Finding a monthly theme for a subscription box that has such a tight focus to fit within certain feminist ideals can be difficult. Honestly, when we first started bouncing around the idea of Rebellion Book Box, we weren’t sure if we would be able to “theme” the boxes, instead having each shipment filled with more general, fun items from feminist-run shops. But September’s Book Box came together in such a smooth way, we’re so glad we decided to stick with the idea of cohesive theme that ties into the featured novel.
September’s theme was taken from Frances Hodgson Burnett’s “The Secret Garden” — the full quote being: “If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”
Given the way the world of “Five Roses” is revealed, we felt it fitting. And, from there, we gave ourselves a fun bit of room to play with the Roses part of the title, (as well as the attention to plants and nature throughout the novel).
We knew we wanted to include a visual representation of Montreal’s iconic Farine Five Roses sign, as it plays such an important role within the novel, as a beacon/compass/marker for many of the characters. (For those who know Montreal, it also establishes the scene quite a bit because it stands in an industrial zone on the banks of the canal on the SW edge of the city. At 15 feet tall, it glows for quite some distance, however.) We were able to reach out to Montreal-based artist Matiya Shunamon to snap a few dozen photos of the sign for us, one of which became the art postcard included in the box.
We also wanted to include an item of “Montreal Green,” the distinct shade of oxidized copper mentioned by Fara late in the novel. Montreal has many centuries-old public buildings whose often elaborate roofs have corroded to form a layer of bright green patina that stand in contrast to their stone facade. Here, we were able to find jewelry from an Etsy shop featuring hand-patina’d leaf-shaped pendants to incorporate both the green we were looking for, as well as our “garden” theme. 
For the seed paper bookmarks included in the box, we located another Etsy shop who specializes in handmade seed papers and seed bombs. Jamie was able to create a bundle of the shop’s gift tags, (often used for weddings and events,) for our purposes. Seed paper has quite an interesting history that is relatively brief in North America, (the first evidence of it being used here is around 1940-41,) but the paper has been used for centuries to protect seeds in difficult growing climates in other parts of the world. Using recycled paper pulp to create seed papers eventually led to the evolution of guerrilla gardening — a movement started by eco-feminist Liz Christy, who aimed to revitalize derelict spaces in NYC in the early 1970s.
Finally, a vinyl sticker with a moving quote by novelist and essayist Anais Nin was added. The sticker was created by designer RoamngNaturalst and sold using the RedBubble platform. (While far from perfect, the RedBubble site allows artists and designers to create and sell their work without the overhead of printing or maintaining stock — a barrier to many creatives who would love to share their art but do not have the time, space, or startup capital due to the need of full-time, or commitments to education or childcare.) The quote on the sticker reads: “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Given the evolution of many of the characters in “Five Roses,” we felt it a most fitting quote to include in September’s Box. They’re also just great words to think upon, (Jenna has her sticker at the front of her writing journal).
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