It’s Father’s Day! We love getting our dads unique, made-in-Portland gifts, so we decided to put together a list of some winning present ideas that accurately represent the great Pacific Northwest. We did sprinkle in a few Grovemade products, but can you blame us? Our dads love the stuff we make, so it’s only fair that we include it.

Piranha 2, by Leatherman, $25.00

http://www.leatherman.com/831680.html

Dad will treasure this special little tool -- a single-piece, multi-purpose pocket savior fit for McGuyver himself. The Piranha 2 is 100% stainless steel, with a built-in rubber bit holder that holds a Leatherman bit. With this go-go-gadget, Dad can tighten screws, loosen bolts, pry things open, open beverages, and more. He can take it with him everywhere, everyday. It’s even TSA-compliant, so it’s plane safe!

Walnut iPhone Case, by Grovemade (that’s us!), $99.00

http://grovemade.com/product/walnut-iphone-case/?initial=15

Dad deserves the classiest iPhone case of them all, and we’ve got it right here. Our wood iPhone 5/5S/6/6 Plus/7 case in walnut is the king of the jungle, when it comes to iPhone accessories. It’s handcrafted, timeless, elegant, and handsome, just like your father (yes, he’s handcrafted, too). The all-natural Black Walnut wood we use is dark, rich, sturdy, and respectable. You know Dad loves putting cases on things, so give him the best.

Travel Cribbage Board, by Walnut Studio, $45.00

http://walnutstudiolo.com/collections/home/products/travel-cribbage-board

If your dad knows what cribbage is, this is the ultimate gift. Walnut Studio designed this travel board to emulate the pocket games soldiers in WWII used to carry. It’s maybe the smallest cribbage board available, which is cool. Your pops can pop this out at any social function to score instant cool points. “Hey wanna play some cribbs?” he’ll ask. “We don’t have a board!” his bud will say. “Yah! I got one right here in my pocket!” your Dad’ll say! This cribbage board has an antique brass snap closure, laser engraved board with 60-point loop, a removable brass tube to hold its solid copper pegs, and a premium cork plug.

Maggie photo frame, by Plywerk, $49 and up

http://www.plywerk.com/order/product/maggie

Dads are rarely described as the most sentimental bunch, but that’s even more reason why you should do him a favor and showcase one of his favorite photos for him. This frame is a work of art in itself, and it holds the photo in place using extremely strong magnets! Everyone loves magnets! Plywerk crafts their pieces from high-quality, eco-friendly bamboo. This frame comes with a beautiful bamboo stand, which can be fit into two different keyholes in the back, for dual orientation.

Walnut iPad Sleeve, by Grovemade, $89

http://grovemade.com/product/walnut-ipad-sleeve/?initial=59

Our Walnut iPad Sleeve makes a great gift for dads that are up on their tablet game. Made from all-natural Black Walnut veneer with wool lining, this sleeve has a convenient leather and brass pull strap that makes it easy to pull out the iPad when it’s time to use the NPR app or check the weather. This sleeve is a sure-fire conversation piece, and Dad will never tire of bragging about his awesome son/daughter who’s great at gift-giving.

Portland Area Brewery Tour, by YOU

http://oregoncraftbeer.org/breweries/portland-area/

Deschutes Brewery in NW Portland

Did you know that there are over 100 Oregon craft beer brewery locations in the Portland area alone? A great gift for Father’s Day would be a custom beer tour around Portland, curated by yours truly. Find a handful of brewery locations in convenient spots, commit to being the old man’s DD, and get ready for a fun afternoon! This list by Oregon Craft Beer can help get you started with planning your beer-tasting escapade.

The GriGri Satin Grey Growler, Portland Growler Co, $65.00

http://portlandgrowlercompany.com/products/the-grigri-satin-grey

If you want to upgrade Dad’s portland brewery tour, you can order one of these 64-ounce babies, and present it before you head out to try your first beer. He can take his favorite craft brew home with him. Portland Growler Company makes growlers that are slip cast by hand with the tightest lid fit possible. This growler is cast thick, and the wide mouth ceramic flip top lid with rubber gasket will keep his beverage cold and crisp for days.

Limited Edition Dock in Brass + Walnut, by Grovemade, $149

http://grovemade.com/product/limited-edition-dock-brass-walnut/?initial=51

The iPhone Dock is a major life upgrade for work or home, and dads are no exception to this fact. A perfect match, and the classiest of our iPhone Dock models, this Black Walnut wood and solid brass limited edition dock goes wonderfully with the iPhone case in Walnut. Dad will never lose his charging cord, and it weighs a heavy 3 lbs, so he can plug and unplug his phone easily using just one hand.

