sumikko gurashi – Culture Shack

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My childhood stationery obsession has come back full force, and I cannot stop buying stationery mystery boxes. I had bought one from ISpyKawaiiSupplies at the tail end of 2020, and really loved everything I got in it. I didn’t do an unboxing so you’ll just have to take my word on that one. ISpyKawaiiSupplies is UK based, so I was really happy to be supporting a local seller and knew that the shipping would be quick (well, as quick as it can be in a pandemic!). ISpyKawaiiSupplies has an option on their Etsy that you can pick a character or theme for the smaller boxes, or you can pick a larger box. I think the boxes are the best value for money for any subscription box that I’ve got so far – the smaller boxes are £15 plus shipping, and the larger boxes are £30 including shipping. A bargain!

The first thing that struck me when I opened up my mystery box was how many things were in the box. I could immediately tell that the items were easily worth over how much I spent on the box, which is always a good thing. It was also really colourful and had a big visual impact as soon as I opened it, and I could instantly see some items that looked really exciting! Let’s get into it.

First up, some really cute pens! I love the design on them. The ones on the right have a highlighter end and a fine felt-tip pen end. They’re actually a lot darker in tone than the pastel outside would let you believe, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing as I have plenty of pastel pens as it is! The pens on the left are blue fine-liners, and so cute!

Next I got some stickers! The ones on the left came with a couple of pencils too, and are all cat themed and very cute. The right hand ones are Molang, which isn’t something I really know too well, but I also got some Molang stickers in my last box from ISpyKawaiiSupplies, and I thought the characters were really cute then and I still do! As I said before, I really love getting stickers so I can jazz up my bullet journal!

I also got a Sumikko Gurashi PVC wallet file. At first I wasn’t totally sure what to do with it, but I realised it’s the perfect size for a pencil case! Again, I’m not too familiar with Sumikko Gurashi, but I seem to get something in every subscription box I get so I should probably get into it more!

I’m getting quite the collection of sticky notes! I got these two in my box this time. I love the shiba one, I have used it already for some work reminders that I have stuck up on my desk and every time I look at it I smile, he’s just so cute! I actually just did a quick online search for the pack on the left, and I found out that sadly it is counterfeit art stolen from a Korean artist, so it’s a little disappointing that it’s in the box, but I will give the benefit of the doubt and assume that the seller didn’t know. The original artist is Studio Dalgona, and here is a tweet about the stolen artwork! I will do my best to support Studio Dalgona in future and place an order with them when I can to make up for this as I don’t want to be in the habit of supporting art theft.

To end on a much lighter note, my two favourite items in the box! The item on the left, believe it or not, is a Pikachu themed pair of scissors! They’re just so cool, I’m amazed by them. You pull the top half off, and then the actual scissor mechanism is spring loaded. I’ve used them at every available opportunity this weekend. On the right is some My Neighbor Totoro washi tape, which is something I use a lot of for journalling, so I’m very happy to have it.

You’ll notice I’m a huge dummy, and there are a couple of items that I forgot to photograph. Firstly a Rilakkuma rubber (eraser!), and secondly some correctional tape. Both very useful items to have!

I hope you liked seeing what I got in my box. I hope you’ll agree that it was really good value for money, and I got a lot of really cool items! What was your favourite thing that I got?

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Unboxing: Kinda Kawaii

November 24, 2020November 23, 2020 ohnoitsjade

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I haven’t bought a subscription box for a while, partly because I haven’t seen one with a theme I like, and partly because a lot of my usual companies I buy with are now charging a mandatory £10 extra shipping for tracked shipping, which seems a little unfair to me as I was pretty happy with waiting it out for the standard shipping and I never had an issue. I get why they’ve put it on there, but I think it should at least be optional.

Regardless, last month I felt like getting a box, and after a lot of searching for a UK supplier, I found Kinda Kawaii. I opted for a single box, just to test the waters and bought via Etsy, so it was really simple.

