If you are a fan of Apple and a fan of Rumors, you might like this juicy round-up of tidbits. Stay ahead of the curve...

• MacRumors shared a photo from a French site Noweherelse.fr, which allegedly shows the new iPad fifth-generation front panel sporting thinner bezels down the sides. This would mean, like the iPad Mini, the new iPad would have a wider screen. According to DigiTimes, production on the iPad 5 would start in July or August of this year.

• Analyst firm PiperJaffray’s just recently completed its 25th bi-annual teen tech survey. CultofMac reported teens in the survey found Apple to be the most desirable tech brand, with Google following closely behind. Of teens surveyed, 48% already own an iPhone and 62% plan on buying one soon.

Data from PiperJaffray

• Think Apple’s on the way out? I would guess again. But also, visit the new Apple Pop-Up Museum just in case! The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) shared news of the traveling exhibit that showcases a nearly unabridged collection of Apple’s technology since 1976. The Pop-Up Museum consists of the private collection of curator Lonnie Mimms. Check out the photo below of the awesome 20th Anniversary Mac released in 1997, which featured golden hues and black leather!

As far as Grove rumors go, let’s just say that if you are a fan - or even just a slave to - the “old school” when it comes to iPhone models, you may be in store for a treat within the next month. Be sure to stay up-to-date on our product launches by signing up for our newsletter on the bottom of our site!

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a Grove customer support rep and crazed blogger originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup

We love Mother Earth-- who doesn’t? These days it’s easy and a bit cliche to state that you are environmentally aware, but together we Grovers are an eco-friendly bunch both at work and at home. This week we wanted to share a little of what we do to live conscientiously.

We’re pumped to finally announce Grove Sweepstakes winners, who took home the Bamboo iPhone 5 case of their choice at the end of last month! The Sweepstakes was our way of celebrating the completion of our busy season of the iPhone 5 case launch and pre-order rush. Thank you so much to all who entered through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, including the following winners:

• John From Annapolis, MD

• James From Avon, CO

• Jordan From  Queen Creek, AZ

  
  

No worries if you are not one of the lucky three; most of us aren’t! And, with our new 1 to 2 week lead time on our Bamboo iPhone 5 cases, you won’t need to wait long to hold your very own handcrafted bamboo case.  Check ‘em out here, starting at $79 for plain!

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a Grove customer support rep and crazed blogger originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

Woohoo! We’ve been swimming in the deep end of the pool of iPhone 5 orders since the product release in October. And, after many long days and nights of work, we’re finally catching up. Starting now, all orders will officially ship out on a 1 to 2 week lead time (plus two weeks for custom orders)! We’re so excited to help you kick those last-stretch-of-winter blues with some handcrafted goodness!

 

To celebrate our new 1 to 2 week lead time, we’re giving away three iPhone 5 Pattern Series cases in the Grove Sweepstakes! It only takes two easy steps to enter.  

Step One: Enter your name and email address (we promise we’ll only send you the good stuff).

Step Two: Click “Like” on the landing page to share it on Facebook.



Bonus Round: For extra entries, you can also Instagram the landing page with the tag “#grovesweepstakes” or Pin or Tweet it using the buttons at the bottom of the page.

Winners will be contacted on March 15, and announced the following week!

We owe one ginormous THANK-YOU from our <3 hearts <3 to yours! Grove would not be possible without its fans and supporters and your incredible patience and faith in small business.

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a Grove customer support rep and crazed blogger originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

 

Every morning at the break of dawn all across our fair city of Portland, OR we Grovers are awoken by the triumphant calls of the wild beasts who live among us. They are the descendents of grey wolves and Middle Eastern wildcats. They are our pets. We feed them, walk them and love them. Here are some of the animals that we love!

Sylvia’s cat got her name from the month of June when she was adopted. She’s a 5 year old ragdoll mix who goes by many handles including Juniper and Junebug. “We keep her because she's cute, and when she does show affection or allow us to cuddle her it's a golden moment.”  Haha. And the piglet? Well, that cute little guy lives on her friend's farm, and holds a special place in Sylvia's heart after looking after him for a few hours one summer afternoon. 

