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: $29.50/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 February 2019, ZenPop became a subscription-only service so they discontinued the inclusion of subscription-only bonus items. Some past boxes may be available via their marketplace.
ZenPop Stationery April 2019 "Sakura Pack" Review
It’s cherry blossom season! Spring months bring with them a lot of cherry blossom themes in Japanese subscriptions, and I was especially excited for this pack after seeing the beautiful spoilers! This month features “hanami” items or cherry blossom festivals.
Every month ZenPop includes a poster that provides information about 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 dive into the blossoms!
BGM Washi Tape in Golden Sakura – Retail Value $4.50 (currently sold out)
YES! It’s washi tape! Washi tape is a decorative adhesive tape—think beautifully designed, light masking tape. It’s perfect for journaling because its light material makes it easy to replace if there’s a mistake in positioning, and the countless designs of food, simple patterns, flowers, and fashion items have taken up the bujo community by the storm!
I’m familiar with BGM—a lot of washi tape you’ll find on AliExpress (where they’re really cheap and have thousands of varieties) is from this company. This roll of washi features cherry blossoms on a light pink background with slight golden accents. I *love* gold foil accents on washi; they make them so elegant and pretty!
BGM Washi Tape in Night Sakura – Retail Value $5.50 (currently sold out)
This roll of washi is an evening time picture of cherry blossoms in the wind—the navy blue, dark background really gives a nice contrast to the pale pink blossoms pictured. This washi is one of those wide tapes—definitely using it later for a nice background.
Here it is on my bullet journal!
Here’s a test of the tape on dotted grid paper.
Washi Kawasumi Yuzen Cherry Blossom Stickers, 20 pieces – Buy 40 pieces for $12.78
Japanese Chiyogami Paper, or Yuzen Washi Paper, is a renowned Japanese style of paper with brilliant and vibrant colors and gold metallic accents that are silkscreened by hand. The beautifully soft and sturdy papers make up the 20 sakura shaped individual stickers here. I love the vibrant reds and blues, as well as the soft pinks and sharp metallic gold and silver accents.
These stickers show up beautifully both on regular white or cream paper and black. Here’s a few of them on a black card!
Sakurasaku Cherry Blossom Pencil – Listed Value $3.53 (¥394 listed on the pencil packaging)
Wow. Unwrapping this pencil itself was such a magical and breathtaking experience. I say this because, within the plastic casing, there’s a lovely washi-type thick, cream paper that welcomes you into the pencil.
It describes the cherry blossom features, such as the shape of the barrel and petal shape when you shave the pencil. I haven’t been able to sharpen it (I’m a hoarder) but the pencil is in B thickness, meaning it’s softer than your regular Ticonderoga yellow pencils and easier to write darkly.
Subscribers receive one of two versions: light pink or dark pink. I received the dark pink edition.
Sakura Standing Sticky Notes
These sticky notes have a thick paper backing that allows it to stand up 😊 it’s a cute idea (though I’ll probably store it flattened) that features the design nicely!
Subscribers receive one of two versions: cherry blossom or rabbit pattern with flowers. I received the rabbit pattern.
Mindwave Sushi Sticky Note Marker – Retail Value $5.50
This is a popular sticky note item that gives many types of small, bookmark-style stickies in a holder item. I received a sushi-themed set with dancing, happy sushi, fish, and egg rolls!
Hara Peco Seal Stickers in Bento Lunch – Retail Value $1.79 (¥200)
Yes! More stickers--these stickers are a fun type of washi paper style, matte and thin, but very colorful. The set I received was themed like a Japanese typical lunch, with bentos, sushi, heart egg rolls, and smiley fries!
Rainbow Flat Clips
I’ve never seen this kind of clips before, but I liked using them. While they don’t hold that much paper, the gradient is a nice burst of color I enjoyed seeing here and there.
These clips are like tiny square paper clips made of plastic-cardboard material perfect for holding your page in your book.
Zebra Sarasa Push Clip Gel Pen 0.5 in Vintage Edition Blue-Gray – Retail Value $1.75
The Zebra Sarasa Push Clip is a renowned, idolized pen of stationery lovers and bujo enthusiasts. The body of the pen is well designed with a comfy rubber grip (not too squishy, just firm enough to cushion your fingers), a sturdy retractable tip, a nice spring-based clip, and smooth, pigmented, vibrant ink. I love this pen because it’s so classic, plain, but works so well.
The water-based gel ink dries quickly and doesn’t smudge with water or feather while writing.
I especially love the vintage edition of the Sarasa pens, especially the burgundy red-black color of the older series. I find the subdued ink colors calming, and the dark gray color I received is no exception. The body of the pen is a work of art—the vintage series features gold lettering on the ivory push clip.
Subscribers receive one of the five newer colors of the Vintage Edition: caramel yellow, cassis black, bordeaux purple, dark gray, or sepia black. I received dark gray.
Zebra Sarasa Push Clip Gel Pen 0.5 in Marble Edition Mint Shower – Retail Value $2.65
The marble edition of the Zebra Sarasa features a clear barrel to show the swirl of three colors—mint shower is a mix of blue, pink, and yellow. So far, I think I’m getting mixes of blue and yellow to give a light teal color! The blend of colors appears in random combination as you write to give a colorful marble effect while writing.
Subscribers receive one of the five colors in the Marble Edition: cotton candy, blueberry smoothie, Hawaiian pineapple, mint shower, or tropical mango. I received mint shower.
Here’s a swatch of the two pens I received!
Verdict: I was SO excited when I saw the two little circles of washi tape rolls in my box!! I love these so much 😊 and it’s just in time for my last April week spread in my bullet journal, so they were put to good use. The gold accents on the thinner washi tape and “evening-time” background on the thicker roll were beautiful. The most treasured item in the box must be the Sakurasaku pencil—just from opening the pencil, it was a magical experience with beautiful, high-quality paper wrapping and an elegant, slim pencil.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Unfortunately, May boxes are sold out, but subscribe for the June box here!
Value Breakdown: For $29.50, you receive 10 stationery items, so you’re paying about $2.68 per item. I calculated a retail value of $31.61 (excluding the sticky notes and clips), which exceeds the original cost of $29.50. I consider being able to keep the products for prolonged use a large part of the box’s value, but this is just my personal opinion.
Check out all of our ZenPop reviews and our top-rated craft stationary boxes!
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What do you think of April’s ZenPop Stationery Pack? Did you enjoy the hedgehog garden?
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