We won’t go so far as to say, “you can’t go wrong with this gift guide,” but, we suspect that there’s something in here that your dad will like a whole lot. From beer to tech products, Portland is home to the making of some pretty neat products.

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a copywriter and member of Team Grove originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

We’re happy to announce a new limited edition case on our site! This iPhone 5/5S case is a collaboration with artist Blaine Fontana and Portland non-profit mural project Forest for the Trees. A limited edition of only 25 pieces, each case combines colorful direct printing, laser engraving, and spray painting done by hand on domestic Eastern hardrock maple.

Our hand-sanded Maple Case becomes a colorful, engraved piece of art with a one-of-a-kind, personalized white splash spray painted by the artist himself. For each Blaine Fontana case for sale on our site, another was donated to Forest for the Trees to support their 2014 mural projects.

ABOUT BLAINE FONTANA

Blaine Fontana is an artist living and working in Portland, Oregon. In the words of his studio site, he “fuses multiple visual strategies to forge an aesthetic language entirely of his own making” and straddles “the physical and metaphysical, organic and architectural, painterly and graphic sensibilities.” Read more about him and see his work here.

Fontana completing a mural at The Hop & Vine, Portland, Oregon.

With the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) approaching on June 2nd, news and speculation about the new iPhone 6 release abound. Some sources even predict the new model of iPhone will be introduced at the WWDC, instead of the typical fall release date for 2014. This phone, allegedly too awesome to keep under wraps for much longer, is rumored to have a larger display, higher pixel resolution, and a thinner shape.

http://www.ciccaresedesign.com/2014/02/07/iphone-6-larger-screen/

Here’s a rundown of the most popular iPhone 6 rumors:

• Screen size is increasing from 4 inches to a suggested 4.7 to 5.5 inches

• There will be two different phones released, one at 4.7 and one at 5.5 inches

• The iPhone 6 may not be called “iPhone 6” at all; iPhone Air and iPhone Mini are options for a two-size release

• Resolution is increasing to a rumored 1704 x 906 pixels

• iPhone 6 will have a durable Sapphire display

• The phone’s thickness will decrease from 7.6 mm to 6 to 7mm

• The bezels and chassis will be thinner

• The iPhone 6 will be introduced in June at the WWDC

One of the most important changes being speculated is the increase of the iPhone 6’s screen from 4 inches on the iPhone 5/5S to a rumored 4.7 to 5.5 inches. This would place the Apple iPhone among the Android and Windows smartphones that have sparked the larger display trend. Thanks to MacRumors, we already know that Apple knows consumers want larger and cheaper phones. The smartphone giant already addressed cost with the introduction of the iPhone 5C, and perhaps they’ll be making moves on the larger phone market this year with the next iPhone generation.

http://www.macrumors.com/roundup/iphone-6/

To go along with a larger display, the iPhone 6 will also allegedly be increasing screen resolution, possibly at 1704 x 906, a pixel-tripled resolution. This would mean a 4.7 inch model would have a pixel density of 416, the 5.5-inch version a pixel density of 365. It’s likely this high resolution screen will be a durable sapphire display. Rumors also paint a picture of a thinner iPhone for 2014, one that slims the 5’s 7.6mm thickness down to 6 to 7mm. To match the thinness of the iPhone itself, a thinner chassis and bezels are also predicted.

Furthermore, if Apple does release two versions, one at 4.7 inches and one at 5.5 inches, the iPhone’s naming convention may go out the window. iPhone Air and iPhone Mini are options, with naming modeled after the iPad Air and iPad Mini. Yet, there are complications to the company’s rumored larger new iPhone model, which conjures the term “phablet”. Tech Radar reported that Apple was having trouble figuring out how to get a battery powerful enough to run the larger screen inside such a thin phone shape. We’ll see how it all panned out once the phone, or phones, are released.

http://www.ciccaresedesign.com/2014/02/07/iphone-6-larger-screen/

Typically, Apple waits until after summer to reveal its latest iPhone design. However, several industry insiders are chattering about a potential WWDC iPhone 6 introduction, which would reveal the phone the week of June 2nd. Digital Trends reported on Eldar Murtazin’s recent tweet which stated that Apple is eyeing a June release in order to better compete against new Android phones from Samsung and HTC. Jeffries analyst Peter Misek agrees that a June release is entirely possible.

http://www.ciccaresedesign.com/2014/02/07/iphone-6-larger-screen/

The above rumors circulating about the iPhone 6 are among other speculations, including curved screens, a better camera, iOS8, and even solar charging. Some of these updates are very likely, while others may truly be rumors, gossip, tidbits stretched from unreliable sources. The rumor mill will keep chugging along, as always, until we can finally glimpse the new iPhone 6.