San and his wife Junghwa recently found themselves a furry little angel with the heart of a lion and the temperament of a burning phoenix. Carmelo (aka lil’ Mello) is a 3 month old cockapoo puppy who just wants to play and wear his yellow rain slicker that his aunt Wendy got him. Also, he enjoys keeping his new mom and dad up at night with his whimpers. But oh my goodness is he cute... Good luck, San and Junghwa!

Laura and her fiancé Tobin rescued their dog from the Oregon Humane Society on Mothers day in 2011. He’s a black lab mix who they named Ninkasi, after their favorite brewery.  But mostly he goes by Kasi for short.

A great companion, Kasi likes to be in the middle of everything-- especially hugs! He loves his hand knitted winter scarf his Gramma Peri made for him, and enjoys car rides, chasing shadows, nighttime laser runs (sometimes we think he identifies as a cat), and helping Laura and Tobin with their house construction.

Laura said, “His secret bad habit is putting both his paws into the water bowl when he's really thirsty. Even so, we still love him very much and our family wouldn't be complete without him.”
Awwww...

Mike Dowty aka Mac Daddy received his cat Leo under mysterious circumstances. No one knows who left a kitten in a basket on his doorstep on Christmas morning, but life wouldn’t be the same without him. Leo aka Big Cat aka Daddy Cat Like is a Maine Coon with gorgeous cascading locks and an attitude that strikes fear in the hearts of small dogs.

After moving into a new house Sean and Priscilla felt like something was missing. One fateful day they visited the Humane Society, where petless people go in and pet owners come out. “We went just to look and came home with Oli.” Oli is a pekingese papillon mix whose favorite things are taking Sean for a walk every morning and letting his mom Priscilla snuggle with him in his bed.

Ken’s dog Roy is a rescue animal from the Humane Society who was named after the Blazers star Brandon Roy! He was such a skittish, shy dog that he remained un-rescued for over a year... :(  However, the Humane Society did a promotion where they had the Blazers come in and name a dog for themselves.  Hence, Brandon Roy!  

The cat that I live among is known as Scratch (aka Annie Oakley). Currently, it is unclear who is the domestic pet and who are the people as she seems to run the house. Pictured above, she is relaxing on a ceramic tile (Is that comfortable, Scratch?) and also likes to sing the most beautiful and melodic songs for hours on end (also pictured).

Written by Mike Schultz. He is an oil painter from Ithaca, New York.  When he is not working for Grove, he’s painting and drawing to his heart’s content.  You can see his work on his blog and his website.

 

We’re giddy over our new design Seasons for the leather Grove Notebook cover by our longtime contributing artist Lotie.  Maybe it’s because love is still in the air from Valentine’s Day, or maybe Spring fever is kicking in a little early here in Portland. But, it’s probably just that this notebook cover is so darn perty. We can’t keep our eyeballs off of it!

Check out our beautiful Wave bamboo iPhone 5 case by Lotie as well as her Nebula design on our iPad case! Lotie lives and works in Paris, creating dreamy illustrations with strong themes of nature and organic imagery. A truly unique signature style helped her work develop a strong following over time. Pencil, India ink, photography, and digital imagery come together to create her universes where the architectural and corporal meet.

A true Renaissance woman, before becoming a full time illustrator in 2003, Lotie received separate undergraduate degrees in history and art history as well as a Masters Degree in communications from the Sorbonne. She and her work have been featured in Form, Design Week, and Computer Arts, among other publications. See more about Lotie and her work, which has been exhibited in galleries in New York, Paris, Tokyo, and more, at Lotie.com.

Don’t forget to take a gander at the fresh Seasons Grove Notebook, starting at $69!

