BIRCHBOX is one of those companies we have to high five. They saw how much the girls were digging their boxes, so they had the brilliant concept to cater to us guys. And guess what? Guys are gaga over these little boxes. For a reasonable price you get a box of neat-o things you probably haven’t heard about yet, right in your mailbox. No shopping! Then, if you like what’s in the box, you can buy more on the BIRCHBOX site. It’s one of those ‘dammit why didn’t I think of that and end up on Forbes 30 under 30 list’ kind of companies.
The men’s box (there is a pun in there somewhere) has really popped off in the last year due to their go get’em VP, Brad Lande. Originally from Portland, Oregon, he lived in San Francisco for years working at Yahoo! Then he went all entrepreneurial on us and founded his own tech start-up for the creative community. Lande (rhymes with Handy!) then moved to New York and nearly a year ago got on the BIRCHBOX party train. He has been responsible for partnerships, product for the box as well as managing growth and subscriber acquisitions. “It’s an amazing culture, a great team with explosive growth and we are just getting started,” he told us.
For November in honor of Thanksgiving, Brad was eager to help those less fortunate and has partnered with all socially conscious brands for the box such as Apolis, Bombas Socks and Plant and Lstn, a headphone company that works with hearing impaired children. “Millennials are launching so many businesses that give back, we really wanted to introduce as many as we could to our subscribers,” Brad explained. November is also Movember (a favorite at The Manual!) and Baxter is including shaving cream in some boxes so that men can shave off their beards to show off their mustache for the month.
We spoke to Brad as he was heading to upstate New York for some fall foliage fun to hear more about his personal style:
Jeans- Simon Miller and Detroit Denim are my two faves.
Pants- Great colorful Joe Fresh trousers! They have a super slim fit I wear all the time.
Shirts- J.Crew, Thom Browne and a designer named Woo Young Mi from Korea that I really like.
Suits- My favorite is a corduroy suit that is Martin Margiela. I have various suits by Thom Browne too.
Outerwear- The classic Burberry trench is hard to beat as well as an awesome bright blue jacket from Aether Apparel. They have amazing items. I also have a Dries Van Noten vintage navy wool blazer that feels like my fall uniform.
Boots- I live in boots. I discovered Trickers while I was in Amsterdam and those are my go-to as are Guidi. I have Red Wings for hiking upstate.
Accessories- Apolis linen scarf and a wool cap that is a prototype from Roosevelt Supply that they are launching soon.
Watches- Cartier, Panerai, obsessed with my Nike Fuel band!
Undershirts- Ministry of Supply, they have amazing high tech performance fabric tees.
Socks- Richer Poorer are fun and comfortable.
Boxers- Bread and Boxers– This simple and Swedish line has no logos or words all over them, just classic boxers.
Cologne- My current rotation includes Histoire De Parfum 1899 for juniper, cinnamon and vetiver for daytime and BLK DNM Perfume 11 for evening with musk and black pepper undertones.
