Review: Frankie & Albert

Frankie & Albert is a unique monthly subscription program that sends you hand curated one of a kind boxes filled with hand picked found items and vintage home decor. You get to select your personal style profile and select the rooms you want your items for, and every month Frankie & Albert will hand pick the perfect items just for you. I gave them a list of some of my interests and they created a special box for me to review for you guys.

My box was focused on kitchen items. The items all went together really well because they all looked to be from the 70's and had similar colors and textures.

The first item in the box was this adorable little vintage mushroom creamer dish. It looks like its straight out of the 70's and I love it! Upon a quick little google search I found that it is part of a Sears (Sears and Roebuck) collection from the 70's. The collection includes all sorts of kitchen items from spoon rests and napkin holders to canisters and sugar/creamer sets. They aren't worth a whole lot. The sugar and creamer set was selling on Ebay for around ten bucks. The creamer alone was selling for $3.50. But I think its cute either way, so the selling value doesn't make a difference whatsoever! A few weeks ago me and my mom were at a yard sale and the woman was selling a 3 piece canister set from the same collection, thinking about it now, I really should have bought them! Dang it..

Next was a bright orange ceramic pepper shaker. Just the pepper. Most of the items in the box don't have a label, description or any sort of marking for me to find out any more info on them, and I couldn't really find a similar style shaker through searching, so I have no idea what the value would be. But since its no known notable maker, I'm sure its worth no more than a buck or two. But nevertheless, the color is bright and beautiful. The style seems very 70's also, so it sticks with the same theme as the creamer. I would have loved to have the salt shaker also, to complete the set. But as a frequent yard saler/flea marketer, I know it can be hard to find complete sets sometimes. And either way, this makes for a cute little decor item regardless. 

 Next in the box was a tiny little plate that looks like it belongs to a little tea set or something. It has cute little orange and blue flowers on it that look like they were hand painted on. Again, matching with the orange 70's looking theme. I really wish this one had a makers mark on it somewhere, because I would loooove to see what the rest of the set looks like.. But the only marking on there was a "made in japan." This delicate little plate looks like its been broken in half and glued back together. I definitely wouldn't use this for anything other than a decor item because Id be afraid it would break again! (at first I thought it might be cute to use on top of my dresser to put rings or something in, but since it was already broken once Id be afraid it might break easily again..) Again, this piece doesnt look like its worth much either. But it is still super cute!

 Next there were these four wooden rings, it would have taken me days to figure out what they were for.. Fortunately my mom informed me that they are napkin rings. We've never been fancy enough to use napkin rings.. hahah. I found a similar set of 8 "vintage 70's wooden napkin rings" selling on Etsy for $20, so I'm valuing my set of 4 at $10. The thing I like about these is they don't scream 70's like the other items. I could use them for a more rustic style dinner party with a burlap table runner and off-white linen table cloth if I wanted, which is much more my style. So they are a little more versatile. Also, this is the first item I really thought I could use. All the others so far I would keep solely for decorative purposes. (I just checked and Frankie & Albert actually state that their items are for decorative purposes only, but I think this is one item that it wouldn't really matter if you used them for their original intended purpose ;) hehe)

The next item was a ceramic trivet with more orange flowers on it..and a wooden border, which ties all of the pieces together beautifully. I couldn't find anything too similar but a few I found ranged from anywhere between $10 and $30. Ill put this one somewhere in the middle at, I'll say maybe $17. This is another that is most likely totally usable. But I could also see this going in a curio cabinet along with the other items. 

The last thing in the box is a cute little brown ceramic pot with a metal lid. This is the only one with a makers mark on it. It says Westbend on the bottom. After a very quick search I found that it is in fact a bean pot. One Etsy seller claimed it is from the early 50s. Hers had an electric burner it sat on, and she was selling it for $20. Another seller said 1960s and didn't have the electric burner, hers was priced at $10. A couple Ebay sellers had theirs at $17, $14, and $16 all with no burner. So Ill say somewhere in the middle and go with $13. This guy would look super cute on the counter filled with tea bags or sugar packets or something of that sort. I wouldn't cook anything in it..but maybe if you cleaned it really well you could use it to serve something in?

So adding up all of my items they seem to be valued at around $40-$50 for the whole box. The box costs $50 per month for a month-to-month subscription, $130 for 3 months or $250 for 6 months. If every months box were like this, personally I don't think the value of the items are match the price of the box. I feel like I could do better buying my own stuff at flea markets and yard sales. That way I could get exactly what I want for prices I'd feel more comfortable with. But for others this might be exactly what you want/need with the convenience of it being sent right to your home.

You can cancel your subscription at any time. But Frankie & Albert does not offer a return/exchange policy, so if you don't like your items you're kind of at a loss.. But I suppose you could try reselling them if you really wanted to. Or give them to a friend who would love them! Luckily I did enjoy most items in my box. As did my mom. But I have a feeling my uncle Joe would love them even more. So I might be bringing him a special little gift when I go visit him this winter. ;)

For 10% off your first Frankie & Albert box use code LARALEE10!!

To find out more about Frankie & Albert visit FrankieandAlbert.com.