Reviewed by
Mary
Blurb:
The idea is a simple and effective one. Working with the element of surprise, designerbox brings original, playfull and affordable design to the home.
Cost:
1-month subscription €39 p/m; 6-month subscription €33 p/m; 12-month subscription €29 p/m + shipping from €3.90
As well as subscribing you can also buy individual items direct from their website.
Further details here.
This is actually a French company, though fortunately, because my French is rusty, their website and emails are also in English as well as French.
I was excited to try out this subscription. Firstly, it is very different from anything else I’ve received; and secondly, their items are both beautiful and unusual. Our home is full of all manner of eclectic stuff, and both my husband Big C and I appreciate design.
Designer Box works with designers from all over Europe to produce unique and aesthetically pleasing items for the home.
Designerbox used to put their items in numbered wooden boxes, but they seem to have stopped doing this. While the boxes were nice, it was sometimes a little difficult to know what to do with them, so I don’t at mind they don’t do this any more.
This month’s shipping box was rather light and thin.
Opening it up I could see the mysterious item was, as always, beautifully presented.
On top you can see their magazine, Iconic News.
This is a beautifully produced magazine. The text is in both French and English.
It contains information about the item enclosed, as well as details about this month’s artist/craftsman. There is also interesting content relating to design in general.
Let’s have a look at this month’s item.
I was slightly intrigued to see this. I had guessed it was something like a cushion, because of the size and lightness.
It was sensibly packaged in vacuum packaging to reduce its size.
When I removed the plastic wrap it sprang into shape.
The fabric is pure linen, and its texture is both slightly rough and smooth.
The pattern is classic houndstooth check, and it is woven into the fabric.
You can see the logo of the designer, Serge Bensimon, on the corner. The colour is black and soft brown, with plain brown on the back of the cushion.
You can also see a subtle gold edging all the way around.
There was also a bonus item in the bottom of the box, a photo print.
This is called À La Plage avec Paris-Telex. I understand from the magazine that Paris-Telex is the agency that produces the magazine, Iconic News.
The format means it is necessary to be some distance away to properly see the image.
The cushion itself is a relatively small size, approximately 20cm x 40cm.
As far as I can tell from the magazine there were three possible cushions you could receive.
Our living room is decorated and furnished quite neutrally, but has colour and detail from our hundreds of books, many pictures, and various ornaments and accessories.
At first I was slightly disappointed because the other two cushions (see the first picture of the magazine interior) seemed to be much more fun and colourful. I was concerned that this earthy-toned cushion would fade into the background on our brown leather couch, especially because our other cushions are brightly coloured.
Having tried it out, however, it actually looks very good. Even the small size doesn’t matter, and the houndstooth pattern provides both visual and tactile interest. The label, while discreet, adds interest, and the gold edging is a lovely subtle detail.
It doesn’t get lost among our other (larger and brighter) cushions, and actually provides pleasing visual variety to our couch.
As to the print, it’s OK, but it’s not something we’d put on the wall. But as it’s not the focus of this month’s box it doesn’t matter.
I really like this cushion. From feeling mildly unenthusiastic it grew on me quite quickly.
The quality of the fabric is extremely good. Even though it’s not particularly smooth, it is very pleasant to the touch. It is also functional, which is extremely important to me. I love beautiful things, but I’m not so keen on ‘things’ which have no practical use. Not because I wouldn’t like to have a home scattered with interesting objets, but because we simply don’t have space for many of them.
This is a lovely addition to our home, and very pleased with it. As a bonus, so is my husband!
By Evelyn 
