A DC startup, Umba Box provides modern women with something they’re sure to find interesting: a monthly box packed with handmade goodies, delivered to their doorsteps every single month. The exact content of this box is a surprise, and all that users know about what they’re going to get on the mail is that the items are coming from well-respected brands such as Stewart & Claire, SevenWhiteRabbits and Herriott Grace. Accessories, jewelry, stationery, bath products… users of Umba Box can get any of these. The boxes always include one or more products.
If this sounds like the kind of service that could inject a little variety into your daily life, then you can receive one such box for $26. You can pay as you go, of buy a subscription for 3, 6 or 12 months.
Umba Box (which is named after the Swahili word for “to create”) is working along the lines of startups such as Lost Crates and Birchbox. They both follow a similar business model, with the differences being that Lost Crates focuses on stationery, and that Birchbox deals with nothing but beauty products. Umba Box is much wider than any of these, and the random element is what will either attract or repel you. And it remains to be seen how well Umba Box can handle the challenges that come with having to deal with physical goods, too.
In any case, if you don’t like what you get you can send it back, and have your money refunded. And memberships can be easily transferred to any of your friends, too.
UmbaBox.com In Their Own Words
Monthly delivery of curated handmade goods.
Some Questions About UmbaBox.com
How successful can this become? Won’t most people feel that it is mostly a novelty service? 
