REMEMBER the days when the only way to communicate with each other was via post? When we used to send letters, postcards and parcels to our loved ones instead of emails, texts and Whatsapp messages. Not-Another-Bill is working to bring that time back and make our post box a more exciting place once more and our email inbox less full. Because “email is good but parcels and post are far better”, as one of the company’s mottos declares.

The British company Not-Another-Bill makes the post more appealing than regarding it only as a way of receiving bills and official letters – as its name suggests. The company’s subscription service delivers surprise presents in the post each month and you can subscribe either to receive a present yourself, or to send one to somebody you’d like to please.

The idea came to the founder Ned Corbett-Winder when a friend and colleague in an advertising agency pointed out that no one receives anything good in the post anymore, only bills and pizza menus. Except for Corbett-Winder, who as an art director often received some nice surprises in the post from designer colleagues. Now the tables have turned and while he makes everyone else’s experience with the post more magical, when asked whether he still receives fun things in the post, he answers, “Unfortunately not, only bills.”

Since its conception in 2011, when Corbett-Winder quit his job and was running his new business and sending out packages himself from his own living room, Not-Another-Bill has grown. Going from “a few loyal friends supporting us to now sending gifts worldwide to a growing subscriber base. Our team has expanded and we are constantly working hard on exciting projects and collaborations.”

The gifts are also nothing ordinary as the company works with interesting artists, designers and brands – from ethical bath and body products by Soap Co., such as wild fig and poppy bar of soap, to a ceramic set of bowls and spoons illustrated by Esther Horchner with naked swimming figures in the bowls and bathing suit on the spoons to cover them up. The service gives you space to choose your style preferences to make sure that you will like what you receive.

A self-proclaimed hoarder, Corbett-Winder says he enjoys scouting new and interesting products to add to the site and the parcels. “We are always on the look-out for unique, well-made gifts. Our previous collaborators have been established brands such as HAY, Ferm Living and Tom Dixon. But we also love discovering small artisan makers from all over the world. We partner with brands and artists who create gifts and have an appreciation for craft and design with an outlook of practicality but also playfulness,” he explains.

With Christmas slowly, but surely approaching, a surprise parcel in the post could be an original thinking-outside-the-box present for a loved one, whether you’ll be spending Christmas with them or not. You can choose from hampers and gift sets specially designed for the holiday. The company also launches Bill, a line of luxury leather goods offering lifestyle accessories like a hexagon-shaped card holder in an array of different colour combinations.

“Our last date for shop orders and luxe gift boxes for a subscription is Thursday 22, as Christmas Day is on a Sunday, and remember – no post on Sundays.” That is the only problem with the post.

Images courtesy of Not-Another-Bill

Published 02/11/2016 at theglassmagazine.com