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The Stationery Selection Review – October 2017

Marne Orenich
ByMarne OrenichNov 11, 2017 | 4 comments

The Stationery Selection Watercolor October 2017 Box

The Stationery Selection
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The Stationery Selection is a stationery subscription that carefully curates with famous stationery brands and zakka (misc. goods) shipped directly from Japan.

Open The Stationery Selection Watercolor October 2017 Box

My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out our review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

Contents of The Stationery Selection Watercolor October 2017

The Subscription Box: The Stationery Selection

The Cost: $34.95 a month  + shipping ($10-$13 to the US, depending on where you live). One-time boxes are $36.95.

The Products: stationery and zakka (ie misc. goods)

Ships to: Worldwide

Check out all of our The Stationery Selection reviews and more stationery reviews in the Paper and Stationery Subscription Box Directory!

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Info card for The Stationery Selection Watercolor October 2017

You'll find an info sheet (on beautiful handmade looking paper) listing out everything in this month's box.

Aiko Fukawa Sticker Set close up nof Aiko Fukawa Sticker Set

Aiko Fukawa Stickers - Retail Value $2.90

Hehehe- I got this exact same sticker sheet in a Sticky Kit back in August, so this artist must be quite popular! I really love her illustration style, but I'll pass these on to a friend since I already have one.

Aiko Fukawa Notepaper Pad

Sheet from Aiko Fukawa Notepaper Pad with aimals around na table outside Fancy Bunny illustration on sheet Fancy Fox on a sheet Mouse riding a horse on a sheet detail of mouse riding a horse

Aiko Fukawa "Green Garden" Notepad - Retail Value $5.90

This is a notepad by the same artist as the stickers, but like many things, I feel like its just too pretty to use for something unless it's really special! "Green Garden" is the name given to this specific notepad and features four super cute scenes of fancy anthropomorphic animals in the outdoors. There is a crew at an outdoor table enjoying a meal, a bunny dressed to the nines holding a bird, a decked-out fox surrounded by fruits and veggies, and a mouse riding a horse through a forest, of course. There are five sheets of each scene, so I need to just make it a point to use them to share the beauty!

Akashiya Sai Watercolor Brush Pen Set - Tsuya Color in package Akashiya Sai Watercolor Brush Pen Set - Tsuya Color outside of pack Swatch of Akashiya Sai Watercolor Brush Pen Set - Tsuya Color Close up of cap from Akashiya Sai Watercolor Brush Pen Set

Close up of snap closure on package

Akashiya Sai Watercolor Brush Pen 5 Color Set in Tsuya Color - Retail Value $17.50? (similar linked)

SO PUMPED FOR THESE BRUSH PENS! I got a khaki colored brush pen last month from a different box, and had recently purchased some on a trip to Los Angeles but haven't yet got to really sit down to use them. This set of 5 watercolor brush pens comes in various themes, but this particular one is the "tsuya colors" set and includes a bright orange, bright magenta, pale pink, lime green, and dark green pen. I'm struggling to figure out just what that means since other sets I've found online are named after seasons. Please enlighten me if you know! These pens look to be a super nice quality and the brushes are nice and long to achieve a good variety of widths. After using them for a while, I love the way they look once they dry on the paper. A true watercolor look for sure, with a lot less clean up.

Classicky Washi Tape in Graffiti Green Classicky Washi Tape in Graffiti Green Classicky Washi Tape in Graffiti Green, unrolled

Classiky Washi Tape in Green Graffiti - Retail Value $3? (based on other prices of the same brand)

The first of two rolls of washi tape in this box has a green and beige "graffiti" theme, though it looks more like just scribbles on a page. This is a pretty large roll at almost a half inch of tape around, so it should last me a long time!

Maruman Sketch Book cover Maruman Sketch Book Opened Maruman Sketch Book

Maruman Sketch Book - Retail Value $6

This is the perfect watercolor paper for me to practice with! The pad has 50 sheets of blank textured paper that is thick enough that I can use both sides without ink leaking through. It's post-card size so once I get good, I can make my own postcards to send to friends!!

Ohto Sharp Mechanical Pencil in package Ohto Sharp Mechanical Pencil Close up of eraser for Ohto Sharp Mechanical Pencil close up of tip of Ohto Sharp Mechanical Pencil

Ohto .5 mm Mini Sharp Mechanical Pencil – Retail Value $3.33? (linked to similar)

Whoa! I just received one of these in another stationery box last month but gave it to my roommate. That means I will keep this one! It's an itty bitty mechanical pencil, complete with eraser and clip. Too cute!

Pentel Waterbrush Pen in package Pentel Waterbrush Pen Close up of tip of Pentel Waterbrush Pen disassembled Pentel Waterbrush Pen

Pentel Aquash Water Brush Pen - Retail Value $5.75

I had to look this up online to see how to use it. At first, I thought you may have to add watercolor ink to it, but you only need water. There seem to be several ways to use it; one being to just use it as a brush with watercolor paint. You can also use it with other colored brush pens to blend the colors together or make an ombre effect. After I had used the other brush pens to draw some things out, I filled this with water and gave it a whirl. It really disperses and blends the colors that were already dry on the page well, even though I didn't really know what I was doing. This is something I definitely need to play around with more to get the hang of it, but I'm excited to have it in my repertoire.

Spacecraft Washi Tape Spacecraft Washi Tape Spacecraft Washi Tape, unrolled

Round Top x Hallelujah D Washi Tape - Retail Value $5.30

It looks as if this is a collaboration between the washi tape company Round Top and graphic design team Hallelujah D. The coolest thing about this tape (which is hard to see in the photo) is that it has wavy edges instead of being straight. This adds to the wackiness of the tape that has watercolor qualities and mixed patterns.

Verdict: The Stationery Selection really chooses high-end items to send, as I'm coming to understand! This box costs between $44.95 and $47.95, depending on how much shipping to your neck of the US ends up being. I received eight items, one of which is a brush pen set I'm super excited about with a retail value of $17.50. After totaling it up, the retail value came to $49.68, and of course, you'd have to pay to ship all of the items if you bought them separately. I'd say that's a decent value and I really love everything they've included!

To Wrap Up: 

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No. Check here to see when the next box launches!

What do you think of The Stationery Selection for October?

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Marne Orenich
Marne Orenich
Marne is a lipstick connoisseur, record collector, and twice over cat mom. She loves discovering new clean beauty brands and has quite the collection of beautifully packaged serums and moisturizers.

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4 comments

anDreama

What a fun box! I love the washi tapes and the markers.

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Diana

I concur with Michelle regarding the aqua brush pen. They make working with watercolor pencils a game changer and terrific to travel with! 😊

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Beth

I truly love the products, and I’d love to subscribe. Although technically I could afford it, I can’t get on board with paying $45 a month for this sort of stationary. ($45 includes $10 shipping to US). I feel the exact same way about zakka box. I wish someone would come up with a box of Japanese stationary items for half that price.

I think Papergang has found the sweet spot in terms of the stationary they sell. If someone did that for Japanese stationary, I’d be all over it.

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Michelle

I use waterbrushes with my travel watercolor set, so that I have a spill- proof way of containing water. It’s also really great for watercolor color pencils or crayons.

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