it was made by hand! The color is perfect because it is not too loud but still has an interesting look to it. I think my sister would love this vase. I just hate to give it away! I will made sure to tell her the story behind it, maybe even embellishing it a little for my amusement…

I will tell her that when she is bad the creator of the vase will know due to “science” and email me about it…

Verdict: I love this box! The items are really useful and have a sweet quality to them. I can see that the “value” is less than what I paid ($26 RV vs the $30 I paid) but the items themselves are worth the price to me. I am also happy that I found two new companies that I can hit up for special gifts for myself, and maybe some loved ones if they don’t upset me with their jibber jabber.