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Birchbox headquarters may be up and running again, but there are many in the area that are still without power or homeless. Shop this Amazon registry to send supplies to Staten Island.

Service Update: Birchbox is Back in Action!

We’re excited to share that Birchbox is back to business as usual and fully operational. Our offices are open. Our warehouse is shipping full-size orders on time. Monday has never felt so good!

Full-size orders from the shop are shipping immediately. Our November women’s boxes will begin shipping in waves starting on Wednesday 11/7. We expect 50 percent or more to be out the door by our promised deadline of November 10th. A portion of boxes will ship as late as the 15th of the month. We appreciate your patience as we make up for lost time due to our warehouse’s closure and reduced staffing.

We are so thankful for the support of our customers during this difficult time. We’re extremely proud of the dedication of the Birchbox Team over the past week, working together in a challenging situation to continue service to the best of our ability. We couldn’t be more excited to get back to work delivering you delight and discovery.

Yours,
Hayley, Katia and the entire Birchbox Team

P.S. .Keep an eye out for our exciting holiday launches! We’ll be unveiling the Birchbox Holiday Shop later this week and announcing our latest (very giftable) Limited Edition box shortly!

How You Can Help the Sandy Recovery

As New York, New Jersey, and much of the Eastern Seaboard struggles to deal with the destruction, power outages, flooding, and gas shortages left in Sandy’s wake, many of us are looking for ways to help. With the help of Twitter and the interwebs, we’ve pulled together a variety of options—there’s something for everyone, whether you’re in New York or Nebraska, and whether you’re looking to donate time, cash, or perhaps even airline miles.

Workers toss ruined foodstuffs at Fairway Market in Red Hook, Brooklyn. (Photo: Time.com)

If you’re in New York, there are a few comprehensive guides to volunteering opportunities, including Time Out New York and Brokelyn. Some ways you can get involved right now:

Help the New York Parks Service clean up parks in four of the five boroughs.
In Brooklyn, help unload supplies and sort donations at the Park Slope Armory or the Red Hook Initiative.
If you have tech skills, sign up with NY Tech Meetup and help schools, non-profits, and independent businesses get back up and running.
Staten Island was hit harder than almost anywhere else. Learn how you can donate food and non-perishable food items.
Go to Staten Island Recovers for more ways to help.
Volunteer with the City by emailing NYC Service at nycservice@cityhall.nyc.gov with your name, email address and borough.
Donate blood. The New York Blood Center is in desperate need. Find a donation center near you.
Eat pork buns and compost cookies for a good cause. Momofuku (and the many other restaurants) are donating profits from their food to the Red Cross. Learn more here.

Not in the area? There are plenty of ways to help.

Donate to the Red Cross. While the organization is no longer accepting clothing, food, or supply donations, they do need monetary support. Donate on their website or text “REDCROSS” to 90999 to make an automatic $10 donation.
Donate to the Brooklyn Recovery Fund, which will go directly toward helping Brooklyn residents and businesses.
Donate to the Salvation Army, which is helping victims in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and West Virginia. Contribute on their website or by “Storm” to 80888.
Many airlines are matching customer donations or rewarding donations with airline miles: for example, Delta has donated $100,000 to the Red Cross and allowing members to donate their SkyMiles to the cause. Click through for a list of participating airlines.

Know of other volunteer and donation opportunities? Tell us in the comments.

Hurricane Sandy & Birchbox Service Update

As you know, Hurricane Sandy blew through the Eastern Seaboard on Monday causing extensive flooding and damage in New York and the surrounding region.These pictures pretty much sum it up. While the city is bouncing back, hundreds of thousands of people are still without power, including Birchbox. On Thursday, we gave you a peek at our makeshift office digs; on a more serious note, we’d like to give you an update on your Birchbox service.

The Birchbox offices remain closed but our team is working from home (or coffeeshops or borrowed couches). Our warehouse is located in NJ and was closed for days after the storm. In addition, UPS and USPS suspended service due to road closures. As a result, full-size orders placed on Friday, 10/26 and after will be delayed. As of Thursday at noon, our warehouse is open and production is back underway but running at lower volumes due to short staffing. Shipments of the women’s November Birchbox will begin leaving the warehouse in waves on 11/7 and continue through mid-month. Unfortunately, many boxes will ship after our promised deadline of the 10th of the month. We thank you in advance for your patience.

Our customer service team is working diligently to answer calls and emails. However, call availability and quality is limited and email response time may be longer than usual. We truly apologize for the inconvenience. We are hopeful that we will be back in the office on Monday. We’ll continue to update you on the blog and over email as necessary as we get back up and running. We are grateful for your support!

Team Birchbox

Don’t forget! To say thank you for your patience we’d like you to enjoy 35 Bonus Birchbox Points on purchases of $35+ when you shop October box products. Use code THANKYOU at checkout to redeem. Promo expires 11/4/12.

Who Needs Power When You Have Puppies? Check Out Birchbox’s Makeshift Digs

Hurricane Sandy may have wiped out power in all of lower Manhattan, including Birchbox HQ, but that doesn’t mean our staffers aren’t still hard at work. They’re just being a little…creative…about where they’re getting stuff done.

Our awesome (and stubborn) team has set up BBox “offices” all over the Tri-State area (take that, natural disaster!). Yesterday, as an afternoon pick-me-up, we started a ridiculously long email chain filled with photos of our new workday digs. From upstate New York to Brooklyn to uptown Manhattan, here’s a peek at our makeshift workspaces.

A cohort camping out at the Flatiron School. A closer look at the signs: “Flatiron School Birchbox Refugees” and “LIZ [our CTO]—we’re learning to code! (exclude Marie and Jer).”

From left to right: Melissa, Marie, Jenna, Jereme, Danielle, Caroline, Madelyne, and Katia (in front)

“Hi Team Birchbox! I am hanging with Norwegian babies in Bklyn!” —Hayley, Co-Founder

Birchbox’s Hurricane Sandy Disaster Kit

A little more than a year ago, Hurricane Irene wreaked havoc on the eastern seaboard, and all of New York City shut down in preparation for it. Now the Mid-Atlantic and North Eastern parts of the US have been put on high alert for Hurricane Sandy. Don’t be caught unawares! In preparation for torrential downpours and hours-long blackouts, here’s what we’re stocking up on to get through the Frankenstorm.

(Photo: rawstory.com)

“Papa Chen would be mortified to know that the only candles in my apartment are of the Diptyque and Atelier variety. While I love Illume’s mini candles (so cute!), I’ll probably go the practical route and grab some extra-large candles and backup flashlight batteries at the hardware store.” —Mollie, Editorial Director

“I’m going to grab bottled water, snack bars (I’m a fan of LÄRABARs), and haul out the camping lanterns from the cabinet under my sink. Then stock up on some yummy food to cook and be thankful that I have a gas stove.” —Benedicta, Director of Editorial Operations