 

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a Grove customer support rep and crazed blogger originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

We love using Instagram as a tool for sharing our culture, products, and processes with our supporters. There is something special being able to give a growing number of fellow Instagrammers a peek at what the Grove world is like day-to-day. We encourage other Instagram users to tag their Grove-related pictures with #Grovemade. Seeing Grove cases in different environments is exciting for us! We’re always looking for rad customer photos to add to our Grove Wall of Fame album on Facebook. 

Apparently, our love for Instagram is not unrequited. We were featured on their suggested users list in September, which sparked a sharp increase in our following. Instagram features suggested users that have beautiful photographs and offer their own flavor of awesomeness to the Instagram community. I’m sure most other users would agree, due largely to the community it builds, this app is just so fun! And, with a new full-image feed for web browsers complete with liking functionality, Instagram is becoming more enjoyable and dynamic each day. 

On August 31, 2012, Grovemade on Instagram had 901 followers; as of today, less than 6 months later, we have 19,377. Thanks to our talented community manager Kim, with her sunny outlook and eye for photography, that number is growing everyday! A picture is worth a thousand words, but what about an Instagram? We think it’s worth two thousand, at least. Share your Grove inspiration with us on Instagram by tagging #Grovemade, and don’t forget to follow us!

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a Grove customer support rep and crazed blogger originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

Kim is the glue that holds Grove together. One of Grove’s first employees, she joined the crew in the summer of 2010, starting as a production assistant, and then developed our customer service department from the ground up. She now manages all of our social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and handles all of Grove’s press releases to get us sweet mentions on sites like Uncrate and Design Milk!



This lady wears several hats - on top of all of that, Kim also coordinates Grove’s internal social events like quarterly outings, birthday celebrations, and makes sure we all get fed at company lunches. We’re a hungry bunch, so you’ve got to be prepared if you have that job! We like to think of her as Momma Kim - the Momma bear of Grove.

Kim grew up in Canby, Oregon and attended the University of Oregon, graduating in 2009 with a degree in Art with a focus in drawing and painting.



Football is in her blood! Her dad took her to her first football game when she was just one week old. She grew up going to football games and looking up to her older brother, who taught her how to throw her wicked spiral pass. Needless to say, she is a dedicated Oregon Ducks Season ticket holder who sports green and yellow every chance she gets - especially on game day.

Outside of work, Kim loves spending time with her family and finding new adventures with friends. She has four nieces and one nephew who keep her pretty busy (they call her Auntie Kim - cute!).



Kim’s a walker, a hiker , and a professional Portland neighborhood explorer, who enjoys discovering pretty nooks, gardens, and awesome architecture. She loves photography and recently got out her old 35 mm camera to begin taking film photographs again.

Other hobbies include running half marathons - three in the past two years - and expanding her music collection. Blues, soul, and motown are her jams. Recent favorites are Allen Stone and Maverick Sabre. We’re so lucky to have a person like Kim on our team!

goGrove!

Written by Mike Schultz. He is an oil painter from Ithaca, New York.  When he is not working for Grove, he’s painting and drawing to his heart’s content.  You can see his work on his blog and his website.

We’re so pleased and flattered that MacTrast featured our Wool Felt Sleeve for iPad! Writer Chris Rauschnaut gave our sleeve an in-depth review after an extended testing period. If you want to know how a Grove Wool Felt Sleeve can change your life, check out Rauschnaut’s write-up. He says, “The new iPads are premium products and the accessories chosen to cover them should be made with similar workmanship.”

We can’t help but agree that there’s nothing better to slip your iPad into at the end - or beginning - of a long workday. We sew each sleeve in our Portland, Oregon studio with care. Slide your ‘pad into premium wool and all-natural bamboo, snap shut the magnetic closure, and keep your sleek tablet covered while you’re out and about.

“Grove certainly changed my idea of what quality, made in the USA accessories for the iPad, should be made like,” writes Rauschnaut. “Stepping up to a premium and fashionable case for the latest iPad, while simultaneously knowing the tablet is secure, is easily accomplished with the Bamboo & Wool sleeve made by Grove.”

