OwlCrate October 2020: Legends and Lore

𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸: Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝗘𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗹 𝗣𝗶𝗻: designed by @HeyAtlasCreative

𝗪𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀: from Team @OwlCrate

𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘄𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗼𝘄𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝘇𝘆: designed by Janine Lecour

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿-𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗼𝗼 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱: designed by @LadyChubbLetters

𝗚𝗶𝗿𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗚𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗡𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗲: by Team OwlCrate

𝗔 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘂𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗼𝗮𝗽 𝗕𝗮𝗿: created by @MotherlandEssentials

𝗥𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸: complimentary from Libro.FM

𝗢𝘄𝗹𝗖𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀

My thoughts:

With the limited sneak peaks for that month I was so excited for this box. Not only due to the theme and the book in question, but also how it exclusively features BIPOC sellers and inspired books. However, upon opening the box, I couldn’t help but feel… disappointed. I feel like this theme could have been explored further and be more creative in terms of design and items. I’ll be honest, I feel cheated with this box. I am a POC myself, so naturally, I want to support BIPOC sellers but I feel like this box doesn’t showcase the theme well. Plus, with the lack of BIPOC sellers… I just… SIGH

In terms of the theme, designs, and items, I felt like there was no cohesiveness. I don’t know how the items and design relate to the the inspired books and overall theme. The items feel so randomly shoved together and I suppose this may be due to the fact that I haven’t read some of the books. However, for the books listed that I have read, I don’t understand the choice of items. For example, I mean, one could do so much with Spin the Dawn. I feel like only the design relates the the book. And not to criticise the design or item–I do appreciate the item and design. The bowl cozy design is gorgeous and wonderfully made. However, I question how it relates to Spin the Dawn other than the cover of the book? I don’t know. Like, I do appreciate how useful the items are, but I don’t understand how they relate to each other and the theme?

Cost: I really do not feel like this box was worth my money. However, I am an international buyer so I understand that our currency is weaker than the USD plus shipping expenses, however, I feel like other than the soap, the items could be purchased on cheap websites like WISH and ALIEXPRESS for a fraction of the price. Friends, with the change of shipping, I pay approximately $77+ AUD for this box. I just feel like slapping quotes on items and claiming it’s exclusive… I don’t think I can justify paying over $77 for that… Also, other than the soap, I would not purchase any of this items for myself. I wouldn’t go as far as say that I’m a minimalist, but I don’t really like to purchase items I don’t use nor need. It’s a shame because since discovering OwlCrate last year I’ve always loved them. I enjoy their monthly picks and loved their items. Perhaps this particular month wasn’t for me.

Conclusion: I’m not too fond of the items but I do love this month’s book. I accidentally slipped up my dates and purchased the November box, so, I will see how that box goes and will determine whether I would like to continue OwlCrate or not. Which is a huge bummer because I usually love OwlCrate book picks and their items.