ZenPop Japanese Stationery Pack is a monthly subscription box brought to you by ZenMarket filled with unique Japanese stationery and studying goods handpicked by their staff in Japan.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About ZenPop Stationery Pack
The Subscription Box: ZenPop Stationery Pack
The Cost: $30/one-time purchase (save with longer commitments).
The Products: 10 or more Japanese stationery items such as pens, stickers, notebooks, and more revolving around a monthly theme.
Ships to: Worldwide for free!
Good to know: Starting in January 2019, ZenPop will become a subscription-only service so they will discontinue the inclusion of subscription-only bonus items. Past boxes are sometimes still available via their marketplace.
ZenPop Stationery February 2019 Hedgehog Garden Review
Recently hedgehogs have been all the rage, and I can see why! They’re so adorable, and this month ZenPop has given us a whole series of items featuring them to celebrate their time of coming out of hibernation. In Japanese, hedgehogs are called harinezumi, or needle-rodent, so many companies name their hedgehog characters as Harry!
Every month ZenPop includes a poster that provides information of the products included, such as available colors, tidbits of information of usage, and background information of choosing the product.
The team also includes a nice thank you note that has a coupon for subscribers to use.
Let’s get to our hedgehogs!
Harry Collection Memo Notepad
This little memo booklet has movable glitter pieces in the cover that sparkle in gold, pink, and iridescent colors.
There’s a magnetic clip that holds the notepad in place, and there are two different designs; graph paper and wide ruled paper, of course with a cute hedgehog family.
I’ve decided to replace my mom’s boring notepad with this memo book for her grocery lists, so it’s being sent down soon 😊
Mini Letter Set - Estimated Value $4.29 (similar item linked here, a yellow version)
This letter set is cute. Down to the little hedgehogs with the lovely coloring of pinks and vanilla colors, and the adorable squeak sticker, these letters are the perfect cute gift to drop in a small gift bag.
I used one of them already to write a happy birthday letter to a student I tutor, and it had quite the positive welcome! Subscribers could have received two letter designs, the sloth or hedgehog design.
Harry’s Garden Hedgehog Stickers – Retail Value $3.99
Oh my gosh, these are so cute. This sticker sheet features a metallic finish of gold, silver, and bronze and show hedgehogs with flowers, sleeping, rolling, and just looking plain adorable. The material is of acrylic resin, which is soft enough to put on curved surfaces and lasts a long time.
Hedgehog To-Do List – Retail Value $4.99 (currently out of stock)
This to-do list is so cute and is quite useful-- there is a title and lovely alternating bullet points of blue and pink flowers to fit the garden theme. 😊 Don't you love the flower wreath on the hedgehog?! And what's even better is, these lists are sticky notes (with the nice, sticky back).
Midnight Sticky Memo – Retail Value $4.49
A lot of the metallic brush pens I have and glitter gel pens have a really different look when I write on black paper. I loved this inclusion because it also allows subscribers to test out the milky color pens. The hedgehog is in silver and the sticky note is adorned with metallic stars-- simple and nice accents.
Hedgehog and Apple Paper Clips – Retail Value $4.99
These paper clips are in orange and metallic green in the shapes of apples and hedgehogs. Did you know it’s a famous myth in Japan that hedgehogs like to collect apples?
Sachihata Artline BLOX Drawing Pen in Brown – Retail Value $2.10
Sachihata Artline BLOX Mechanical Pencil in Green/Pink – Retail Value $2.60
These pens and pencils are fun to use-- the interlocking Lego design can be snapped together side by side, which makes them easier to be grouped and found. While I liked having the thicker barrel, I'm afraid users with bigger hands than mine may find the Lego bumps a bit painful, almost.
The mechanical pencil is in 0.5 lead and has an extra color component that helps push the lead out. I do like the cap accessory, it's fun to use and clip together. The pens have 0.4mm point felt tips. But besides the pen shape, the ink is nothing unique, just a nice brown felt tip pen.
Subscribers could receive three different mechanical pencil color versions, the one I received was the green/pink option. Subscribers could receive five different dark pen colors, and I received the brown option.
Rolling Eraser
A lot of Japanese erasers (maybe all of them) are scented in this subtle fruity aroma that's just so pleasant to work with! This eraser, on top of the cute glittery packaging, also has a roller wheel on the other end.
This roller wheel is also made of eraser, a bit harder than the other side, and can be used to roll away the eraser poop into a small container in the middle.
Zebra Sarasa Gel Pen Milky Color in White – Retail Value $1.75
The Zebra Sarasa gel pen is one of the most well-used pens of stationery lovers. The click, the nice firm, but not hard or squishy, grip on the pen, as well as how easily the ink flowers, makes it a top fan favorite. The Milk series uses opaque inks that show well on dark-colored papers and can be used on photo papers as well (best for drawing on Polaroids!)
The ink is water-resistant, dries very fast, and draws crisp lines, and the pen tip is sturdy to endure pressure even for me, a hard writer. A win for me!
Here's a test of the pen on the black sticky notes.
Here’s a test of the two BLOX items, as well as the white pen on top barely visible.
Verdict: This was my first ZenPop stationery box, and I’m surprised and so happy with the products! The hedgehogs were so, so cute—each item brought a smile to my face. While I don’t carry the items around with me daily, I do keep the mechanical pencil, as its vibrant color and thick barrel suits my handwriting and is easy to find. I’ve already updated my phone sticker decoration with a sleeping hedgehog, the sticker I relate most to.
Using retail values and prices for similar items, I estimated a retail value of $34.90, which is over the value of the subscription box price. Though this is just my opinion, I consider a large part of the value as being able to keep the products and using them over time.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Unfortunately, March and April are sold out… but subscribe for the May box here!
APRIL SPOILER:
April’s theme will be all about sakura, or cherry blossoms! Next month’s stationery pack features beautiful washi tape, gel pens, and sticky notes adorned with petals for the Hanami festival.
Value Breakdown: For $30, you receive 10 stationery items, so you’re paying about $3 per item.
Check out all of our ZenPop reviews and the Paper and Stationery Subscription Box Directory!
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What do you think of February’s ZenPop Stationery Pack? Did you enjoy the hedgehog garden?
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