Cravers of all things design that are modern and Scandinavian: Good news! If you missed out on the Skandicrush craze, Norsebox has filled the void. And you don’t even need to leave home.
Puzzled? Here’s what we’re talking about.
In 2014, a monthly subscription box filled with Scandinavian-designed home goods—Skandicrush—debuted and was, quite literally, crushed by the demand. Ana Denmark (yes, that’s really her name) in San Francisco started the business, which she ran out of her home office and stepson’s bedroom (he was away at university). But demand overwhelmed her ability to keep up. Last spring, Skandicrush cancelled its subscriptions.
Enter Norsebox. Created by a Swedish-American woman named Elise (no last name given), Norsebox started up in September 2015, located “between Åre, Sweden and Cincinnati, Ohio,” she writes on the Norsebox website. “As my great-grandmother emigrated from Sweden, the northern simplicity has always been a part of my family. Something about Scandinavian lifestyle and aesthetic—the earthy minimalism, and functionality—I have always loved.”
Elise sources her pieces “directly from Scandinavia but ensure[s] a seamless shipping process,” she writes. “Simple but functional products, appreciating the beauty of the raw materials.”
The 2015 Holiday Box, the contents of which would retail for $98, included a minimalist candleholder formed from a single piece of wire by Nicholas Oldroyd Design and a small box with a regal green lid by Normann Copenhagen, both companies from Copenhagen; a postcard designed by German textile designer Nina Schmalenbach who lives in Göterborg, Sweden; and small concrete pendants for use as ornaments or tiny Brutalist-style tchotchkes by Antje Nixdorf of Pasinga in London.
A 2016 Annual Subscription to Norsebox, otherwise known as the Scandinavian Design Subscription, is $240 plus shipping. Mail dates are March 1, June 1, September 1, and December 9. Or you can order just the Spring Issue, which mails March 1, for $60 plus shipping. “Expect products from 1‑5 designers with introductions to their backgrounds and work,” according to the website.” The value of each box runs from $80 to $100.
As anyone who participated in Springboard for the Arts’ Community Supported Art (CSA) program knows, the mystery, wonder and anticipation that accompany receiving a box full of goodies just waiting to be opened and discovered, can’t be beat. Just imagine receiving a curated package of small, modern Scandinavian-designed home goods four times a year, delivered to your house. Only one word can describe the pleasure: Tack!
By Camille LeFevre
Photo via norseboxes.com
