Svbscription thinks inside the box for experiential gifts
In researching the world of experiential gifts for our upcoming gift-themed Image magazine, I ran across a company that manages to offer men all manner of mind-expanding exploration and discovery -- delivered right to their doorstep (And no, we’re not talking about a bacon of the month club.)
Each quarter, Svbscription, a new New York City-based program, mails its subscribers a luxe wooden box full of curated, cool curiosities that are keyed to a particular theme — offering the increasingly rare serendipitous discovery along with actual stuff.
The inaugural shipment was travel-themed, for example, the second, and most recent, was themed around “study,” and the next one slated to ship (for the holidays) is leisure-themed.
Each box contains items culled from the worlds of design, culture, technology, apparel and entertainment. The study-themed box, for example, served up the following high-end items: a Kaweco AL Sport fountain pen, a navy blue suede document case by Loden Dager, a vial of Le Labo fragrance and a copy of Nicola Barker’s book “The Yips.”
An accompanying booklet includes an introduction to the theme, followed by detailed descriptions of each item, arty line drawings, black and white photographs and lots of blank space (for note-taking and doodling with that fountain pen, we presume). The introduction to the study-themed box, for example, reads, in part: “For most of us, the ‘study’ is not a place or even a particular practice, but a moment we create in our day to reflect, absorb and expand our ideas.”
So, if you’ve got a curious but adrenaline-adverse (or simply deskbound) luxe-loving fellow on your holiday list, you might want to seriously consider thinking inside the box this season.
Svbscription, $330 quarterly, $1,150 a year, one-off boxes $350. (Important note: In order to get a parcel for the upcoming holiday season, memberships must be purchased by Dec. 15 for shipment within the U.S. or by Dec. 8 for other countries.)
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