You can bet we’ll be hard at work here at Grovemade, once we get the specs on Apple’s new creation, along with the rest of the world. It’ll be time to design our exciting new wood iPhone 6 case. iPhone 6 or bust!

Until then, read more about the iPhone 6 at:

MacRumors: http://www.macrumors.com/roundup/iphone-6/

Digital Trends: http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/iphone-6-air-features-release-rumors/?tru=PkFse#/1

TUAW: http://www.tuaw.com/2014/05/15/rumor-roundup-iphone-6-leak/

Tech Radar: http://www.techradar.com/us/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/without-a-thin-and-powerful-battery-the-5-5-inch-iphone-6-may-be-delayed-until-2015-1244684

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a copywriter and member of Team Grove originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

Last month, our co-founders, Joe and Ken, and our programmer, Yuji, traveled to Japan with a small group of Portland crafters to take part in POP UP PDX. The event included two pop-up shops of small Portland companies, one in Tokyo and one in Kyoto, which showcased the work of Grovemade and other similar companies, like our friends and neighbors at QuarterTwenty and Woodblock Chocolate.

Portland, as a brand, is really trending these days in Japan, and the goal of POP UP PDX was to expose nine Portland companies to the Japanese market. The best part of the trip was cementing friendships with our fellow Portland craftspeople as well as creating new friendships with the incredibly talented Japanese craftspeople Ken, Joe, and Yuji met, which were all 2nd to 5th generation in their trades. Read about some of the Japanese craftspeople they met below:

Yuki Yokoyama, from Kyoto, a master bamboo craftsman

Yokoyama San’s company [http://www.yokotake.co.jp/] resides in an old residential area of Kyoto, supplying various bamboo materials and also doing custom bamboo craftwork. His warehouse is packed with hundreds of different species of bamboo, from $10,000/stick rarities to squiggly bamboo and bamboo grown into a square shape. Ken, Joe, and Yuji were amazed at the large selection at this bamboo wonderland!

Woven bamboo

Squiggly bamboo

Kenji Takenaka, from Kyoto, 2nd generation master print maker

One of Takenaka San's apprentices working, photo credit: Walnut Studio (WalnutStudiolo.com)

Kenji Takenaka operates a print shop [http://takezasado.com/] in Kyoto in the second story of an old house. The print shop ceiling is only 5 feet tall, so the apprentices have to squat down while they work. It’s quite a tightly packed space, like many of the Japanese workshops visited. The low ceiling was made from ropes loaded with prints hung to dry. Kenji’s print shop does original contemporary work as well as reprints of traditional Japanese works. They also refurbish ancient printing blocks.

Printing blocks, photo credit: Walnut Studio (WalnutStudiolo.com)

Tomita-san, from Kyoto, 2nd generation master wood carver

Tomita-san’s wood carving studio creates and repairs intricate wood sculptures, mostly for Buddhist temples and memorials. He was a typical Japanese businessman for a while, before returning home to continue the family’s traditional business of carving. His father carved the memorial statues for the previous Japanese Emperor, Emperor Shōwa. And, Tomita-san himself carved the statues for the current Emperor’s memorial, Emperor "Kinjō"s. Tomita-san showed us some of his incredible techniques, including gold leafing by hand (which leads to prices upwards of $50,000 for a sculpture like the one pictured here). Our Grovemade "ambassadors" were very impressed by this traditional craft!

Some of Tomita-san’s carving tools

Wataru Hara, from Nagano, master furniture designer and architect

Master furniture designer Wataru Hara [http://studiohara.sakura.ne.jp/index.html] was trained in architecture, but also designs and makes unique furniture pieces -- often for use inside the homes he designs. He’s designed several restaurants and cafes, which were visited on the trip. Ken, Joe, and Yuji were also able to stay at his beautiful guest home in the mountains, which was loaded with gorgeous custom furniture.

A view from Hara San's studio

Typically, Hara San will design the home, have it built by a team of builders, and then commence creating the perfect custom furniture pieces to be used inside the home. Ken, Joe, and Yuji were most impressed by his incredible patience. Hara San will only use a slab of wood after it’s had ten years to dry in his workshop.

