We’re really excited about our new Skatecase product for the iPhone, and today we wanted to share some of the behind-the-scenes production with you. The Skatecase comes from a collaboration with Lindsay Jo Holmes of MapleXO, who uses recycled skateboard material to make jewelry. (We love her work-- what a great way for an avid skateboarder to make a living!) Originally we teamed up with Lindsay to make the Skateback for the iPhone, and so naturally it evolved into a case. Using a material that would otherwise be a waste product is not only a good way to reduce manufacturing excess, but it’s a fun challenge to make it all work well!

From the get go, it was a test of the skills of our engineers, designers, and woodshop production crew to fabricate an iPhone case from recycled skateboard material. Our engineers worked around the clock for months to find the best way to mill and produce our Skatecase. (Is sleep for wimps? We can’t say. But a sleep deprived Barrett did make a CNC jig called The Millenium Falcon for just this product!) Once our crew dialed in our large CNC machines to get the milling just right and we were happy with the fit of the cases, it was go, team, go!  

After the Skatecases come off the mill they go through a rigorous quality control check where each one is inspected by hand at several work stations. If they do not pass the tests they are fed to the beast. Once inspected they are cleaned up by resident edge sanding genius Sean, and readied for the woodshop production team to knock them out one by one.

Our woodshop team now knows the process backwards and forwards. We hand sand each iPhone case to make them look as pretty as we can. We oil them and clean them up and let them cure until they are just right. When they are ready we do the final procedure of installing the bamboo buttons and inner materials that keep our iPhones snug as a bug in our cases. In the end each case goes through another series of quality control tests so we deliver you the best product possible! After that they are processed and shipped out to you by our team.

goGrove!