Modest Box is a subscription service that mails goods from local, ‘modest’ companies in a package.
Credit: Courtesy of Andrea Archibald
Ohio fans near and far can now enjoy a monthly box of local-made goodies sent straight to their door.
Modest Box is a new subscription service that sends different types of packages to subscribers, all featuring products from local, “modest” companies.
“When I was thinking of names for the box, I wanted it to be something that stands for the opposite of ‘big box’ because we’re not a big box retailer,” founder Andrea Archibald said.
Archibald and her husband, Nate, fostered a love for locally made goods by going to local farmers’ markets, meeting local producers and sampling their products.
The couple owns the shops Simply Vague, located in Polaris Fashion Place and The Mall at Tuttle Crossing, and Devoted, in the South Campus Gateway.
Modest Box is a way for those Ohio-themed retailers and other local producers to make their products more widely available.
“Often people ask us if we can put our products online,” Andrea Archibald said. “We decided to make this box because our products are so unique and they’re done in small runs so it can be hard to sell them online because we’re not sure if things will sell out at the store at the same time.”
Modest Box customers can customize the service by size, type and subscription duration.
The three types of boxes — called “local love box,” “T-shirt box” and “the big box” — are offered monthly as a one-time purchase or three-, six-, or 12-month duration.
The “T-shirt box” will send out two shirts each month at a price of $56. The “local love box” costs $39 and “the big box” costs $89. Rates cheapen with longer subscriptions and the service will donation $5 to various nonprofits when customers enter coupon codes listed on the website. Certain boxes can be personalized to gender-targeted items and T-shirt size.
Orders received by Jan. 31 will ship out on Feb. 12, the service’s inaugural distribution. Andrea Archibald said they are receiving orders from across the country.
“We’ve been surprised,” Andrea Archibald said. “There’s lots of people locally here buying them and I would say there’s just as many buying them from out of state. A lot of people are buying them as Valentine’s Day gifts right now. I think they’re going to do really well for any sort of holiday, like Mother’s Day.”
Andrea Archibald said there’s lots of flexibility with order — for example, a customer can get the local box one month and the T-shirt box the next.
One T-shirt company featured is Ohio-themed Where I’m From, based in Columbus and a top seller at Andrea Archibald’s stores.
“I think it’s a fantastic idea to spread all different kinds of local businesses all over the state and country,” said Where I’m From co-owner Andrew VanderLind.
VanderLind said there are advantages to buying locally made T-shirts, including more creative designs driven by passion and a more unique product than something bought at a big box store.
“This box allows for people both outside and in the state to promote local businesses and share that pride,” VanderLind said. “Plus find out about a lot of cool products you never even knew existed, and hopefully fall in love with them.”
