Reviewed by
Mary
Designer Box is a company that loves aesthetic interior style and design. Every two months they send out a beautiful item for your home, all made by independent designers and craftspeople using natural and/or recyclable materials.
Subscriptions cost from €40 per month, and each item will have a value of at least €90. Each box also contains a design magazine, which includes information about the designer of that month’s item.
This month’s box was surprisingly heavy. As always I had no idea what was inside. The first page of the magazine (helpfully printed in both French and English) gave a tiny hint as to this month’s aesthetic, but otherwise it was a mystery, other than that it is weighty. It really is a treat to open the box each month; Designer Box manage to make even a cardboard box an event!
On top is what is clearly a tea towel, and underneath what I can only imagine is a chopping board. You can see there are grooves carved into it, which look like they are echoed by the front of the design magazine.
And here it is.
This is really a beautiful board. (The knife is mine.) The repeating pattern is elegant and incredibly attractive, detailed enough to be decorative but still practical.
It’s made of beech, which is the ideal material for chopping boards. It has some self-healing properties, and unlike plastic, it’s much more gentle on your precious knives. It’s heavy, but not too much as it’s at least an inch thick. It’s all in one piece, so unlike bamboo there is no danger of it splitting.
All it needs is an initial oiling, and then an occasional top-up, and it should last for years.
Grooves like this are actually very useful when cutting because they trap juices from meat or crumbs from bread.
Of course you can also turn it over and use the plain side too if you don’t want to damage the pattern.
The teatowel (which is lovely and thick, 100% cotton) mirrors the pattern and also has the name of the designer on it. It’s simple but very elegant and would work beautifully in any kitchen.
A quick note about the magazine. It tells you all about the designer and the beautiful items, and also further related things, such as the use of geometric patterns in design. It’s a delight to leaf though and read, as well as beautiful photographs, and perfect for interior inspiration.
By Evelyn 
