Where We Come From
Provenance.
We believe in knowing where things come from. This is ours.
Our History
How Free-Range Mystery Box Co. Came to Be
The company did not begin as a company. It began as a single box — one that took considerably longer than expected to arrive at its destination and was, by most accounts, worth it. The recipient's response made clear that something had happened that was not happening elsewhere in the mystery box industry. We decided to understand what that was and to do it consistently.
The following is a record of meaningful moments in our institutional history.
The Beginning
The First Box Is Announced
A curator commits to a box. The recipient is informed. Nothing is assembled yet, but the process has begun. This moment is now recognized as the founding of what would become the company.
Some Time Later
The Formation Period Begins
The curator begins to notice items. A mental inventory forms. The box starts to understand what it wants to be. This stage is invisible from the outside, which has led to occasional misunderstanding among those unfamiliar with the process.
The Middle
Maturation Protocols Are Formalized
The questionnaire process is developed. We determine that asking the recipient directly — but carefully, and over time — produces better boxes than attempting to intuit everything unilaterally. This is one of the most important decisions in our history.
Recently
The Box Enters Final Maturation
We are here now. The questionnaire is active. The contents are under review. Harvest is imminent in the sense that it will happen, though we do not use that word to imply a specific date.
Forthcoming
Harvest and Dispatch
This entry will be completed when it is appropriate to complete it. We do not fill in records in advance. That would not be accurate provenance. It would just be optimism.