Eucopia: European design treasures in a monthly subscription box

Journalist Jason Toon wants to show Americans (and others) what is happening in Europe on the design and print front. For 45US$ he will send you a box with 3 to 5 items which are, according to Toon, spectacular. There is also the option of a minibox with only one item for US$15. This is what you will find in this month´s box.

• The Magisso Cake Server, a slithering cake slicer by Finnish designers Laura Bougdanos and Vesa Jääskö which creates perfectly shaped wedges of cakes and pies in a whimsical and seemingly asymmetrical way. If M.C. Escher made cake cutters, this is what he’d make. It won a 2010 Red Dot Award.
• Four brightly colored Ekobo’s Biobu Gusto plates. It’s hard to put into words how nice these sustainable, brightly colored plates feel in your hand, especially considering the fact they’re all dishwasher safe.
  
• A jar of Rose Hip Jam by Podravaka, a Croatian condiment and spread maker in Croatia. Americans don’t really know what rose hips are, which is pretty much why Toon put them in his first Eucopia box. “In Eastern Europe, rose hips are pretty much ubiquitous,” he says. He wants to educate Americans on just how widespread this seemingly obscure fruit is.
• Two Happy Hippos, from Italian confectioner Kinder. They are hippopotamus-shaped vanilla cookies filled with hazelnut cream, from the makers of Kinder Eggs, which have been illegal in this country (because of their embedded toy surprises) since 1938. Happy Hippos might be the next best thing.

You can view the contents of the box via this link.
Eucopia is a great idea, but the contents will decide if it is a success or not. It is however good and effective promotion of European design.