Our Review of the First Inland Northwest Subscription Box
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Do you love getting new things in the mail, supporting local businesses and artists, and learning more about your new city and region? Is it challenging to learn more about local creators or are shipping fees dissuading you from buying a variety of cool local products?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, we have the answer for you: an Inland Northwest subscription box by Inland Northwest Trading Co.!
We were lucky enough to partner with Inland Northwest Trading Co. for their brand new Inland Northwest-themed subscription box service, which launched July 2020.
Note: The Inland Northwest Trading Co. subscription box is no more! However, you can still order custom gift boxes, which could incorporate some of the same wonderful local companies mentioned below.
Below, we’ll cover how this Inland Northwest subscription box came to be, the genius business-minds behind the box, and what’s in the July 2020 Inland Northwest Trading Co. box itself! We’ll also do a short unboxing video and break out the total value for the box to help you know if subscribing to Inland Northwest Trading Co. is worth it.
Everyday Spokane received the July 2020 Inland Northwest Trading Co. subscription box in return for an unbiased, honest review. Please view our full our advertising policy for more information.
Can’t wait to sign up for the Inland Northwest Trading Co. subscription box? You can subscribe here!
What is the Inland Northwest Trading Co. Subscription Box?
The Inland Northwest Trading Co. subscription box is a brand new subscription box, all about showcasing makers in the inland northwest (Washington, Idaho, Montana and Oregon).
Basically, it’s the perfect gift for someone new to the Inland Northwest area, someone considering a move to the INW or someone who moved away but misses it here!
You can take a look at how the Inland Northwest subscription box comes together in the cool video below:
Ready to sign up for your own Inland Northwest Trading Co. subscription box? You can subscribe here!
How the Inland Northwest Subscription Box Came to Be
If you love supporting local, you’re going to love the story of how Inland Northwest Trading Co. came to be.
You can read the full story of Mariah Brooks and Inland Northwest Trading Co. at our interview, or check out the video below, but here’s the short version:
Mariah and her co-founder, Gary Bailey, both grew up in the Inland Northwest (Mariah in Montana and Gary here in Spokane). Much like how Melissa lived in Spokane, moved away, came back and realized Spokane had changed in an incredible way, Mariah found the same thing when she left the INW to go to school at Lewis & Clark College and returned a few years later.
Inspired by the vibrant city Spokane was becoming, Mariah knew she wanted to be an entrepreneur. Unfortunately (or fortunately, as you’ll learn!), COVID-19 threw a wrench into Mariah’s dreams.
At this point, I really recommend you head over to our interview with Mariah – you should see some of the business ideas she contemplated before starting Inland Northwest Trading Co.!
When Gary was also laid off during the pandemic, Mariah knew she needed to ramp up her business timeline. When Gary brilliantly (and off-handedly) suggested a subscription box service, Mariah knew immediately it was meant to be.
On May 15, 2020, the Inland Northwest Trading Co. was born. It’s a subscription box with an emphasis on the unique culture of the Inland Northwest, while supporting small businesses and highlighting the diversity and beauty of the northwest.
Especially during this time of COVID, it’s more important than ever to support local while being safe. That’s one thing I love the most about this Inland Northwest subscription box – it’s a way for us to support local without ever leaving our house!
What’s in the July 2020 Inland Northwest Trading Co. Box? Our Review
You’re probably wondering right about now: what’s in the Inland Northwest Trading Co. subscription box?!
Luckily, we were lucky enough to partner with Inland Northwest Trading Co. and received a preview of the July 2020 box – we’ll break it down to show you exactly what we received in our box.
You can take a look at our unboxing video below or here: A BRAND NEW Inland NW Subscription Box: Inland Northwest Trading Co.
In our July 2020 Inland Northwest Trading Co. subscription box, we received:
- The coolest temporary tattoo designs from 18th Avenue Designs (they have some really cute Idaho-specific state designs too – make sure to check out their Etsy shop!)
- A super cute keychain from A Redheads Touch
- The Cabin Fever scented candle from Anchored Northwest (if you follow us on Instagram, you’ll know we’re huge fans of Anchored NW! We also recommend Quarantine & Chill and Sea Salt & Orchid scents)
- The Bigfoot bath bomb from BeYOUtiful Bath Bombs & More (these bath bombs are seriously so good, and fun, too!)
- Caramels from Copper Pot Caramels (the first things to disappear from the Inland Northwest subscription box, of course!)
- Chardonnay natural soap from Melanie’s Natural Soap Co.
- Washington state stickers from Noteworthy Paper & Press (we put this on our Yeti cooler immediately!)
- A sweet greeting card from Old Soul Designs
- Paper heart seeds from Recycled Ideas Plantable Paper
As with many subscription boxes, the items in your box may not be exactly the same, but they will typically all be from the same companies. For instance, I know we received the ‘Chardonnay’ soap from Melanie’s, but another reviewer received Melanie’s Cabernet soap. Your items won’t be too different, but just different enough to make every box special!
