Cora Crea Crafts

I’ve been on the hunt for a subscription box that really matched my stationery desires for a while. I love the idea of recurring goodies that help me discover new makers and brands, but accompanied by useful goods regardless of mark or origin. Cora Crea Crafts comes close, with a monthly thematic box of journaling/ scrapbooking supplies.

Being a geography nerd, the September box with a map theme was right up my alley. It was also my first flat stamp, intended for mounting on acrylic blocks. I have yet to procure such a tool, but have tried using the stamp nonetheless, with mixed results.

Still, I enjoyed the colourful map washi tape, cutouts of ancient atlases, A6-ish notepad on a scale clipboard, compass and scale stamps and other geographic ephemera. If an inexpensive matching graphic-printed pencil or ballpoint were thrown in, I’d say it was perfect, but this being a very pencil-focused hobby, I do feel that the writing instrument is the missing link in this chain of stationery fun.

Papergang was another box that came close to my needs, with writing utensils, writing surfaces and ephemera in each box, but I wasn’t a fan of their designs, though I’m considering giving them another try. Single-product releases like the subscriptions offered by Blackwing, Caran d’Ache, Field Notes and the like have fun products, but they are more a vehicle for engineered scarcity than for product discovery.

I look forward to Cora Crea Crafts’ future boxes and will continue to search for a more perfect one as well. If you have any suggestions, feel free to drop me a line!