THE INXPERIMENT: INK SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE BY APPELBOOM

A few month ago, Goulet Pens stopped their ink sample subscription service. It had gotten to a point where it had simply grown out of hand for them. But it didn't take long for another store to fill in the void that Goulet left behind. That store was the Netherlands-based Appelboom.

For those that aren't familiar with the concept of an ink subscription: a selection of ink samples is curated each month, and sent out on a subscription basis. It's a fun and affordable way to try and experiment with new inks, and you get to try inks that you might not have thought about before. 

Appelboom named their subscription 'The Inxperiment', and it's slightly different from what Goulet Pens did. The general idea is the same of course: you get five ink sample vials of a couple milliliters, enough to fill a pen once or twice.

But additionally, Appelboom also coupled it with a giveaway. Each month you receive a white postcard along with your Inxperiment, that you can color using the ink samples. If you send the postcard back, or post it on social media, you get the chance to win the set of full bottles from that month's Inxperiment! There's only so much one can do with a subscription like this, but I think Appelboom did a pretty good job adding an extra touch to it with this giveaway.

Appelboom strongly focused on expanding their ink selection in the recent years, and the result is definitely noticeable. They have a wide variety of ink brands, both the more traditional brands and some more exclusive 'boutique' inks like Robert Oster, KWZI and Bookbinders. So the selection of samples is varied, and sometimes comes in a certain theme. For instance, the February Inxperiment was themed around Valentine's day, and contained a couple nice red/pink inks, as well as a Valentine's themed postcard. 

The Inxperiment is the ideal subscription to get your monthly ink fix, and it allows you to try out a bunch of inks at a reasonable price. The selection of samples comes from a wide range of popular, but also some smaller brands. Of course you don't know what you'll get, so you might end up with an ink you already have, but that's the risk of the game. Or to quote Forrest Gump:

"Life is like a box of chocolates. 

You never know what you're gonna get."

Appelboom's The Inxperiment runs 12.10 EUR or 10 USD for non-EU customers, and the discount code 'friend', provided for Pencilcase Blog readers, can also be applied to further reduce the price.

Note: Appelboom is a sponsor of this blog. This product was sent free of charge so I could write this review.  I was in no way influenced in the making of this review, the opinions shared in this review are completely my own! This post does not contain affilate links.