The Stationery Selection is a stationery subscription that carefully curates with famous stationery brands and zakka (misc. goods) shipped directly from Japan.
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out our review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About The Stationery Selection
The Subscription Box: The Stationery Selection
The Cost: $34.95/mo + shipping
The Products: Stationery and miscellaneous office/study items like pens, washi tape, and stickers.
Ships to: Worldwide ($10-$13 to the U.S., depending on where you live)
Good to know: One-time boxes are also usually available for $36.95 + shipping.
The Stationery Selection December 2017 Review
There is a small business card for The Stationery Selection with all of their info on it.
You'll also find an info sheet (on beautiful handmade looking paper) listing out everything in this month's box.
Marvy Uchida Pen, 0.1 - Buy a set of 8 for $18.00 here
Here we have a pen made by Marvy Uchida which is the maker of the super popular Le Pen! This particular one is much more elusive online, as I could only find it as a set of 8 with varying tips. The point size is 0.1mm which is truly itsy bitsy and great for really detailed drawing. I love ultra-fine drawing pens like this and it also happens to be acid-free, non-toxic, waterproof, photo safe, and archival quality. That means it won't fade and has a great black pigment.
Midori Pocket Paper Bag Pad in Rivet, 20 pockets - Retail Value $?
It took me a minute to figure out what these were when I first took these out of the box. It's a pad of 20 paper pouches (10 with light blue stripes and 10 with pink stripes) that are meant to look like envelopes with a string closure. They are made of an extremely smooth semi-glossy paper stock with a slit at the top to slide in a letter, or any other items you wish to store (such as stickers, receipts, etc). I couldn't find these anywhere to purchase online but the Midori site says they are super new and has some ideas on how to use them here.
mt Washi Tape in Wicker Ajiro-Bengala (Rust) - Retail Value $3.50
Mt is probably the most popular and prolific washi tape brand. The Stationery Selection has sent us a maroon colored pattern that reminds me of a fancy fence or chicken wire, although this is certainly classier looking than either of those. Once again, as much washi tape as I already have, this is a new one to me so I'm sure it will come in handy.
Nishi Shuku Postcard Set in Star - Retail Value $3.90
I've become very familiar with Nishi Shuku's unique and beautiful illustrations through various stationery subscription boxes (including this one). This postcard set features five different designs that each have a space for a note and address on the reverse side. Unfortunately, since these are Japanese, they are oriented vertically to suit the top-to-bottom way of writing over there, but you can just as easily send these through the U.S. mail by writing on them horizontally (the images on the back will just not follow suit). You get two of each of the five designs including a woman holding a star wand near some barren trees, a shooting star over some snow-capped mountains, two birds in flight with stars, a horse with a shooting star, and a rabbit nestled between two trees. Can't wait to get these written and out to some friends around the country!
Platinum Preppy Fountain Pen, 02 Extra Fine Nib - Retail Value $4.45
I received this same pen in another Japanese stationery box back in October, but this one has a finer nib, so I can practice with more detailed writing this time around. It's a really high-quality fountain pen, so I'm happy to have a second to grow my burgeoning collection. I was having a little problem with ink flow at first, but I think I just have to give it a few good shakes to get it flowing smoothly on the paper.
Shachihata Number Stamps Set - Retail Value $19.00
Daaaaaang, this stamp set is $19.00? Wow, the value of this box keeps going up and up. The info sheet says that this set is great for journaling, letter writing, or planning, and I'd have to agree. You receive the numbers 0-9, plus a decimal point, 1/2 symbol, No abbreviation, and Japanese Yen symbol ¥ (which sadly won't have a lot of use for me). Each stamp is attached to the end of a plastic handle that is about 2.5 inches tall and fits into the plastic case for storage. I like to imagine this being used many years ago in a little shop for bookkeeping. I love the packaging and presentation of this little set so much!
Versafine Ink Pad in Majestic Blue - Retail Value $2.79 (found here for $2.37)
They, of course, had to also include an ink pad to use your new number stamp set! I'm glad they chose "majestic blue" since blue is one of my favorite colors. The ink pad itself is one inch squared, so it's perfect for the teeny stamps!
Here they are in action.
Yamamoto Paper Tasting Set, Silky Vol. 1 - Retail Value $10.99
The last item is probably the most intriguing to me. It's a "paper tasting" set of three different types of high qaulity paper from Yamamoto Paper. The info sheet said that the included "Tomoe River" paper was highly requested, which is why they chose to send it out. As you'll see on the kraft paper band in the packaging, each of the three papers has the size, a short description, and a key of which kind of writing utensils it is suitable for. How completely awesome! I always knew my handwriting (and level of success, personally) could change based on the utensil or paper I'm writing with (or combination of) and here I have suggestions on the best combinations to use! This level of nerdiness is very exciting to me.
I went ahead and tested four of the five they list out, plus I added a felt tip and a brush pen for funsies. I, unfortunately, don't have a "dip pen" so I couldn't test one.
B7 Captial Wrap Paper
This one was very glossy on the front side, and more matte and fibrous on the back. I was really impressed how most of these pens didn't smear at all.
A6 Marshmallow COC Paper
This one was smooth and soft on both sides and felt the sturdiest.
B6 Tomoe River Paper
This was the thinnest of the three papers and felt really delicate.
Included with the paper tasting pack is "The Classification to Japanese Paper" which I find really cool.
Verdict: The Stationery Selection box costs between $44.95 and $47.95, depending on how much shipping is to your neck of the US. I received eight items in which the six I could find online totaled $44.61, which means the other two would have to average $1.67 each to break even on this (if your shipping was the highest at $13.00). I think this is a wonderful assortment of various stationery goods that I just am tickled by. If I were to order all of these, I'd certainly have to pay shipping for each which would drive their price up, so I am happy with the value here. The paper tasting was probably the most unique to me since it taught me various differences in Japanese paper, but I also really loved the stamp set too. Gosh, I really like it all, to be honest. Again, I think The Stationery Selection delivers wonderful goods to the stationery addict in your life.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Sadly no. It looks like the 20th is the cutoff date to receive the following month. So, sign up before the 20th to receive February.
Value Breakdown: At $47.95 for this box, you're paying approximately $5.99 per item.
Check out all of our The Stationery Selection reviews and more stationery reviews in the Paper and Stationery Subscription Box Directory!
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What do you think of The Stationery Selection this month?
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