Yuji and Hara San near a table and chairs he designed and made

Mitsu Nakajima, from Kyoto, 2nd generation photographer

Another new friend from Japan is Mitsu Nakajima, who specializes in traditional photography, such as photos of temples and old architecture. Nakajima San also does contemporary and commercial photography. He shoots on medium and large format film, and recently had a book [http://www.sandome-kyoto.jp/] published of photos of temples and other important places in Kyoto.

An image from Nakajima San's photography book on Kyoto

All in all, it was an amazing trip for Ken, Joe, and Yuji. They solidified lasting friendships with local craftspeople and formed new ones with the amazing Japanese craftspeople mentioned here, and others! Check out one last picture of Ken, Joe, and Yuji standing with a deer in Nara, a city known for the friendly and sacred deer that wander freely through the town.

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a copywriter and member of Team Grove originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

Chances are, you think your mom is the best, or you love a mom who is the best to her little ones. Even if you think she is maybe only second or third best, you probably feel she deserves the best, because you are so full of appreciation. We’ve compiled a short Mother’s Day gift guide of Grovemade products we know mothers love, along with some other high quality, handcrafted items made right here in Portland, Oregon.

Scribble Hanging Planter, Pigeon Toe ceramics

Everyone knows moms love to hang things from the ceiling, especially plants. She’ll hang her plants in style with this hand-thrown porcelain hanging planter, a modern update on the macrame planters you grew up with. Give her a plant already potted in this elegant vessel, and it’s a gift better than flowers, because it will keep on growing! Pigeon Toe has gift certificates, great for time-sensitive occasions.

Maple iPad Sleeve, Grovemade

Moms and their iPads, right? She’ll love protecting hers in our contoured, flexible wood and wool sleeve that keeps the iPad safe from impacts and scratches. It’s shown here in maple but is also available in rich walnut or in larger versions for MacBook Air. The sleeve has a warm, organic feel and is surprisingly soft to the touch for a wood veneer product. It’s got a leather and solid brass pull tab to help mom get her iPad out of the sleeve without grabbing or tugging.

Sullivan Table Lamp in White + Walnut, Caravan Pacific

Light up Mom’s life with this classy table lamp made by hand in Portland. The clean white and wood design brightens any room and goes with virtually all decor. This lamp has a white matte stoneware base, walnut wood neck and finial, a white linen shade, and a side rocker switch.

Maple iPhone Dock, Grovemade

Our iPhone Dock makes a wonderful gift for anyone. But, we’ve heard its praises directly from the mouths of moms. This wood and solid steel iPhone Dock gives your mom a dependable spot to charge her phone, while also classing up her nightstand, desktop, or wherever she places it. And, in case you haven’t heard, it weighs a heavy 3 lbs, so she can plug and unplug her phone easily using just one hand.

Matchsticks Tote Bag, Nell & Mary

Make Mom’s shopping and errands 400% more pleasant (scientifically proven) with this spacious canvas carryall. It’s made from organic cotton canvas and hand printed with this playful Matchsticks design in charcoal gray. The straps are vegetable tanned leather with antique brass rivets. Three interior canvas pockets help Mom keep things organized.  

You can’t go wrong with any of these mother-loving gifts. Of course, we stand by our Grovemade products as wonderful surprises for your loved ones. And, we adore any products made here in our Pacific Northwest paradise, especially products that are made to stand out and last long. So, let’s hear it for the moms! Let’s give those moms a hand!

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a copywriter and member of Team Grove originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

If you’re like us, you want an iPad cover or MacBook sleeve that’s a step up from the typical leather or neoprene pouch design. Our new Wood Sleeve for iPad Air, iPad Mini, and MacBook Air 13 inch is a treat to look at, with its modern organic shape and high quality natural materials.

The new Sleeve offers smart, natural protection for your iPad or Macbook. It’s a definite upgrade for your daily tech toting. Thick premium German wool is the perfect cushion to protect your hardware from bumps and scratches on the go, and hardwood veneer with geometric contouring catches the eye, creating an instant conversation piece, while providing impact resistance.

A leather and brass pull strap lets you remove your device without grabbing or tugging; domestic vegetable tanned leather is wrapped around a solid brass rod, providing an excellent grip. You’ll want to hang onto this made-in-Oregon sleeve, with its hand sanded and hand oiled wood, available in Eastern hardrock maple or Eastern black walnut. To ensure you can hang onto it for years to come, the wool is sewn with durability in mind.

The Wood Sleeve is compatible with iPad Air, iPad Mini, iPad Mini with Retina Display, and 13" MacBook Air. It starts at the introductory price of $79 for iPad Mini, $89 for iPad Air, and $99 for 13” MacBook Air.

