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Sealed With Irish Love Subscription Box Review – August 2018

Jessica Hapak
ByJessica HapakSep 2, 2018 | 5 comments
Sealed With Irish Love
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Sealed With Irish Love box

Sealed With Irish Love is a monthly subscription box that sends 3-5 specially selected items from Ireland. Each item is sourced from the best of traditional & emerging homegrown Irish talent. The boxes will vary from month to month and will include a number of surprises such as Irish homewares, scents, jewelry, stationery and other unique treats.

Sealed With Irish Love open box 1 Sealed With Irish Love open box 2

 

 

This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

Sealed With Irish Love group shot

 

About The Box

The Subscription Box: Sealed With Irish Love

The Cost: $50 + shipping (Shipping to the USA and Canada is $12)

The Products: 3-5 Handcrafted artisanal goods made in Ireland

Ships to: Worldwide

Sealed With Irish Love August 2018 Review

Sealed With Irish Love info sheet 1 Sealed With Irish Love info sheet 2

Each month information about the designers and their inspiration for each product will be included. I think it is a thoughtful touch that adds to the overall experience of receiving the best from homegrown Irish talent.

Sealed With Irish Love towel 1 Sealed With Irish Love towel 2 Sealed With Irish Love towel 3 Sealed With Irish Love towel 4

Brid O’Kane Map Of Ireland Tea Towel – Retail Value $11.69 (€10.00)

Okay, right off the bat I need to ask a pressing question—is a tea towel the same thing as a dish towel? Because the map of Ireland on this towel is gorgeous, and if I am not supposed to be wiping my hands on it I want to know before I make a faux pas. The map itself was originally embroidered by artist Brid O'Kane, and then an image of the finished product was printed onto this towel. I can only imagine how stunning the real embroidery is in person because even just the image of the finished result is so beautiful.

Sealed With Irish Love cards 1 Sealed With Irish Love cards 2

Brid O’Kane Cards, 2 cards – Buy a pack of 4 for $14.03 (€12.00)

The images on these cards look like watercolors, and I can only imagine how dreamy the embroidered works of art look in person if the prints are this fantastic. This box included two blank cards, a card with the Irish Cottage Window print and the Irish Dancer print. The Irish Dancer is my favorite of the two, but both are beautiful. These are definitely worth the extra postage it costs to mail a square letter here in the US!

Sealed With Irish Love bee 1 Sealed With Irish Love bee 2 Sealed With Irish Love bee 3 Sealed With Irish Love bee 4

Sam Agus Nessa Bee’s Knees Tealight Holder – Retail Value $16.37 (€14.00)

If we are being honest, I didn’t realize that this tealight holder was in the shape of a bee until I sat down to find the link to it—and now I feel silly for not realizing it sooner! I was like “what are these little loops for?” Part of the confusion is due to the fact that the info sheet says I was supposed to receive the Mo Chroi holder and not Bee’s Knees, and the Mo Chroi is heart shaped. My adorable little bee was made by hand with locally sourced Irish wood and finished with gold leaf, and I really am quite enamored with it.

Sealed With Irish Love shamrock 1 Sealed With Irish Love shamrock 2 Sealed With Irish Love shamrock 3

Kings Forge Glass Shamrock Card - Estimated Value $18.14 (based on a similar card found here)

I don't think I have seen anything quite like this before in a subscription box! This is a card, and the front design features a glass-blown Green shamrock that can be removed and hung as a sun catcher! I know when I send this off to one of my aunts, they will really be able to appreciate the thought and care that went into the making of this card and shamrock.

Sealed With Irish Love notebook 1 Sealed With Irish Love notebook 2 Sealed With Irish Love notebook 3

Sealed With Irish Love Bird Feather Notebook – Retail Value $9.50 (found on sale here for $8)

Occasionally the subscription box will include an item from the Sealed With Irish Love shop, and this month I received this composition notebook! The timing was perfect as my last year of law school (eek!) just started up, and I will use all of the notebooks I can get my hands on. This was made in Ireland and the front is covered in bird feathers. I appreciate getting a full-size notebook in this box, as usually subscription boxes include smaller notepads which I just do not use frequently. This, on the other hand, will get plenty of use!

The Verdict: The quality and curation in the Sealed With Irish Love box have always been good, but I feel like this month they really knocked it out of the park. This box promises to send you the best Irish talent Ireland has to offer, and they definitely delivered. Every single piece was exquisitely made with tremendous attention to detail, and as a whole, I think this is my favorite box from them yet. I calculated a value of $55.70 for everything except the cards, and I think the value of the cards puts this box right even with the cost of the box plus shipping. This is definitely a subscription where you are paying for thoughtful curation and not a lot of international shipping fees, but if Ireland holds a special place in your heart I think you will find this box to be worth it.

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, you will receive the September box.

Value Breakdown: This box cost $62 ($50 for the box + $12 shipping) which means you are paying approximately $12.40 per item (counting the cards together as one).

What do you think of the Sealed With Irish Love box?

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"In each box you can expect to find 3-5 especially selected items from Ireland. Each item is sourced from the best of traditional & emerging homegrown Irish talent. The boxes will vary from month to month and will include a number of surprises such as Irish homewares, scents, jewelry, stationery... read more.
Jessica Hapak
Jessica Hapak
I am a staunch believer that pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza and when I’m not working as a family law attorney I enjoy hiking the Louisiana trails (alligator sightings are a favorite!) or relaxing with Duchess, my cat. I’m a sucker for anything labeled a mystery box and I’ve never met a bath bomb I didn’t like.

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5 comments

EMF999

I’m originally from Dublin and we used all sorts of things in the kitchen. As Kate said, some of our best and prettiest would be used to cover fresh from the oven soda bread (traps steam and softens the crust). We also used them for drying dishes and hands. Exceptionally pretty tea towels would hang strategically somewhere in a “oh that old thing” kind of way.

Oh yes, and the lazy among us would grab a couple (usually the strategically placed pretty ones) and use to get hot items from the oven. They would invariably get scorched eventually which would get us a lecture from our mothers and would result in it getting a demotion to drying dishes.

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Reidy

Jaysus… I would be murdered for using the Tea Towel to dry my hands. My Mam would shout that’s not a bloody hand towel 😂
Tea towel- dishes. Good Tea Towels- cover the bread and folded nicely and hung on the oven handles. Crappy tea towels- take stuff out of the oven.

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Jessica hapak

There is so much to learn about this tea towel business!

Kate N.

I use tea towels to cover warm bread or biscuits when I have company…pretty ones make it seem fancy!

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Mandy

For the cost of 3 of these boxes full of nick nacks, I can get a handmade in Ireland cabled wool sweater or a beautifully loomed and hand dyed wool yarn long cape, also directly from Ireland.

Or a Celtic puzzle ring in 14 kt. gold for the price of 2 boxes of little nick nacks.

I prefer the really stand out pieces, not tiny things which fit in a small subscription box, myself. Handmade, not copied from a print or embroidery but the textile or gold or silver itself.

I can’t see being excited over that many tea towels and tiny tea lights, but I don’t like a hodgepodge of small home nick nacks.

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