My first impression was that the box was really cute! The box itself is pastel coloured (just my vibe!), and on opening there was a strong visual impact with the box packaged really cutely and bursting with goodies! A great start!

Obviously the first thing I saw when I opened the box was this bunny plushie! I don’t think it’s a specific character (feel free to correct me!), but it’s so cute! It’s so soft, and the pastel purple is one of my favourite colours, so I’m really happy with this item!

Next up was this Pokémon mug! It hasn’t photographed particularly well, and it is a lot more muted and pastel in real life, which is totally my aesthetic. It’s a really cute mug, but much like tupperware, I own far too many mugs and I’m being threatened that if I get any more they’ll be binned! Still, a cute mug for my last one!

I also received these Sumikko Gurashi socks! They’re packaged really nicely, so I didn’t know what they were at first, but when I unboxed them and folded them out, they’re a really cute pair of socks! I especially love them because they’re a bit thicker, so they’re warm and stop any rubbing shoes!

I’m a sucker for stationery, so luckily for me I got these two pieces in my box. Firstly, a colour changing pen which is really nice to write with (I don’t know the characters though!), and secondly, some Gudetama sticky notes. Both are coming in very handy in keeping me nice and organised.

Last but not least, I got these Sumikko Gurashi chopsticks – I’m also amassing quite the chopstick collection! Luckily I’m not too bad with a pair, so now I just need to learn some Japanese recipes to put them to use!

The Kinda Kawaii box was beautifully presented, with a lot of high end items. I spent more than I usually would on a subscription box, but with the price of boxes going up it made more sense to support a local business and get quicker shipping time. I’m really glad I chose to get a Kinda Kawaii box, and would definitely do so again in the future!

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Unboxing: July YumeTwins

August 7, 2020August 4, 2020 ohnoitsjade

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And so, as predicted, my July YumeTwins box arrived in record time. Typical! At least this means it’s safe to order new subscription boxes, something I’d been putting off doing whilst the post was so unreliable!

The theme of July’s box was ‘Work kawaii, play kawaii’! I did feel like the items in this box didn’t really fit the theme, and it did seem like just a bunch of random items put together. One of the items, the ‘mystery plushie’, just felt like it was in there to get rid of stock.

As you can see from the photo, the ‘mystery plushie’ was very prevalant in my box – Donald Duck staring at me as soon as I opened it.

I’m not the biggest Disney fan, I would have much rather had a Sanrio plushie, so immediately I was feeling a bit miffed. This is potentially one item I’ll be selling as I don’t really see a space for it in my plushie collection, but we’ll see. It might grow on me.

My next item was a Splatoon x Sanrio cup. I’m not a fan of Splatoon, having never played, but obviously I do like Sanrio. I’m not sure where My Melody rates in my Sanrio league chart, obviously I would have preferred a Pom Pom Purin one, but this isn’t so bad really. I like pink at least!

So far, not particularly work or play themed. Up next was an Animal Crossing sticker. It’s really cute, and I do like Animal Crossing but I don’t have anywhere to put the sticker. I’m giving the sticker to a friend who I know will appreciate it a lot more than I will!

I also got the above, which, though very cute, I have no idea how it fits with the work/play theme. It’s billed as a ‘pocket surprise towel’. I think the character is Tokage from Sumikko Gurashi (feel free to correct me in the comments!), which I don’t feel strongly about either way, but it is pretty cute so I’m not too bummed out about it (though, again, Pom Pom Purin was an option, so sucks to be me I guess).

Finally, this Gudetama mousemat. Probably the only thing in the box that fits the theme. It’s pretty practical too, as now I’m working from home I do use a plug-in mouse for my work laptop, so I’ll definitely get use out of it. Again, the options were Gudetama or My Melody, and out of the two I definitely would have preferred My Melody, which is pretty typical of my items in this box.

What did you think of the items in this box? Do you think they fit the theme?

Tag: sumikko gurashi

Unboxing: ISpyKawaiiSuppliesKawaii Mystery Box

Unboxing: Kinda Kawaii

Unboxing: July YumeTwins