(You can get 20% off on April 29th only with code: GrovemadeSleeve20)

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a copywriter and member of Team Grove originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

We’re very excited about our Bumper for iPhone. We were happy to launch it, because we love the look, affordability, and functionality of the product. However, in addition to that, it’s arguably our most sustainable product when it comes to manufacturing waste. Green manufacturing and reducing waste in manufacturing have always been goals here at the workshop.

Similar to proper cookie cutting technique, when the Bumper is milled from maple or walnut wood, we are able to use nearly all of the material that we procure. In other words, a very high number of Bumpers for customers’ iPhones can be made from an impressively small amount of material.

Co-owner Joe Mansfield explains why this is one of his favorite products to-date:

“It’s designed to utilize the strength of the material but none of the weaknesses. The bumper is perfect for the minimalist. Our revolutionary production process allows us to utilize nearly 95% of the material. Very little waste is created. I’m really proud of how little waste material is left over.”

Reducing material waste not only gives our company more resource efficiency and helps us keep doing what we do, it also reduces pollution and is friendlier on the planet. It’s a win-win-win situation for us, the consumers, and our environment. We strive to make as little material waste as possible with all our accessories, and the Bumper is certainly a victory in that regard. We are proud to contribute to the earth friendly products out there for consumers and add another option to our collection of iPhone cases.

We’re hoping our customers continue to enjoy the feel of the product, as much as we enjoy the production of it. Co-owner Ken Tomita comments, “The engineering behind this product is amazing; we’ve been able to make something so thin and small out of wood that’s so strong, we’re pushing the limits.”

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a copywriter and member of Team Grove originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

We thought, “how can we make our iPhone Dock exceed its current level of badassery?” The answer was to machine it out of radiant solid brass. As with our solid steel model, it’s manufactured right here in Oregon and includes a new and improved iPhone 4, 4S, iPhone 5, 5S, + iPhone 5C cord adapter.  (Our newest models work with the iPhone 6 and 7 series as well.)

A limited edition of 175 individually serialized pieces, the Brass and Walnut Dock is the culmination of our efforts to create a luxurious place for your Apple iPhone with even more distinction than steel. Crafted from solid brass with an Oregon black walnut cap, it’s heavier than our 3 lbs solid steel Dock. Procuring and milling solid brass was a challenge, but the juice was worth the squeeze.

High-end furniture inspired us for this special edition Dock for iPhone (all editions). This piece won’t budge; it’s even heavier than our solid steel dock. Plug and unplug your phone one-handed and keep your charger cable in its place.

Along with the new Limited Edition wood iPhone Dock in Brass and Walnut, we also launched a walnut version of our Bamboo Back. Now you can also spruce up your Macbook and iPad with gorgeous, locally sourced Oregon black walnut. Like our Bamboo Backs, each one is made in the Grovemade workshop and hand sanded and oiled for a smooth feel.

The Walnut Back adheres with a 3M adhesive that does not leave a permanent residue and is compatible with Macbook Air and Pro 13”, Macbook Pro 15”,  iPad Air, iPad Mini, and iPad Mini with Retina Display.

Get 20% off the Walnut Back today only (April 15, 2014) using the code: WalnutBack20.

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a copywriter and member of Team Grove originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

Design has always been central to what we are about, and that extends from our products all the way to good website design. And, great websites are a valuable thing. This winter, we worked hard on a complete rebrand and redesign with some very talented friends and contributors in order to bring the new Grovemade.com to life. We are very happy with our new site in terms of visual appeal, user experience, and how it tells our story. Luckily, we’re not alone; there’s been public praise on blogs that feature the best website designs, and customers have been telling us good things.

“When the collaboration is humming along well, you can get to a magical place no one can get to alone. The best creatives can listen to our feedback and work together with us to help us fulfill our vision. This experience has truly been a victory of team over individual.”  - Co-founder Ken Tomita

We were lucky enough to be able to assemble a team with designer and art director Peter Baston, photographer Chris Mueller, our in-house designer and photographer Max Brown, our in-house writer Mary Yajko, copywriting consultant Thomas McCracken, and our developer extraordinaire Yuji Tomita. Peter’s eye for style and his design guidelines are invaluable to us. Chris’s stunning photography helps us keep a gorgeous record of our workshop culture and our team. Max’s clean product photography and content design is the sustenance of our rebrand. Keen web copy does our story justice. And, Yuji makes it all possible with his custom backend web programming that keeps Grovemade.com not only handsome but also hard working.

