Our most recent REI impulse purchase: this pair of Patagonia shoes. But this morning, the box became more interesting than the shoes — we feel like a kid at Christmas.
Nothing on the outside of the box makes it seem particularly special.
But on the inside a small note: this box is reversible and can be reused for storage.
It wasn't glued together, so it was easy to unfold.
Putting it back together was not too bad, though we did use a bit of tape to hold the insides together. Of course, you can reuse shoeboxes without turning them inside out, but the finished product has an attractive illustration, and no trace of the Patagonia brand—it looks like a storage box you might actually buy at a place like IKEA or the Container Store. If shoes have to come in a shoebox, this makes a lot of sense.
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oh that is so great! i wish everyone took that much thoughtfulness into their packaging design! much more likely to reuse!
I'm a fan of the shoes and the box. I tend to use shoeboxes a lot for storage, but a 15 year-old box with "LA Gear" scrawled on the side is a little painful to look at.
Patagonia is awesome. My favorite pair of organic slacks came from there, and they were under $100.
Also, I've covered old shoe boxes in leftover decent wrapping paper, or just brown kraft paper. Of course, I bind books, so I'm pretty good with an x-acto knife and glue I make out of pastry flour and water.
I SO know what you mean, ChristopherB. :)
How very thoughtful! I wish all shoe boxes would do that.
I suppose you would try reversing a box and using stamps on it...but it might be hit-or-miss.
Piper Lime online shoe store ships their shoes in boxes with a white lining printed with an image of lime slices. I've turned several inside out for closet storage and they look great!