Read the whole review on MacTrast, and don’t forget to check out our Wool Felt Sleeves for iPad, priced at $79.

Grove Bamboo + Wool iPad Sleeve from Grove on Vimeo.

In a time ruled by touchscreens, there is still something sacred about putting pen to paper. This is why we love our notebooks, and why we chose to design a reusable product that protects them in style. Our Grove Notebook leather covers are carefully hand sewn here in our Portland, Oregon workshop, and they can be engraved with one of our beautiful artist series designs or your own custom image.

Choosing the leather...
We work with one of the largest tanneries in the USA to source the highest-quality vegetable-tanned leather for our products - always tanned right here in the States using bark tannins. Our natural, vegetable-tanned leather is free of harmful chromium and ages gracefully, developing character over time. 

What is vegetable-tanned leather...
The natural leather we use contains no harmful chromium. Most leathers are chrome-tanned, or tanned using chromium sulfate and other salts of chromium. Vegetable-tanned leather is tanned using ingredients found in vegetable matter and tannin, such as tree bark. This is the only acceptable leather for engraving, because it does not release harmful fumes when heat is applied.

Why Moleskine notebooks are the best choice to fill your Grove leather cover...
Grove chooses Moleskine because they stand behind their philosophy of timeless excellence in notebook making. Moleskines are modeled after the trusty notebooks used by artists and thinkers of the past, such as Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and Bruce Chatwin. As the company’s philosophy states, Moleskines are “A simple black rectangle with rounded corners [...] a nameless object with a spare perfection all its own [...] invaluable sketches, notes, stories, and ideas that would one day become famous paintings or the pages of beloved books.”

Do you have some ideas worth protecting? Check out our Grove Notebook leather covers for Moleskine, starting at $39 for plain/pocket-sized. Happy imagining!

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a Grove customer support rep and crazed blogger originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

The truth is that the woodshop where we make our cases would literally grind to a halt if it wasn’t for our production manager, Sean Michael Kelly. To sum up what he does is a difficult task because he wears so many hats -- and even Sean says he doesn’t really know what he does here at Grove. But here’s a try: Sean does his best to make Grove a fun and upbeat environment to work in. He guides everyday production, works in line, continually develops production processes, and does specialty design work with both products and packaging. He’s also one of Grove’s original members who started as an intern two and half years ago! Sean likes to think that he has literally touched every single case that has been made at Grove.

Sean grew up in the Southwest Hills of Portland with his parents and two younger siblings.  He attended the University of Oregon and graduated in 2010 with a BFA in Product Design.  

During his time at Grove Sean got married to the love of his life Priscilla, bought a house, and they now live just outside of Portland with their beastly man-dog Oli who is believed to be a reincarnation of a Civil War era soldier name Oliver.



Sean breathes and thinks design. More than anything else, he’s interested in how we interact with each other and the world around us. He’s made beautiful streamlined furniture, an interactive communication device using light, and is currently working on an engaging teaching tool for children with Autism. He grew up with a carpenter father and an architect grandfather who both influenced and inspired him to do this type of work from a young age.    

To see some of Sean’s work you can visit his website here. Sean is the one who found the coveted shop wheelchair in which each and every one of us eats our lunch together. Thank you, Sean!

Written by Mike Schultz. He is an oil painter from Ithaca, New York.  When he is not working for Grove, he’s painting and drawing to his heart’s content.  You can see his work on his blog and his website.

Still haven’t finished (or even started) your Christmas shopping? If you want to give Grove for the holidays, it’s not too late!  We still have some products that will reach you by Christmas if you order them by the end of Tuesday, December 11th (deliveries within the U.S. only). Calm or Neutral SkateBacks, Plain and Artist Series Grove Notebooks, Plain or Artist Series iPhone 4/4s cases (non-custom), and gift cards will all have you gift-equipped by the big day.