Here are some links to website design blogs that have mentioned our site as an example of great website design:

Awwwards

Average Score: 7.61

Quote from Site: “Very beautiful and clean website. I love the use of the pictures, spaces and typo. Fast and clean, easy to understand the navigation and very well coded.”

Description: Honors the talent of the best web designers and developers and offers inspiration for great website design.

CSSDsgn

Average Score: N/A

Quote from Site: Grovemade tagged as “Ecommerce, Minimalist”

Description: Web design inspiration blog.

French Design Index

Average Score: 8.50

Quote from Site: N/A

Description: “Webdesign, inspiration, graphic design, showcase... The best webdesign by French!”

The Best Designs

Average Score: N/A

Quote from Site: N/A

Description: “Recognizes the best of web design from around the world[...]The Best Designs currently receives more than 1 million page views each month from designers, agencies, web professionals, business owners and design enthusiasts who visit to see the new websites that are added each day.”

Don’t forget to check out the personal websites of our design and development team to read more about their talents: art director Peter Baston, photographer Chris Mueller, designer and photographer Max Brown, and developer Yuji Tomita. It was a wonderful experience to work together with this team of creative minds and see our new website and branding come to life.

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a copywriter and member of Team Grove originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

Compatible with iPhone 5, 5S, and 5C, the clean design of the iPhone Bumper compliments the look and feel of the naked iPhone and is a perfect solution for the minimalist seeking style and protection. This unique all-wood bumper is handcrafted in our workshop in Portland from local black Walnut or domestically sourced Eastern Hardrock Maple.

The Bumper’s one-piece design utilizes the strong direction of the wood grain and Grovemade’s signature joint design for sturdy corners. The lustrous black, silver, or gold metal of the iPhone 5/5S and the vibrant color of the 5C are in full view with this accessory. Wooden actuated buttons provide a satisfying user experience, and the edge of the frame keeps the phone safely raised up from flat surfaces.

The Bumper is sustainably crafted in the Grovemade workshop in Portland, creating almost no material waste. This product is compatible with the Dock for iPhone and all front and back screen protectors. Enjoy hand-sanded, hand-oiled wood for the introductory price of $39 on Grovemade.com.

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a copywriter and member of Team Grove originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

We put thought into developing the perfect packaging for our products, packaging that serves its purpose well without being wasteful. We truly enjoy our packaging for our iPhone cases, and we’ve found it can be super fun and useful even after you take your case out and get it onto your phone. Here are some ways we use the cardboard frame:

Dock and Stand: Slip the case onto your phone and pop the whole thing back into the cardboard frame for a versatile and stripped down version of a dock. Poke a pencil or stick in it and stand it up however you’d like!

Video Game Controller: Pull out the pencil and you’ve got an easy way to get a good grip on your phone while you play your favorite racing game. Vrooooom, vroooom, errrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeesch, vroooooom!

Picture Frame: Are you a repeat customer? White wash a bunch of frames or just leave ‘em bare, and you’ve got a whole crop of easy-to-hang picture frames. The pencil or stick as a stand trick works here too -- or just push it onto a small nail to hang.

Horseshoe Game: Maybe our favorite way to use old frames here at the workshop is to toss them like a frisbee at various targets. A peg makes this an indoor, (relatively) safe-for-work version of horseshoes!

Forget having a great iPhone case; heck, we think the cardboard frame is motivation enough to place an order. Good thing we’re rich in cardboard here at the workshop! (Evil laughter).

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a copywriter and member of Team Grove originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

It’s St. Paddy’s Day, and at the Grovemade workshop, a lot of us are wearing green and feeling lucky. For us, it’s important to “live green” everyday -- biking, recycling, composting, being careful about waste. But today, “green living” means feeling lucky, enjoying each others’ creative spirits, pulling up our lime colored socks, counting our “Irish Blessings,” and yes, maybe enjoying a pint or two of a fine brew.

Here are some reasons we’re lucky:

Sylvia: I'm lucky because I can sleep anytime and anywhere!

Joe: I'm lucky to call this beautiful city home; there's no shortage of good people, microbrews, bespoke goods, affordable food, and adventures.

Danielle: I'm lucky because I get to ride by the Belmont Goats when I bike to work.

Barrett: I'm lucky because I get to work with all my friends!

Ken: I’m lucky because I have someone who will scratch my back.

Teryn: I'm lucky because I am surrounded by the best friends, family and dog anyone could ever ask for!

Scott: I'm lucky that i love to eat but i also love to run.

Yuji: I'm lucky because there's always a tape ball, water balloon or nerf bullet flying through the air.

Galen: I’m lucky because ramyun is cheap and delicious.

