Have a Good Morning, Courtesy of Eucopia

UPDATE 03/15/2016
I'm really disappointed to say that it looks like this company already went out of business after two boxes. That's me jumping to conclusions, but they aren't answering emails and their January box was delayed till February, and it's March without a shipment. Fortunately, I was able to cancel from my account because I've also tried emailing them with no response. That's the hard part about subscribing to a new box, and also why I refused to sign up for a lengthy commitment to any new boxes!


Original Post
A few months ago my brother passed along an email from a friend who wanted to start up a European themed subscription box. I have tried a variety of subscription boxes and was really excited to see what Jason Toon's box would offer! I was able to try out his first [or second?] intro box for $35, and was quite impressed. You can see the Eucopia blog post [with far better pictures than my own] on their site.

This post is [incredibly] late, as I received the box in June. Summer has just passed me by in busy, lazy ways. But, on to Eucopia [or click here to see the Facebook page]! The box was put up on Indiegogo last month, and looks like it got 143% funded. Not bad, and it shows that people really like European stuff. How could you not? Because, come on, Europeans created wine, French bread, beer, gelato, waffles, and foreign films. Well, they're not really "foreign" in their own countries, and they probably didn't create boxed wine [my personal favorite].

The Eucopia box felt like a present. Jason hand delivered the box to my brother, who also purchased the box. Each item was nicely wrapped or packaged and nestled into crinkled paper padding.

There was a card describing each item, styled like a newsletter. It very pretty cool and informative. I've seen some of the fancier boxes like Oui Please use similar inserts. There was also a passport, which was sort of confusing. I think the concept of it was interesting, but not fully baked. To me, the passport should have had little stickers, and the box receiver would get the stickers from each country each time they got a new box, and only new subscribers would get the initial passport booklet. Sort of cheesy but cute.

Now, on to the meat of the box! I really appreciated how family-oriented this box was. It seemed like there was a little something in there for everyone.

Contents of the Morning Eucopia box:

• De Ruijter--The Dutch sprinkles are in my fridge for if my nieces are over and I need to sprinkle everything in chocolate.
• Couto--This Portuguese toothpaste is still unused on my desk, mostly because the packaging is so nice. I do plan to use it, so I should probably just put it in the bathroom!
• Vasa Tvål Ab--Lingonberry soap on a rope from Finland. I meant to give this to my mom, and in fact it was in my suitcase for a week as we drove from WA to SD and back. I think I ended up using it as a gift for someone else, which is one really great aspect of subscription boxes! Items can be easily gifted =) 
• Kikkerland--A Rotterdam/NYC designed clock, though it was made in China. I like this company, and occasionally see their products in various stores. I am not the sort of person who is picky about where an item was made, though I do see how people would be upset in purchasing a European box with outsourced items. However, I love this clock and it's on the shelf in my office next to an antique clock that doesn't work. This clock is nice and quiet, except for the first day I put the battery in and accidentally pushed the button to set off the alarm! 
• d'Ancap--The best piece in the box was an Italian porcelain latte mug. Mine was in teal! It's hard to tell from my dark pictures, but it's teal, which is one of my favorite colors. I love this mug! Because it's summer, it's currently holding mints on our turquoise bookshelf [also weirdly next to a broken antique clock], but come Fall it will be filled with chai or tea. 

I thought this box was great. Though I did not personally find a use for all the items, they were perfect for gifting. Money is tight right now, but I think in the future I will have to get a subscription to this! I am quite happy it was more than funded on Indiegogo, and according to an email last month from the creator, after the campaign, the regular box will be $49 including shipping. I felt like this was a better price for the box, especially considering the weight of the contents.

The only thing this box is really missing is a price breakdown of the contents. I really like getting those in boxes because it makes it feel more like you got some awesome deal, and then you can also see that you didn't pay $50 for items that cost $38.

Blogging the depths of the abyss,
[a]

PS: According to Wikipedia... I mean, according to very reliable sources, boxed wine originated in Australia. Those geniuses.