Got a loved one who cares for his or her iPhone more than certain family members? Go classy grab them a handcrafted Bamboo iPhone case for iPhone 4 or 4s, or go swaggy and grab ‘em a Calm or Neutral SkateBack to Skateboard deck out their iPhone 4, 4s, or 5. SkateBacks are made from 100% recycled skateboard material which would otherwise go to waste during skateboard manufacturing.

Our Plain or Artist Series leather covers for Moleskines can also be delivered by Christmas if ordered by the end of December 11th. Got a writer, artist, planner, daydreamer, idea generator, or old-fashioned journal-keeper in mind?  Help them protect their precious Moleskine notebook with a hand-stitched reusable leather cover. Choose from black or tan, Plain or 25 different Artist Series designs.

Can’t decide on a gift? Buy a Grove digital gift card, receive it instantly via email, and worry no more! Don’t forget - if you’d like to give a iPhone case, Wood Watch or Wood Speakers for iPhone by Christmas, make your purchase on our site by the end of Tuesday, December 11th!

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a Grove customer support rep and crazed blogger originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

Are you a Black Friday or a Cyber Monday type of person? With people’s increasing comfort with shopping online, Cyber Monday might be giving Black Friday a run for its money this year. I bet even the go-getters among us can agree that there’s something enticing about doing all your holiday shopping from behind your computer screen - no lines, no crowds, no traffic! After all, there’s plenty of time this December to cradle packages in your arms without having to simultaneously dodge manic bargain hunters.

To thank our fans on Cyber Monday, our gift cards will be $10-off today only! Our new digital-only gift cards make the perfect gift for that loved one with discerning tastes ;) You’ll get the gift code delivered via email right after you buy it, so there’s no worrying that your gift won’t arrive in time. You can email the digital version to the lucky recipient, or print it out and present it in person all fancy like.

Before you buy, please keep in mind that our gift codes do not work to cover shipping costs. The person using the code will need to cover the shipping charge by credit card. Sorry! Only one gift code can be used per order, and unused portions cannot be exchanged for cash.

Gift cards are available in $39, $79, $99, or $129, so there’s something for everyone. Skip the crowds and check ‘em out!

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a Grove customer support rep and crazed blogger originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

On the eve of Thanksgiving, Grove has a lot to be thankful for! One of the most important things we’re thankful for are the amazing customers that make our company possible. The patience and support of our fans is literally what keeps us going. Additionally, the whole team is thankful for each other, and for the support we can offer to one another throughout this busy case production season. As with many of you, we’re also thankful for the friends, family, health, and this beautiful city we’re lucky enough to enjoy. Here’s a little rundown of what some of us are thankful for:

• Mary is thankful for friends’ helping hands.
• Ken is thankful for the best food carts in Portland and all the delicious lunches they provide.
• Joe is thankful for Battlestar Galactica.
• Max is thankful to work with a bunch of bright eyed kids with awesome senses of humor, and for Adventure Time, and also for heat and showers.
• Cindy is thankful for our bi-weekly full-team work lunches :)
• Laura is thankful for the health of her family and friends, and her sweet doggie.
• Galen is thankful for steady employment in a time when many go without.
• Kim is thankful to live in Portland and work in a place where she’s able to learn and grow and can also gut-laugh on a daily basis.

• Ellie is thankful to get to experience the upcoming Civil War game between the Ducks and Beavers.
• Mike D. is thankful to never actually have to decide which to fight, one horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses.
• Barrett is thankful for apple pie.
• Wendy is thankful for hot Sriracha and warm scarves.
• Lydia is thankful for bananas and their dwindling population.
• San is thankful for all the foods.
• Mike S. is thankful for art and the internet.
• Sylvia is thankful for second chances.
• Sean is thankful for friendship, love, and his beautiful wife, Priscilla.
• Tommy is thankful to have friends he considers family and family he considers friends.

We’re a pretty thankful, loving, and food-crazed bunch, I’d say. It’s amazing to get to share time with each other at work each day, and we’re grateful to those that support Grove and help us to keep bringing our little pieces of functional art into the world.

