I’m Very Pleased With My Blind-Box Mushroom Key Chains
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your account’s‘Saved for Later’section.
Comment
Earlier this week, I was up near Bryant Park with a little bit of time to kill, so I walked over to the famedKinokuniya book storeto check out the stationery section in the basement. I was mostly looking for rubber stamps, notebooks, or anythingMoomin-related, but instead I walked out with two very realistic blind-box mushroom key chains. I had first seen them in the spring at theNew York Toy Fairand then promptly forgotten about them, so I was excited to find them stacked near the cashier. Like any otherblind-box toy, what you get is a surprise; in this series, there are eight different mushrooms to collect, including enoki, morel, shiitake, shimeji (a.k.a. beech mushrooms), and what I think is a bridal veil stinkhorn.
I bought two, then waited to open them until I would be in the office, where I could unbox them among fellow Strategist writers. I was especially hoping that one of the boxes might contain a morel, which I’ve occasionally foraged for upstate; other than that, I was excited for whatever might be inside, though my last choice was a white, egg-shaped mushroom with a rude-looking red center. The first box revealed a tightly packed group of golden-brown beech mushrooms … and the second revealed my coveted morel. I let out a little squeal and showed them off — both designs are extremely realistic, with detailed texture and colors.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Strategist writer Erin Schwartz recently polled the Strategist staff for theirthoughts on bag charmsamid theLabubu craze, and I was one of the few pro-bag-charm folks to weigh in (with some specific caveats). But I wish I had bought these mushrooms before participating in that conversation, because I think they might have convinced some of my colleagues to change their minds. Unlike cutesy, pastel plushies, the mushrooms have a quiet beauty that feels sort of punk, a little reminder of the natural world for when you can’t get outside and touch grass.
More From The Strategist
- The Back-to-School Hall of Fame
- The Best Things Strategist Editors Have Bought This Year (So Far)
- Everything You Need to Outfit Your College Dorm
- The Strategist Summer 100
The Strategistis designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read abouthere. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