Whether or not you’ll be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, we hope you enjoy your week and stay safe! It’s time for the team to go rehearse our choreographed Irish jig.

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a copywriter and member of Team Grove originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

A limited edition of only 100 pieces, each case comes with a cassette single of "Plastic Soul", including a free digital download.

A collaboration with Los Angeles based music group YACHT, this case for iPhone 5/5S features the playful work of illustrator Tim Lahan. Created for the band’s new single, Plastic Soul, the design is direct printed onto hand-finished, domestic Eastern Hardrock Maple.

YACHT is a conceptual pop group based in Los Angeles, California. The core duo is Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans, whose wide-ranging interests cause YACHT to frequently metamorphose: from band to belief system, from disco infiltrators to punk rockers, from performance artists to graphic designers, publishers, sculptors, or philosophers. YACHT has released five full-length records and has toured with LCD Soundsystem, Vampire Weekend, and the Postal Service. 

The Plastic Soul design featured on the case was created by Tim Lahan: artist, illustrator, and friend of YACHT, living and working in New York City. See more of his work on TimLahan.com or trademark-trademark.com. Lahan divides his time between The New York Times, Jack Spade, Nike, and McSweeney’s and draws a semi-weekly comic called Today or Tomorrow.

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a copywriter and member of Team Grove originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

“These guys can’t sit still,” writes Digital Trends about our team here at Grovemade.  Earlier this winter, the popular technology news site wrote a profile on our company highlighting our spontaneity and innovation in product design. Watch the wonderful video they made to accompany the article, below:

The article focuses on our development of the Wood Smart Case for iPad Air and iPad Mini in one week, around the time of the iPad Mini 2 launch. We’re very grateful to have been featured on Digital Trends in an article that acknowledges the passion behind our crafting.

Digital trends writes, “Part of that seat-of-the-pants building process plays to their personalities. ‘Both me and Joe are more like spontaneous guys,’ Tomita says. ‘We’re good at just being thrown in there and just doing things on the fly. I’m used to doing project work for festivals and stuff. You only have like a week, you just have to make stuff up and go with it.’”

Descriptions of our workspace show off our penchant for hands-on development: “The detritus from this unconstrained creative process litters Grove’s office: whimsical laser cuttings of bears and gears, pennant lamps made from bamboo, a tiny ball-in-maze game made from laminated plywood.”

“Ultimately, the challenge suits them. ‘If we were just making belts or something, we would just design it once and it would be around for decades,’ Mansfield explains. ‘We have this opportunity – we’re forced to constantly innovate. It puts a lot of pressure on us, but I think in the end it’s a good pressure. It’s a good stress.’”

Read the full article and see more photos on Digital Trends!

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a copywriter and member of Team Grove originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

Meet the new Grovemade.com! Our new website highlights the story and innovation behind our products and introduces the people behind it all. Reflecting the Grovemade design approach, this new digital experience also provides cutting edge performance in speed and touch usability.

Use discount code Walnut+Maple2014 for 20% off our new collections for one week only.

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a copywriter and member of Team Grove originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

Brodie is an Oregon native who grew up in Forest Grove.

At work he lasers things with his eyes. Brodie is the laser master. He lasers and prints products and oversees the shipping of orders. He’s the one that makes sure all iPhone cases get made to order as customers’ place orders online.

Outside work he is hiking and discovering new hiking adventures and ideal camping spots. Brodie also might be working on his car, if it has broken down recently. And, he tries to find new places to eat in Portland that are interesting and outside the radar.

Brodie’s good at multitasking and being appropriately OCD about lean manufacturing, making sure everything gets done efficiently -- both at work and at home.

He enjoys traveling and experiencing different people’s beliefs and perspectives on life. Of the 12 countries he’s been to, two of his favorite places are Ethiopia and Palau. Brodie also enjoys spending time with friends and family and having bouts of ridiculous laughter.

He's had a lot of experience teaching, but he doesn’t have a teaching degree. He’s taught English and been a substitute teacher from nursery school to grade 12, and he’s taught kids with special needs in both middle and high school.

You might not guess that Brodie was a child model for Nike, Adidas, and Columbia sportswear. He used to have pictures in the Oregonian that his classmates would cut out and tease him with at school.

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a copywriter and member of Team Grove originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

For your sweetie with a sweet tooth, we’ve crafted a functional Grovemade iPhone case made from solid dark chocolate. It’s completely edible! With the mission to make the best chocolate case, we teamed up with local chocolate maker Charley Wheelock of Woodblock Chocolate.