Grove wishes you a cozy Thanksgiving with your family and friends! (What are you thankful for?)

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a Grove customer support rep and crazed blogger originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

Does size really matter? With the recent release of the iPad 4th generation and iPad Mini, we’re about to find out! Bloggers are already coming head to head on the issue, and there’s praise on both sides of the fence. Business Insider outlined five key issues that should sway your vote: portability, affordability, signal strength, speed and strength, and retina display.

With its 7.9 inch screen, portability is the iPad Mini’s main event. The iPad 4 beat weighs more than twice the Mini. Starting at $329, affordability is the other draw of the little guy. However, if you want to run demanding apps, the iPad 4th gen. is your tablet. Its new A6X processor is twice as fast as the 3rd gen. iPad, while the iPad Mini has the same processor as the iPad 2. Both tablets have 4G LTE cellular service plans. Here’s the kicker - the iPad Mini does not have the famed Retina Display of the new iPhone 5 and the iPad 4th gen, and for good reason. This is the dealbreaker for many folks with discerning eyes, but it’s not the end-all-be-all to some.

Nick Bilton of the New York Times’ Bits blog quotes John Gruber of Daring Fireball:

John Gruber, the author of the Apple blog Daring Fireball, unsurprisingly loves his iPad Mini more than chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles on top.

“I completely stand behind mine, and still have barely even used the iPad 4 I have on loan from Apple,” Mr. Gruber wrote. “In the meantime, we have to choose: big iPad with sharp retina display, or small iPad with a fuzzy one. I’ve gone small and fuzzy.”

Even the Grove team is on the fence; co-owner Ken uses the Mini in the shop and loves its lightweight feel, but he sure does miss that sweet retina display. We agree on one point, unless you’re fundamentally against small things, the better ‘pad depends entirely on your needs. Unquestionably, though, you do need a Grove Wool & Bamboo Sleeve to snuggle your preferred iPad in this winter. 

Which iPad would you buy? The iPad 4 or the iPad Mini?

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a Grove customer support rep and crazed blogger originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

The iPad Mini has broken out onto the tablet scene, and what better way to dress her than with our beautifully designed sleeve made from natural materials?

Have an iPad Mini that’s gotta get out on the town? Our Wool Sleeve for iPad Mini fits snugly, and is compatible with Apple’s Smart Cover. While it’s meant for the iPad Mini specifically, our new sleeve can also accommodate some other similarly sized devices (see which ones here).

A protective yet stylish sheath for your iPad Mini, our sleeve is made with our natural bamboo veneer and thick premium wool felt imported from Germany. Protect your device on-the-go, and still enjoy the mini tablet’s slim feel during use. Sewn together for durability, the sturdy felt and bamboo veneer make a strong statement and hold their shape well.

Wool Sleeve for iPad Mini is available now at on our website for just $59.

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a Grove customer support rep and crazed blogger originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

Here at Grove we take Halloween very seriously. We come to work dressed to the nines. Highlights included Like a Virgin era Madonna, David Bowie, Han Solo, Rufio of the Lost Boys, Yolandi, Maru the cat, The Ping Pong Champion of the World, Strongbad, Mary Poppins and Bert, Linus, Lil’ Kim, a couple of nerds, Old German Boy, and a shipmate from The Life Aquatic!

Here at Grove, we believe that one of the best canvases for engraving is our new iPhone 5 case.  We’ve introduced a new collection of eye-catching patterns for our case with clever inspirations to strike your fancy. Twin Peaks fan? Check out our “Black Lodge” iPhone 5 case! Getting back into The Great Gatsby just in time for the anticipated blockbuster this holiday season? Take a gander at our “Gatsby” iPhone 5 case! 

