Subscriptions that aren't to magazines?

October 29, 2009 1:27 PM

What are some wonderful things I can buy subscriptions to, other than magazines and newspapers?

Curious about interesting subscriptions for things that aren't magazines, zines, journals or newspapers. For example, Amy Lam's My Topics art series, or I guess McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, but really I'm most keen on things that aren't books either. Toys? Sculptures? Cool Maps? Stuff that comes in the mail monthly, quarterly, biannually... Stuff for adults, or stuff for kids.

An etsy search brings up some things, but mostly lacklustre cards/soap/baked goods/lame crafts. I know there are subscriptions out there, but I'm curious about the wonderful ones.

posted by Marquis to grab bag (36 answers total)

Tie of the Month. There is also fruit of the month and stuff like that.
posted by Sassyfras at 1:30 PM on October 29, 2009

Pencil of the Month Club.
posted by CathyG at 1:30 PM on October 29, 2009 [1 favorite]

Wine, beer, bacon, flowers, fruit.....do you mean only non-perishables?
posted by otherwordlyglow at 1:32 PM on October 29, 2009

Art!
posted by arco at 1:34 PM on October 29, 2009 [1 favorite]

You can get a subscription to the coloured versions of FieldNotes
posted by gregjones at 1:35 PM on October 29, 2009 [1 favorite]

For foodies: Zingerman's monthly clubs, Vosges 13-Moon Club Haut-Chocolate, and Melissa's Exotic Fruit Club. I've done gifts from all of these and they've been gratefully received.
posted by jocelmeow at 1:36 PM on October 29, 2009 [1 favorite]

friend of mine had a subscription to a Bacon of the Month thing. i tried to find you a link to the actual place, but google suggests multiple sources for this kind of service.
posted by radiosilents at 1:36 PM on October 29, 2009

Coffee!
posted by The Michael The at 1:36 PM on October 29, 2009

Powell's Books has a subscription service called Indiespensables. Mostly books and textual products, although sometimes there's food and music. See past editions here.
posted by calistasm at 1:42 PM on October 29, 2009

Go wild with the Month Club Store.
posted by alms at 1:43 PM on October 29, 2009

So which of these are truly wonderful?

(I'm in Canada, so US food subscriptions are less appealing. But please keep them coming!)
posted by Marquis at 1:43 PM on October 29, 2009

Carnivorous Plant of the Month! It's insanely cool, however, I don't know (and doubt) they ship to Canada.
posted by jamaro at 1:48 PM on October 29, 2009 [4 favorites]

Mighty Goods put together a subscription gift guide for the holidays last year, including tshirts, bacon, and playdough. Also featured: underwear, shirts, jerky.
posted by rhapsodie at 1:49 PM on October 29, 2009

Oh man I want this one so much: 500 colored pencils.
posted by rhapsodie at 1:51 PM on October 29, 2009 [4 favorites]

Probably not your bag, but you get all the latest and pre-market Microsoft software with a TechNet subscription.
posted by Burhanistan at 1:55 PM on October 29, 2009

Project Dispatch, the art subscription service I mentioned above, is described in more detail here.
posted by arco at 2:00 PM on October 29, 2009

There's Wholphin: A DVD Magazine of Unseen Films.
posted by ocherdraco at 2:05 PM on October 29, 2009 [2 favorites]

Along the lines of Wholphin, you can also subscribe to McSweeney's
posted by arm426 at 2:22 PM on October 29, 2009

I subscribe to my favorite popcorn (Jolly Time Crispy 'n White) via Amazon; they send me a case every 3 months for less than the store price. (Note that this item has the wrong picture.)
posted by neuron at 2:23 PM on October 29, 2009

A farm CSA is a lot like a weekly vegetable subscription; you'd have to do a search locally, though.
posted by aimedwander at 2:26 PM on October 29, 2009 [2 favorites]

I'm in Canada, so US food subscriptions are less appealing.

Provocative statement. Hassles in getting stuff across the border? How so?
posted by IndigoJones at 2:38 PM on October 29, 2009

Some theaters sell subscriptions to their shows. I have a three-play subscription to the Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier; a friend buys a yearly subscription to another venue and receives something like seven shows for the price of five.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 2:46 PM on October 29, 2009

Thirding Wholphin.
posted by bradbane at 2:48 PM on October 29, 2009

Another different art subscription: THE THING. Their website describes it as "a periodical in the form of an object," created by artists, filmmakers, musicians, and writers.

A friend takes part in this and she's gotten some cool stuff, including work by Miranda July and Jonathan Lethem. Past art works viewable here.
posted by soleiluna at 2:48 PM on October 29, 2009

> I'm in Canada, so US food subscriptions are less appealing.

Provocative statement. Hassles in getting stuff across the border? How so?

Yes. (Perishable) food, plants and things like that are often held up.

I've favourited some answers to signal the kind of things I'm most curious about, but please keep ideas coming. This is amazing!
posted by Marquis at 3:03 PM on October 29, 2009

Lego!
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:30 PM on October 29, 2009

MeFi's own Woodblock100 makes gorgeous woodblock prints, and you can subscribe to a series. I have a couple of his annual gift prints from last year, and they are really beautiful.
posted by min at 3:38 PM on October 29, 2009 [3 favorites]

Tea of the month club from Teavana!!!
posted by assasinatdbeauty at 3:56 PM on October 29, 2009

Threadless has a t-shirt of the month club

Insound has a free "recommended track of the week" that you can sign up for.
posted by Bunglegirl at 4:35 PM on October 29, 2009

Probably not what you're looking for, but I'll toss it out there: eMusic is subscription-based, and you get a set of download credits each month. No roll-over, which is a pain in the arse, but it's kind of fun to have new credits to peruuze downloadable DRM-free MP3.
posted by filthy light thief at 5:12 PM on October 29, 2009

Your local symphony/fine arts performing venue. I guess it doesn't come in the mail, though. A Time-Life music collection in the genre of your choice would, however.
posted by drlith at 6:33 PM on October 29, 2009

Amateur porn of your particular fetish (not all porn is sex). Stress the AMATEUR. A lot of the amateur women out there doing it are actual enthusiasts of what they are doing and your support helps keep them from diluting their forte.

Not all girls in porn set out to or want to be the next "star" You'd be pleasantly surprised with the quality and imagination of what you will find that isn't studio or corporate produced.
posted by sandra_s at 6:48 PM on October 29, 2009

indie yarn/fiber dyers often do a yarn/fiber of the month.

blue moon is famous for its hand-dyed sock yarn club; spunky eclectic is a woman from maine who is a talented dyer and runs a fiber club.

these groups can be pretty coveted and exclusive; i LOVE the mad drama on ravelry when someone shows their yarn that they weren't supposed or (my god!) SELLS it to someone who is not part of the club!!

OH NOES WON'T SOMEONE THINK OF THE YARN
posted by chickadee at 7:25 PM on October 29, 2009 [1 favorite]

Meat!
posted by armage at 11:18 PM on October 29, 2009

My favorite subscription (for the BOOKS): audible.com
posted by bearwife at 1:28 PM on November 3, 2009

I'm in Canada, so US food subscriptions are less appealing.

Provocative statement. Hassles in getting stuff across the border? How so?
posted by IndigoJones at 3:38 PM on October 29

You'd be surprised at how many Americans, in a desperate bid for affordable healthcare, have tried to smuggle themselves into Canada by hiding inside assorted foodstuffs. Let's just say there are some Canadians, who, to this day, cannot look at a cheese blintz without vomiting.
posted by mecran01 at 9:27 PM on November 3, 2009