We have some big news: we’re rebranding and redesigning our entire look, from our logo to our website. We’re rebranding in 2014 to shift the focus of our company from mostly cases to more than just cases.

As always, we’re developing some new products, which means the inevitable update to our product line in addition to changes in the style of our brand.

When the new site is launched next month, we’ll be discontinuing both our Artist Series laser engravings for the Bamboo Case for iPhone 5/5S and iPhone 4/4S and our Custom WoodPrint Case. We’ll also be discontinuing our Artist Series for the Grove Notebook leather covers for Moleskine.

We’re offering a 20% discount code on the above mentioned items: RebrandingSale_2014. The code will expire at the end of Feb. 3rd, so get them while you still can at this special price!

We hope you’ll like our fresh new style. The website will feature gorgeous new photography of our products, studio, and team. We’re looking forward to telling the Grovemade story in an updated way and introducing the improved user experience of our online store.

If you’ve been waiting to do it, now is the time to get an Artist Series case, WoodPrint Case, or artist series Grove Notebook leather cover for Moleskines, especially if you’d like to take advantage of our discount by using this code at checkout: “RebrandingSale_2014” (Expires 11:59pm Feb. 3rd).

We're so excited about our re-branding project, we can't stop chair-dancing! We'll announce the launch of the new website on our Facebook, blog, and newsletter, so stay tuned!

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a copywriter and member of Team Grove originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

We’ve had quite a year at Grove; so much has happened. We can’t believe the year has come to an end, and we wanted to reminisce on some of our favorite things that happened this year. From 10-foot-tall Christmas trees to tubing on the river, from re-designing products in one week to some of the most exciting announcements, 2013 was one remarkable year.

Moving Our Entire Workshop

This year, we moved our entire workshop from two floors of the Town Storage Building, which we shared with several other small Portland businesses and creatives, to a new location in Southeast Portland all our own. It was great to move from having our operation shared between two floors to having everyone on the same level. It’s also pretty sweet having our own building. We’ve had a good time slowly renovating and redecorating: we’ve even got an indoor mural by Japanese artist Mhak and an outdoor mural by Brazilian artist Marcelo Macedo!

Summer River picnic and Waterfall Hike

This summer was full of sunshine and good times. We made it a point to do some summer group activities. Our waterfall hike at Oneonta Gorge was a real adventure; the hike involved scaling a giant pileup of logs and wading in freezing cold water up to our chins! We also had an amazing cookout at the Sandy River. We set up a little food tent and made ourselves at home all afternoon. Highlights included intense games of frisbee, naps in hammocks, and tying all our inner tubes together to try to float on the river in tandem.

iPad Cases Re-Designed

We decided to bring back the Grove iPad case this year with the new Wood Smart Case for iPad Air and iPad Mini. The development process was fast-paced and exciting. Read about that here! The case features a new construction method and three versatile standing positions. Eastern Hardrock Maple creates a sturdy frame and a flexible bamboo cover gives you standing options, while strong rare-earth magnets hold the tablet in place. This is one of our most unique cases yet.

The Giant Christmas Tree

Joe surprised us this Christmas season when he showed up at the workshop with a huge Christmas tree that was at least 12 feet tall. We were all giddy like little children when the behemoth first graced us with its presence. The best part was that when Joe and his girlfriend Rachel picked up the tree, it was too big for the machine that compresses and ties up the tree, so they tied it to the roof of their little Subaru with its massive width almost enveloping the entire car and turning heads all the way down the highway.

What to Expect When Grove’s Expecting

For the first time in Grove history, we’ve got little baby team members on the way! This year, two team members are each expecting their first new additions to their families. Can you guess who the two parents-to-be are?

There you have it. What could 2014 have in store that could top this? I guess we’ll find out!

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a copywriter and member of Team Grove originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

A couple of us have some important New Year’s resolutions for 2014. We wanted to share them to hold ourselves accountable and also to give you some ideas if you haven’t come up with a resolution yet. We’re planning on having a wonderful year here at the Grovemade workshop!

Max: “Draw even more. (Draw more was last year's resolution).”

Jim: “More yoga time!”

Ken: “Get my back healthy again so I can play basketball.”

Danielle: “I want to web publish a comic I've been working on writing the past few years. It's scary, but I'm gonna take the jump.”

Sylvia: “To be more prompt and not procrastinate (as much).”

Dashia: “Be more compromising.”

Teryn: “Stop drinking so much Coca-Cola (or at least cut back to one/day :-)”

We hope that inspired you with your own resolution. Happy New Year from Team Grove!

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a copywriter and member of Team Grove originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.