mfch box – behind the scenes

Our February 2022 edition of our MFCH Box has just shipped. – (our 21st Box!) – and we thought you might be interested to know what goes on behind the scenes each quarter, from picking a new and exciting theme, to working with French brands and artisans to curate each and every item, to carefully preparing and packing the boxes to ship out to countries all around the world.

Our first step is determining the theme, which can range anywhere from a Marie Antoinette-inspired Box to a French Cook Box to a Chalet Living Box. It may be seasonal or it may be inspired by a specific product or brand that we recently discovered and felt we had to share with you!

From there, we can begin our hunt for our 6-8 items that will fit our decided theme. As a team, we discuss what should be in the collection; there are many things to take into account in addition to the theme, such as all the contents’ colors working together, the size and weight of everything together, having an item that smells wonderful, and, above all else, factoring in what we know our clients love. Gradually, the new collection is tweaked into shape.

After we have laid out and selected our top option, we order samples from the brands and suppliers, who may be located in a far corner of France, to ensure we have a real feel and sense for every piece (we always love to visit artisans at their ateliers and place of work when we’re able). As soon as we receive the samples, we make our final selections, determine quantities, place the necessary orders and then stage and hold a photo shoot for the images for our brochure.

Now, for the packing! We start assembling our Boxes during the first or second week of every month at our wonderful warehouse in Normandy, which conveniently receives and stores all the items as they arrive until we are ready to begin packing. Everything is counted and checked, and some pieces require pre-wrapping, especially if they are fragile.

Corinne is the lovely lady on the team who handles this part of the procedure. She supervises all things to do with packing and triple-checks our items, and when the big day comes, she is joined by a small team who work together to lovingly pack our Boxes, finishing each with our signature white silk ribbon bow, then putting them in their outer boxes and sticking on the DHL labels . Of course special care is taken if the box includes a fragile item.

DHL then comes to the warehouse to collect the Boxes, and within a matter of hours, they are on their way… arriving on our clients’ doorsteps – no matter where they are in the world – just a day or two later!

As you can see, there is quite the process. It requires a lot of concentration, care for details, and discipline to ensure that each and every Box is in perfect condition, with each item in its rightful place. But as we enter our sixth year of curating and assembling MFCH Boxes – we can say that it is a true love of labor!

If you would like to experience one of these beautiful boxes, you can find our past available boxes, HERE
OR you can reserve our most recent February Box, Le French Chef, HERE.