Heirloom Box by Refined Relics Designs is a completely unique subscription box full of charming vintage, antique or artisan home decor pieces. Choose from a monthly or seasonal box personally curated by Refined Relics designers, each subscriber gets 100% unique box, meaning no two subscribers get the same thing.
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
This is a review of the Full-Size Monthly, $49.95 +shipping, box.
About Heirloom Box
The Subscription Box: Heirloom Box
The Cost: $49.95 + $10 US shipping
ACTIVE DEAL: Save 15% off!
CODE: SUBADDICT15
The Products: Each box contains 5-6 artisan and vintage items that have a total value of $75.00-$100.00
Ships to: US ($10.00) and Canada ($12.00)
Heirloom Box February 2018 Review
When you first open the box, there is a lovely floral pamphlet waiting for you. It goes through the items in your box (the modern ones are detailed, and the vintage pieces are more of a "theme" of an item since every person will get something slightly different).
You'll find a packing list that details exactly what is included in your box this month and their retail values. As you can see, it differs slightly from the pamphlet which mentioned wooden utensils and wooden cheese crates. We reached out to Refined Relics and they let us know they deal with a lot of vintage pieces, sometimes they will need to substitute items at shipping (after printing the pamphlet) so there may be a slight chance of them swapping in different items to make up for it.
Let's start with the "modern" items which are new, rather than vintage:
Potting Shed Creations Garden-in-a-Bag, Basil - Retail Value $10.00
This first item is right up my alley because I adore fresh herbs and basil especially is something I am constantly overpaying for at the grocery store. With this Garden-in-a-bag, I can grow my own basil really easily at home so I can make a Caprese salad on a whim. Inside the brown package, you'll find two more packages. One with potting soil, and one with basil seeds. The brown packet will serve as your growing pot and already has coco chips at the bottom that you simply leave in for drainage. The directions are all listed out on the back of the package so it's easy for me to understand what I am doing. I just have to add water to the black bag of soil, wait for it to moisten all the way through by kneading, then return the loose soil to the brown grow bag. I then cut open the seed packet to deposit and loosely cover with soil. I then cover the top loosely with a baggie until the seeds sprout. Once that happens, the baggie is removed and I'll need to place my basil plants in a sunny spot. In 6 weeks, I should be able to harvest my first basil leaves! How cool!
Twine Country Cottage Ceramic Squirrel Wine Stopper - Retail Value $12.84, Listed Value $13.99
If you've read some of my Winc reviews, you know I tend to have a lot of wine on hand. Strangely enough, I do not own any wine stoppers, so this white ceramic squirrel is a welcome addition to my utensil drawer. My new bushy-tailed friend sits atop a metal and rubber base which easily slides into the opening of a wine (or other such) bottle. I have a feeling seeing this little fella on top of some Merlot in my kitchen will bring a tiny bit of joy to my life.
Now on to the "vintage" portion of the box. Let's see what we got!
Vintage Milk Glass Creamer - Listed Value $12.99
As a friend pointed out, milk glass is something you see in every thrift and antique store. Even though I've always been drawn to it, I've never actually made a purchase of any in my many years of thrifting. Even in their simplistic white hue, the shapes and designs are normally too grandiose for my mid-century interior design tastes. This is listed as a creamer and if that's true I'd say it is a good-size one at that. It's adorned with grapes and leaves to give it a very wine-country vibe.
Vintage Milk Glass Vase - Listed Value $16.99
Now, I rather like this one. It's a bit larger than the creamer and has a square scalloped base that gives way to a cylindrical short yet wide vase. This example of milk glass has more areas that allow light to shine through, as opposed to the creamer that was a very sturdy opaque white. I think I'll be keeping this one around to use as a planter, actually. I'd love to see a succulent emerging from this alabaster-colored vase.
Vintage D. Porthault French Linen Tea Towel - Listed Value $30.00
Whoa, ok. I am not familiar with these, but doing a little interweb search has enlightened me to how collectible these are. I'm sure there are patterns or colors that are more sought after than others (like Pyrex or any vintage items with a huge cult following), but all of the napkin sets and other linens I see online are going for several hundred dollars. I thought $30.00 seemed high for a tea towel, but now I am seeing why it's priced as such. This is a THING. That being said, floral linens aren't really my thing, but this is a lovely little delicate piece of history, made in France of 100% flax (aka linen, just learned that). The pink scalloped trim matches the pink and red floral pattern (as well as the scallops on the milk glass, a-ha!). It's all coming together. Since this doesn't belong to a set, it'd make a great way to spruce up the top of a dresser or even be used as intended, as a tea towel. It does seem a little too special for that though. Since I didn't receive the wooden vintage items, I checked in with Heirloom Box and they confirmed that sometimes they will have to swap out items due to limited inventory.
Verdict: My first Heirloom Box was quite a delight. Even though the items I received didn't suit my impossibly picky vintage tastes (I'm less romantic, more mid-century), they've done a lovely job with the curation. I also love the idea of a subscription box that mixes both new and old and caters to home goods, which I have a real love for. For $59.95 ($49.95 + $10 flat rate shipping), I received three beautiful vintage pieces, and two new modern items for a total of five items with a retail value of over $82.00. This box is full of possibilities if you love the vintage look but not digging through estate sales, flea markets, and antique stores.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, but if you ordered by the 21st, you will receive the March box. Check back here for when March sign-ups become available!
Coupon – Get 15% off with code SUBADDICT15
Value Breakdown: At $59.95 ($49.95 + $10 flat rate shipping), here's what you're paying for each item:
- Basil: $7.24
- Stopper: $9.29
- Creamer: $9.40
- Vase: $12.30
- Towel: $21.72
Check out all of our home decor reviews in the Home Decor Subscription Box Directory!
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