Craftly Subscription Box Review – June 2015

Craftly is a brand new subscription box that delivers artisan and handcrafted goods from independent artists, small businesses, and mid-to-large scale brands. This is their very first box!

This box was sent to us for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

The Subscription Box: Craftly

The Cost: $19.99 per month plus shipping

The Products: 3-5 handcrafted lifestyle items

Ships to: US

Good to Know: Craftly offers a men's and women's box. This review is of the women's box.

Note: Craftly is currently in limited beta, and both of their subscriptions are sold out. They will be opening again shortly. In the meantime, I can't get into the checkout section of their website to find out how much shipping is, or if they ship internationally!

One of the items included in Craftly's inaugural box is a print (see below), and they used the reverse side to provide information on all the items included. I usually don't even notice things like this, but the printing, formatting, and layout of this info card is really lovely!

"Hello Everyone" 5x7 print - Value $10

For the record, I am using the values that are printed on the information card.

This is a cute little print that was designed especially for this box by the curators, Cathy Diep and Adam Montoya. I like how colorful it is! I also like that the sides of the cardstock are neon pink! This one is going up in the office.

Citrus & Chili Pepper Soy Candle by Ms. Betty's Bad Ass Candles (8 oz.) - Value $18

"Stuff We Like" Pocket Notebook - Value $10

This candle smells amazing! It doesn't really smell like chili and citrus, though - it smells a little like anise.

This is definitely a cute little notebook, and I can never have too many. I would never pay $10 for a small, staple-bound notebook, though. It's a nice inclusion to this box, and an appreciated one, but I think this value is a little inflated.

Sea Salt & Lavender Shea Butter Soap by Formulary 55 (2.75 oz) - Value $9

Cognac Leather Keychain by Viveo Leather Goods - Value $2.50

I can't smell the lavender in this soap, which is a bummer because I love the scent of real lavender. It doesn't have much of a scent at all. I do love shea butter soaps, though! I'm curious to find out if the sea salt cancels out the moisturizing effect.

This is a really well-crafted leather keychain! It's very nice! I don't have much use for this kind of thing, but it will make a lovely token gift for someone. Viveo is also located in Odessa, Ukraine, which (to me) makes it all that much more special!

Verdict: I think this was a great inaugural box from Craftly! Well done! They delivered five lovely lifestyle items that were handcrafted, as promised, and introduced me to three new brands. I will use everything they sent except the keychain, which I would use if I didn't think it would be better suited for gifting.

My only issue with this box is around value. One very interesting thing I noticed is that the info card not only lists values, it also lists shipping and handling costs. First, I've never seen a subscription box do that. Second, it looks as though the shipping and handling costs are what you might expect to pay if you bought these items individually yourself, not what Craftly paid to have them shipped to themselves. For example, the candle is listed as $18 plus $6.50 S/H = $22 (which is also strange because it would be $24.50). Additionally, I feel like the values listed on three or four of these items may be a little inflated.

What I have an issue with is not really the value of the goods that were sent, however. I think for $20 + S/H (provided S/H is reasonable), the items that were included are a great value! I guess I feel like Craftly is going a little overboard trying to make that point. Does that make sense?

What do you think of Craftly's first box?