There are three things I truly love: New England, entrepreneurs, and Oxford commas. The first two were the genesis of Touch of New England in 2020. From those loves, we created a successful subscription business which truly fueled our passion.
And now we have some updates: we’ve shifted from subscriptions to an online store!
The Subscription Experience: What We Loved
There is no question that I love subscription boxes. Getting that package delivered every month was like a gift to myself, an exciting thrill of opening curated subscription boxes. When I sent the Touch of New England boxes every month, I was able to send that same thrill to others, all while supporting regional artists and craftspeople.
Why Sell New England Made Products Directly Now?
We had overwhelmingly positive responses to our subscription boxes. Our custom-themed boxes were always themed, often with a seasonal tone. But we also received requests for specific products which we weren’t always able to make available in our rotating collections. Many subscribers found items they loved in our collections, and they wanted to buy more of the individual items. We heard you, and we responded! We refreshed our business model and created an online shopping experience to give you more options. Our new platform lets you buy individual products from your favorite creators at any time. We still have bundles available, just not in a subscription format.
We believe our new online store allows more flexibility and better service for both our customers and regional producers. Now you can buy products online without requiring big box stores.
The Upcycled Online Store: What to Expect
We now offer easier online browsing and more product variety, while still offering the specially curated collections highlighting the region. You can now shop at your own pace and discover new items any time – and at discounted prices!
You can find specialty products and fun, unique gifts for virtually everyone on your list. We can even help you treat yourself. We have New England-made tasty treats, curated collections, holiday gift baskets, just to name a few. You’ll find gifts for mom, gifts for college students, gifts for deployed military personnel, and so much more.
If you are looking for how to support small businesses, you’ve definitely come to the right place.
We can even work with you to create custom collections for groups or corporate gifts. Simply contact us through our website.
Supporting New England Artists
Our goal is and has always been to support the skilled tradespeople in the northeast. You’re sure to appreciate their quality of handmade work and their locally designed creations. We favor vendors who create locally sourced items, who use environmentally friendly ingredients, and who have sustainable practices.
With our new structure, we can better support them while offering you more. We can now offer a variety of products from individual artisans instead of just one item each month. For example, one of our all-time favorite creators is Monadnock Mittens in New Hampshire. In addition to the fantastic upcycled mittens they create, we could also offer their felted wool Christmas trees. Or instead of only offering amazingly scented soaps from Ipswich Bay Soap Co. in Massachusetts (like their Balsam Breeze or Blueberry), we can now also offer their fantastic, scented candles. Cherry Almond? Yes please!
Check It Out!
We invite you to explore our new online store and all that Touch of New England has to offer. Please share your thoughts with us through our Contact Us form on our site. We’d love to hear what you think of your experience.
We love the northeast, and we can’t wait to deliver a Touch of New England to you.
