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Historical Embroidery News...

Un-boxing a StitchyBox

18/1/2021

11 Comments

 
Ever since the successful subscription box "Broderibox" by Nordic Needle ceased to exist when the company was dissolved, I have been looking for a replacement. I loved these monthly boxes with a wide variety of embroidery threads and related goodies. For a whole year, I stitched up a small piece each month with the threads at hand (if you click the link above, you see my pieces). It was such a lovely opportunity to try out new threads and to hone my embroidery skills. Alas, the Broderibox is a thing of the past. Then I tried the "Stitchers Box" by Barbaral Creations (read my blog here). Lovely, but not quite the same thing. And these boxes are no longer produced either. And then there was StitchyBox! Back in June 2020, I ordered two. One finally arrived on 30-11-2020 and the other has still not shipped. More on that later. But first: let's un-box a StitchyBox!
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So, what is a StitchyBox? I decided to order a countdown box with 30 individually wrapped embroidery goodies that can be opened one at a time each day. My box was called '2020 Oceans Small Batch Box". When you order your box, you have several fabric options. Mine was the lower count (no aida) as the higher count had already sold out. As I did not want to wait too long for my box, I ordered from the "ready-to-ship/ship-date-approaching". In my mind, this meant that these boxes were complete and ready to ship. As I ordered during the pandemic, I was not particularly worried when my box had not arrived after six weeks. Then I realised that I had never received a shipping confirmation. When I checked the website, there was a message that the shipping of the boxes was delayed due to the pandemic. That's when I realised that "ready-to-ship/ship-date-approaching" is not quite what it says. I think Stitchy Box designs a box, takes payment and then orders in the materials that go into a box. That's a valid business model. But does not work during a pandemic when ordering in materials has become a haphazard affair. When I ordered my boxes in June, there was no message on the website saying that there were any problems with getting the boxes ready and out. There was such a message when I checked after about six weeks. Never-ever was I approached by StitchyBox to clear me up on what was going on. Enfin, what did all these lovely paper bags contain?
Picture
These are the contents of the "2020 Oceans Small Batch Box":
- 7 skeins of embroidery thread (two variegated Flower Silk by StitchyBox, over-dyed floss by ThreadWorx, Colour & Cotton stranded cotton, Classic Color Works stranded cotton, Stitchy Silk by StitchyBox and DMC etoile)
- 7 small bags of beads (two delica 11/0 seed beads (1 g), Toho 11/0 seed beads (2 g), 10 natural 2mm adventurine beads, 10 2mm agate beads, 10 freshwater pearls and 10 2mm Swarowski glass beads Vintage Gold).
- 8 charms (Swarowski crystal, real shell, stone fish, glass penguin, ceramic seahorse, plastic seastar, metal seastar and metal crab).
- half a yard of blue twill tape, a length of variegated gimp, 6 shell buttons and a sticker.
- two cross-stitch charts.
- two pieces of linen ( 32 ct 35 x 24 cm Zweigart light-blue and 28 ct 32,5 x 23,5 hand-dyed linen).
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Whilst I love the skeins of embroidery thread that are in the StitchyBox, I am not sure about some of the other contents. For my taste, the box is a bit heavy on charms. So what about the costs? This particular StitchyBox costs $80 with $25 shipping to Germany. Where it will cost you an additional €16,65 to have it released from customs. This amounts to €114 or $138. As shipping costs are much lower within the US and there are no additional custom's charges, you get a better deal. However, with the high shipping costs to Europe and the additional charges, the price for a StitchyBox is a bit steep.

As the message on the StitchyBox website currently states that all outstanding boxes will be shipped out during January and early February, I will probably receive the other box in March or April. As I couldn't really find anywhere what was in these boxes when I ordered mine, I conducted this experiment so you would have an idea of what it is you are potentially missing out on. Will I order from this company again? Probably not as I don't like the fact that they did not contact me when the shipping of my boxes was severely delayed. Taking payment is easy. Good customer service is hard work!

Do you have any experiences with StitchyBox? Do you feel that they are good value for money? Please leave your comments below! As I was unable to find recent reviews online let's make this blog post a reference for those seeking more information.

P.S. My January sale ends on 31-01-2021! Use the code JanuarySale2021 at checkout for 25% off your order. Price reduction ceases after 31-01-2021. Apart from "unique-to-me-products", products will not be restocked.
11 Comments
Rachel link
18/1/2021 12:19:07

I don't think I'd ever heard of them, and much as I like the idea of a constant flow of new things, I remember being in a book club and not reading all the books as they came in - and I'm a much quicker reader than embroiderer!

Reply
Dr. Jessica Grimm link
18/1/2021 13:57:02

They seem to be quite big in the US. The good thing about the Broderibox was that it contained enough coordinating threads to make a small project each month. And it contained stuff I had never seen or else likely never bought. That furthered my thread knowledge a lot!

Reply
Carol Ann
18/1/2021 18:14:54

I am in the US and hadn’t heard of them either. Like Rachel I had a similar experience as a book club member and also a faster reader than embroiderer. Thank you for sharing the opening of your StitchyBox.

Reply
Dr. Jessica Grimm link
18/1/2021 19:10:12

You are very welcome, Carol Ann!

Reply
Penny S
19/1/2021 01:01:21

I was underwhelmed by my only purchase of a stitchybox. I am not a fan of cross stitch , which seems to be their main business.

Reply
Dr. Jessica Grimm link
19/1/2021 08:38:00

Thank you for your comment, Penny! What did you order from them?

Reply
Penny S
19/1/2021 22:26:27

Fibertalk made me buy it! In March 2020 I ordered a box meant to contain special items they found at the Nashville Needlework show. I received about 8 small skeins of various overdyed threadand a couple of other things such as a small wooden fob meant to hold stranded skeins of DMC for cross stitch projects. I am in the US so shipping cost was not a big issue, but I really didn't think it was great value for $98.00. They formerly advertised on Fibertalk but stopped advertising because of political differences-- which they have every right to do; however it is just another example of "cancel culture" which has taken over the US.

Penny S
19/1/2021 22:31:59

Fibertalk made me buy it! in March they offered a box of goodies found at the Nashville Needlework Show for $98 USD. I received about 8 skeins of overdyed thread and some little items such as a wooden keychain type hanger with 5 or 6 holes to hold strands of DMC for a cross stitch project. I am in the US so shipping cost was really not an issue. They formerly advertised on Fibertalk but chose to end the relationship over political issues. An early example of "cancel culture" here in the US.

Dr. Jessica Grimm link
20/1/2021 11:28:11

Thank you Penny! Your description of the box you got sounds similar to mine. A bit skimpy on the skein-side of things :). And yes, FiberTalk made me buy it too :).

Catherine link
19/1/2021 07:59:26

Thanks for sharing your Stitchy Box experience and I look forward to seeing what you create with it. The only ‘club’ like this I joined was when Alison Cole had hers. Being in Australia I avoided the additional cost and time which I thought was important for what felt like a treat! I too enjoyed the new to me threads and bits and bobs, but given I have several that have sat with nothing done to them I do think I’m best suited to them in small doses!

Reply
Dr. Jessica Grimm link
19/1/2021 08:39:14

Yes, I remember you blogging on those and the pieces you made with them. I would have loved to join. But those boxes were too expensive for me by the time they arrived here in Germany.

Reply



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