Papergang is a monthly stationery subscription box from quirky UK design team, Ohh Deer. Each month they partner with a different artist and have a theme to bring you paper goods and desk accessories. Every month's packaging is uhhh-mazing and acts as the perfect preview to the theme of the box. This month's artist is Alycia Rainaud, whose Malavida works (what's featured in this box) can be found at @maalavidaa or maalavidaa.com. Her art is bold and contrasty and I found myself feeling very artfully moody as I worked my way through my box. It's crazy—seeing images of her work online, I was like, "Woahhhh coooooool," but in person I feel so many more emotions!
The flip side of the box always features a cut-out craft. I'm always pleased when it's something simple like these book markers because I have a way of botching the folded crafts that Daniel Randle designs.
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
About Papergang
The Subscription Box: Papergang
The Cost: About $14.40 USD (10.95 GBP) + shipping
Coupons: Buy a 3-month subscription and save 50% off your first box, no code required, just link here! You can also get a free box with a 6-month subscription or 2 free boxes with a 12-month subscription!
The Products: Each month you'll receive a box full of papery goodness. The product selection will vary, however, it will include the likes of greeting cards, notebooks, desk accessories, and art prints.
Ships to: the US and Canada for approx. $6.51 USD (£4.95), UK for $3.93 USD, Australia for $7.92 USD, and Worldwide (shipping costs vary).
Good to know: In addition to donating £1 per box to Butterfly Conservation this month, Papergang has an ongoing partnership with Tree Aid to make sure that for every four boxes they sell, one tree gets planted in the African Drylands, which helps with vital food and income.
Papergang April 2019 Review
Papergang includes a little info booklet each month that matches the box and theme of the contents! Want to take a peek inside with me?
Under the front cover is a list with the contents of this month's box (Box #38). On the opposite page is an intro blurb to get you all pumped up for the interview with artist Alycia Rainaud that's printed on the following pages.
On these two spreads, Reinaud tells about all sorts of things from her history as an artist to her process to her habits and tendencies as a designer. These peeks into the featured artists' lives are always such a treasured treat. They make the box feel very whole and complete to me, honoring the artist whose prints you get to enjoy in your day to day life!
These pages offer a peek at some other cards Reinaud sells in the Ohh Deer shop.
Here's the usual head's up about their awesome referral program. Find out more info about their referral program at papergang.ohhdeer.com/faq.
More of this epic design on the back. Papergang doesn't ever skimp on printing on the backs of things! Quality is never an issue with this subscription!
2 x A4ish Notebooks - Listed Value About $7.85 USD (£11)
As many of you already know, notebooks are a regular item to arrive in the monthly Papergang subscription. I've addressed how controversial this is before, as some of you have commented on my reviews saying that a new notebook almost monthly is more than you can possibly write in. I can see both sides—I do indeed have quite the collection of unused notebooks that have piled up from my Papergang boxes, but because I'm such a stationery junkie, I don't see any problem with that. It means I can freely choose a notebook to use for whatever I wish, whenever I wish, and since the notebooks Papergang sends aren't usually too thick, I have some chance of filling it. I love that this month's notebook situation is a duo!
The lined notebook has such a galactic vibe to its design, like the videos out there showing the aurora borealis from space. Magical!
The coordinating sketchbook has blank pages—a rare treat!—and a fiery color scheme that sort of looks like an oil slick through rose-colored glasses. Haha! It could be used for sketching, like the cover suggests, or you could make a bullet journal out of it.
This pair of notebooks would make a great gift, or a good combo to keep in your bag (if you carry a big one like I sometimes do) for spontaneous thoughts-jotting and/or diagram-drawing—you know, like Venn diagrams that show where cat-lovers and dog-lovers can find common ground, etc. Lighthearted stuff. 🙂
Pencil Case - Listed Value $7.83 USD (£5.95)
I'm digging this pencil case partially because I. Can't. Get. Enough. Of. This. Months. Design. And partially because I love that it's large enough to be used for things other than just pencils. I'm not much of a makeup-wearer, so when I travel, I just bring, like, a concealer stick, one eyeshadow + a brush, some liquid liner, and mascara. Maybe a brow brush if I'm feeling crazy. That would all fit comfortably with room to spare in this pouch. Come to think of it, all those beauty products are basically pencil-shaped so I'm not suggesting anything groundbreaking. But you know what I mean! It's a nice use-for-whatever pouch!
Washi Tape - Retail Value About $3.88 USD (£2.95)
Part of what has me so gaga over April's Papergang box is that Reinaud's colors and patterns manifest themselves slightly differently on each product. The theme is strongly represented, but no two items have exactly the same print. This paper tape has a Rorschach-y version of it goin' on and I'm 1,000% here for it. Really cool way to represent the design theme on a long-and-skinny product.
3 x Greeting Cards - Estimated Value $10.85 (£8.25)
The best part of the box, right here! When I'm writing a card, I really write it, like, from my heart. It seems like a waste of paper to take a card that says "Happy Birthday" on the front and write "Happy Birthday! Love, Christen" on the inside. So, because I take the time to jot down a real message to my people, I also like to have a high-quality card to host my message. That's not to presume my friends and family keep my cards—that's up to them and it's totally fine with me if they don't—but at the very least it's a good excuse to invest in artful cards. So, imagine my delight when I found THREE cards in this month's box!
Each has silver foiling as its lettering and its own, unique Malavia design on it. They also each come with a brown paper envelope, which I think contrasts the artwork so nicely. Absolutely brilliant, and I can't wait to use these.
Bonus: Riso Calendar - Estimated Value $3.62 (£2.75)
And, here's a classic Papergang offering: a riso calendar. They've recently started removing the specific month indication, so you can fill it in with whatever month is useful to you. I love this new direction—it's more eco-friendly, really, since the calendar doesn't become obsolete if you for some reason can't or don't want to use it right away.
Verdict: I was really taken by surprise by how much I loved this month's Papergang box. Like I said above, I knew it would be cool, but it took going through each of the items to realize how well-though-out each one is. I AM SO EMOTIONAL. In a way that only art can make one! I received 2 notebooks, a pencil case, a roll of washi tape, 3 cards, and a bonus riso calendar, which added up to about $26.18 USD. The box is approximately $20.91 (box + shipping to the USA), so this month might not seem like as good of a value as it has been in the past few months, but I would argue that approximately $5.88 for three greeting cards is a total steal, and considering most boutiques would sell cards of this quality for $5.88 each, you could almost imagine this box's value being closer to $35. I also believe they listed both notebooks as being priced similarly to the cost of one, so that boosts the value, as well.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, you'll receive the May box! Check this helpful ship date guide to see the order-by date to receive the next few months' boxes.
Coupon - Buy a 3-month subscription and save 50% off your first box, no code required, just link here! You can also get a free box with a 6-month subscription or 2 free boxes with a 12-month subscription!
Value Breakdown: This box costs $14.40 + $6.51 shipping, which means that each of the 8 items in the box (counting the bonus card) has an average cost of $2.61. Amazing deal!
Check out all of our Papergang reviews and the paper & stationery subscription boxes!
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Did you like this month's Papergang box much as I did?
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