Our Favorite Items in This Month’s Inland Northwest Subscription Box
If you couldn’t tell already by how excited I got over some of these items, I’ll break down for you which local items we personally loved the most.
The first: Cabin Fever from Anchored Northwest! You can check out the candle in action at Inland Northwest Trading Co.’s YouTube channel here, but suffice it to say, we love these candles! They smell fantastic, burn well, and don’t leave behind any funky residue (I’m sure there’s a scientific term for this, but I call it ‘stuff in the air from the candle that makes me sneeze’ – none of that with Anchored NW candles!).
Obviously, of course, the caramels from Copper Pot. I’m not a caramel fan, but my husband is, and when I saw his eyes light up when he tried them… of course I had to try, too!
Can’t wait to sign up for the Inland Northwest Trading Co. subscription box? You can subscribe here!
I can assure you: even if you’re not a caramel fan, you will love these caramels! They’re not like the mass produced caramels of my youth, which practically rip out your teeth. Copper Pot caramels are smooth, creamy – and completely delicious.
A surprise favorite of mine was the Chardonnay natural soap from Melanie’s! Soap isn’t something I necessarily gravitate to, but once I smelled it, I was absolutely hooked. It’s smooth, smells good, and I love that it’s natural!
We really enjoyed all of the products we received in our July 2020 Inland Northwest Trading Co. box, but these three were ones we couldn’t wait to use (or eat!) right away!
Are There Other Regional Subscription Boxes like This?
One of the things that makes the Inland Northwest Trading Co. so unique (and such an incredibly great gift) is that there’s nothing else out there like it on the market.
We actually looked for Inland or Pacific Northwest subscription boxes before we moved to Spokane, because we wanted to learn more about the area, support local businesses and creators, etc. – but there is nothing out there like the Inland Northwest Trading Co. subscription box!
Apparently, there were boxes geared to the Pacific Northwest (PNW Box, Rain City Box and Makr Box), but they have all gone out of business or are on hiatus.
Is the Inland Northwest Trading Co. Subscription Box Worth it?
If you can’t wait to sign up for an Inland Northwest subscription box, we wouldn’t blame you! But is the Inland Northwest Trading Co. subscription box worth it?
First, there are three tiers to the subscription box:
- $29.99/mo. (Basic Box)
- $39.99/mo. (Standard Box)
- and $49.99/mo. (Big Box)
Each price point determines how many items will come in the box: the Basic Box will contain 5-7 items, the Standard Box will contain 7-10 items, and the Big Box will contain 12+ items.
For our July 2020 partnership with Inland Northwest Trading Co., we received the Big Box. Was the Inland Northwest Trading Co. Big Box worth it?
First, let’s break down the prices of the items received. To be fair, a lot of these items could be specially made or packaged for Inland Northwest Trading Co. – that’s the benefit of getting items in a subscription box – you’ll often get different sizes, or scents, or even completely new or unique items.
Doing a straight apples-to-apples comparison can be difficult, and this doesn’t include shipping to buy these items individually, but here’s how it breaks out more or less:
- Temporary tattoo designs from 18th Avenue Designs: around $9-10.50
- Keychain from A Redheads Touch – $6
- The Cabin Fever scented candle from Anchored Northwest – $15
- The Bigfoot bath bomb from BeYOUtiful Bath Bombs & More – $7
- Caramels from Copper Pot Caramels – $8
- Chardonnay natural soap from Melanie’s Natural Soap Co. – Melanie’s shop was on hiatus, so we estimated $7 for her soap
- Washington state stickers from Noteworthy Paper & Press – $5
- Greeting card from Old Soul Designs – $5
- Paper heart seeds from Recycled Ideas Plantable Paper – $1 (it’s difficult to price this one individually as it looks like Recycled Ideas sells them in bulk)
Total value of the Big Box from Inland Northwest Trading Co: $64.
Compare that to the $49.99/month price of the Big Box from Inland Northwest Trading Co., and that is an incredible deal. Not only are you getting more value in the box itself than what it is selling for, you are also getting it delivered to your house with no shipping fees!
Once I pulled out our favorite, Anchored Northwest, candle, I knew this box was special – but I had no idea exactly how much value was in the box.
If you choose the Basic or Standard Box sizes, you won’t get everything listed in the Big Box we reviewed above, but chances are you will get a ton of value from the items in those boxes as well!
So is the Inland Northwest Trading Co. subscription box worth it? Based on the value you get and the products inside the box, we would unequivocally say the Inland Northwest Trading Co. subscription box is worth it!
Are you ready to get your very own Inland Northwest Trading Co. subscription box? You can subscribe here!
Looking for even more local subscription boxes? Check out our article on plant subscription boxes and flower subscription services in Spokane!
