Kiko & Sven Subscription Box Review – July 2017

Kiko & Sven is a monthly box curated by the Kiko & Sven shop in San Diego, California. They feature gift items inspired by Japanese and Swedish design. They include items that are "often handmade, always unique", "from candles & soaps, to letterpress cards & ceramics." 

Kiko & Sven offers two subscription sizes: Small Box for $36 a month and Full-Size Box for $48 a month.

This review is of the Small, $36 a month, box. 

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

The Subscription Box: Kiko & Sven

The Cost: $48 for the Full-Size box; $36 for the Small Box. Shipping for the Small Box was $10.17.

The Products: The Full-Size box contains 5–7 items, and the Small Box contains 3–4 items

Ships to: USA

Check out more Lifestyle Subscription Boxes in the Women's Subscription Box Directory!

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I'm not sure if there was a special theme for this month, but all the items were seasonally appropriate. This box was fun to open because everything had nice packaging. One thing that did seem missing was an information card. 

This box doesn't have a lot of reviews and it's hard to find information about it online. Since they listed a telephone number on their site, I decided to give them a call. Happily, I got to speak with the curator, who told me a little about the box and seemed really excited to be putting it together. I appreciated being able to talk to a real person, and it gave me more confidence about taking a chance on this box. 

Lucky Feather Sunshine of Happiness Necklace – Value $15? (based on similar items)

This is a sun charm in a '14k gold brushed satin finish' on a 16" cord. This is a perfect necklace for July, and I like that it came on a card for easy gifting. The little charm is very solid. 

Rose Gold (or copper?) Jumbo Paperclip – Value $1.75? (based on a similar item)

The cards came bundled in a cute oversized paper clip, which was able to easily hold all four cards and envelopes together. Kiko & Sven promises 3–4 items in the small box, and I was pleased to see that they counted the bundle of cards with the clip as a single item. 

Sandra Isaksson Card – Value $0.59? (based on similar card)

Look at those cute smiling whales! This card was designed by Swedish artist Sandra Isaksson and printed by teNeues using environmentally friendly materials. It's blank inside and came with a plain white envelope. This is definitely the sort of item I imagined from the Japanese & Swedish-inspired curation.

Thank You Card – Value $1?

This Thank You card is blank inside. My value might be low for this card because I couldn't find this exact one, and the most similar design lacks the foil and embossing that this card has. 

Chronicle Books Succulent Garden Notecards – Total Value $1.50 (buy 20 notecards for $14.95)

This pair of notecards features botanical photos and decorative floral envelopes. They're right on trend with the succulents! Both cards are blank inside. 

Capri Blue Volcano 30ml Mini Hand Cream – Value $12

I have purchased a home fragrance item in this exact scent from Anthropologie, so I was happy to see this in the box. Capri Blue describes this as 'the iconic Volcano scent, making it easy to escape reality with the lush and fruity fragrance'. Escape from reality might be a stretch, but I enjoy the cheerful scent. The cream feels slightly greasy but is moisturizing. The tube says this was 'made in the USA with components from Europe.' (Note for swappers: It comes with a foil seal.)

Holbrook Candle Co Beach House Mini Candle – Value $12

This is one of those candles that smells amazing even when it's not lit. After burning for a few minutes, the whole room was filled with a fragrance that Holbrook describes as 'wild sea grass, salty air and driftwood.' I would have described it as being more floral, but it does feel summery. Holbrook candles are made from 100% soy wax and are produced in small batches in San Diego. I love scented candles and wasn't aware of this brand, so this was the highlight of the box for me. 

Verdict: My estimated value is around $44, which is close to the $46.17 cost after shipping. I might have estimated a little low on the cards since they were part of sets and I couldn't always find an exact match. I'm just going to call it even, which is pretty typical for this type of box. 

I enjoyed every item and I appreciate that each was presented in a way that would make it easy to give as a gift. While I wouldn't recommend this box to people with fragrance allergies, I love boxes like this that smell wonderful. That said, I was hoping to see more of the Japanese/Swedish design influence. I have lived in Japan and have always loved Scandinavian design, so that unique twist is what drew me in. These items, while lovely, are similar to what I've received from other subscriptions. I do think this is a promising box and I'm curious to see how it develops, but I'd love for them to include a card with more information about the curation to give context to the items they send. 

What do you think of July's Kiko & Sven box? If you could curate a box around any two cultures, what would they be?