Pocket Sized DIY

"I Make My Case" Artist Palette Phone Cases (Photo: Case-Mate)Technology and art have found some playful common ground in the cases for mobile devices and more specifically, phones.  The result is good for everyone, in some cases, even the environment!  

Plain Bamboo iP4 Case (Photo:Grove)

Companies like Grove in Portland, Oregon are using the sustainable resource of bamboo to create iPhone 4 covers. The unadorned cover is gorgeous, but if you prefer some extra detail, and I always do, you can select from 34 designs created in collaboration with contemporary illustration artists, each coming with downloadable wallpaper of the selected design. Or, even better! You can use your own design or image to be laser etched on the surface of the bamboo!  Their 1000 DPI lasers pick up most subtle detail.  Each case is hand-made to a tolerance of .001 of an inch making your Grove custom case not only a piece of art, but an expression of great craftsmanship as well!

"Among the Shadows" by Wotto (Photo: Grove)

Recycled Skateboard Deck iPhone 4 Cover

---A diversion, but noteworthy---

Making additional strides with green design, Grove has also made a collection of 200 limited edition iPhone covers out of recycled skateboard decks, all of which are now only available on eBay, but stunning!  Check out the gallery of images to take a look.

Getting back to DIY, Case-Mate in Atlanta, GA has two ways for you to make your phone case your own.  Their DIY cases allow you to upload your own art or photo for your case, imbedding the inks directly into Lexane, an extremely strong plastic, ensuring that your image is scratch and abrasion resistant, not just skin deep. Their "I Make My Case" site has won the 14th Annual Webby Award and if you play with it a little you will see why. Illustrations flare out dancing across the background as you move your cursor across the page, and this is before even starting the creation process.   

Shadow Chen Palette for Custom Case (Photo: Case-Mate)Flipping through the cases on display you are basically selecting an artist to collaborate with and a general place to start.  Once selected, you have a series of palettes to play with.  I was playing with the palette created by artist and illustrator, Shadow Chen, (shown above).  I selected a background, the turquoise blue that fades to yellow in the center, then moved on to selecting motifs, which you click to place, then rotate or scale up or down using your mouse.  It takes a moment to get the hang of it, then I'm off and running, placing, spinning, enlarging. It's a very user-friendly way to create something that is both uniquely yours and an expression of a contemporary artist.  I highly recommend, even if you aren't in the market for a cell phone cover, that you give it a peruse!  

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Comments

[William Rose]

Great idea really. I'd buy a cover like that one. Nice post, thanks for sharing.

[Bern Mason]

This is great to use. It can somehow add charm to my device. I like this esp the wooden detailed one.

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I like the green design grove. those design are very unique and awesome.

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The design is really nice! I like it so much.. So cool!

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Cursing myself for buying an HTC not an iPhone, why did I make that decision?????!

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The company who made the wood case did a great job. The iPhone looks very different with that design.

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