Our patterns were designed by our creative team here as well as our friends and neighbors at PEETKEGLER, who specialize in art direction and graphic design for brands such as Burton and Nike. Grove co-owner Joe has been obsessed with patterns his whole life, sees them almost everywhere he looks. “Norwegian Wood” was inspired by his girlfriend’s mittens from Norway.  “Golden” is the Fibonacci sequence seen in the center of sunflowers. Joe has been known to embarrass his friends by stopping people on the street to admire their lovely patterns.

With the launch of our new case, we’ve also made available a new monogramming option that let’s you add a quick personalized touch to your case for a $14.99 fee. Monogramming is available on the the bottom, top, or side of the plain case, as well as on the side of any pattern or artist series case. Just check the box for monogramming before you add a case to your cart.

As always, our artist series remains a solid offering for our iPhone 5 case, and will continue to grow with new illustrators from around the world. New patterns may be added as well, if Joe gets his way. Check out our pattern and artist series cases here, at just $99!

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a Grove customer support rep and crazed blogger originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

If you've ordered our iPhone 5 case and checked out the shipment date estimates, you'll know the lead time on the product takes a lot of patience. We're working around the clock to get each case finished and out the door, and we so appreciate our amazing customers that understand why we do what we do. 

In our co-owner Ken’s words: “The heart of our business is that we make our own stuff. We design and build our own products.” We’ve been working hard at designing and implementing our new production process for the iPhone 5 case. It’s always challenging to see a product through from design to use, and a main challenge this time around is that we’re combining two different materials into one product. Luckily we have the machinery and talent to pull it off! “It all starts with the team,” says our production manager and designer Sean, “all of us who make the cases. Figuring out how to use the team to create the best product we can.”

If you’re designing and crafting products on a fast timeline like in the mobile phone industry, you’ve got to be up for a challenge. Our general manager, Galen, secretly relishes the little “headaches” that go along with production process design. “Even though it may seem simple,” he says that there’s a whole lot of research and development that goes on behind the scenes. Especially when working with a new material. He stands behind our commitment to “maintaining an attitude and drive of constant improvement.” Our production team knows first hand it takes teamwork and patience to figure out every detail - Sean says, “We need to fail a lot before we can succeed.” It takes mental and physical strength for this type of hands-on production, and our entire team is willing to go the extra mile and work overtime hours to reach our goals.

Innovation is a big part of our everyday process. Ken explains, “The fact is that we can make changes and improvements rapidly - because we do it ourselves!” Most production facilities will outsource a lot of work, but we do it all here in our little shop. From website photography, copy and programming, to filing all the holes in your iPhone Case, to sewing each stitch on your Felt Sleeve, we do it all. Challenge-wise, the new materials certainly make for increased complexity in production, according to everyone on production. Galen clarifies that “Ultimately, the goal is to create the best iPhone case we can for our customers, and with the new design, we think we've done that.” And that’s where the challenges pay off.

Ken states, “What’s really important is to have an open mind and constantly make our production and processes better.” Sean has other reasons for our hands-on methods though: “Our hands touch every case everyday, so when you use your phone it is like we are touching your face tenderly. If I stand still and quiet I can almost feel your voices in my hands...”

We appreciate our customers more than anything, and we couldn't exist without your patience and support! Thank you for enabling our vision. Weekly-updated shipment dates for the iPhone 5 are posted here.

Written by Mary Yajko. She is a Grove customer support rep and crazed blogger originally from upstate New York. She enjoys opened minds, uncontrollable fits of laughter, and large amounts of french fries with ketchup.

Wendy Oh is the custom arts specialist for our iPhone cases. When you want a custom design on your Grove case and you send in an image- it’s Wendy who adjusts your picture to make sure that it is beautiful and ready to be engraved!  



She grew up in southeast Portland, OR near Reed college with her mom, dad, and younger brother. One of her favorite places in Portland is still the extraordinary Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden near her childhood home.

Wendy graduated in 2011 with a Bachelors of Architecture and a minor in Art, with an emphasis in ceramics from the University of Oregon. While she is technically a U of O “duck”, she says she does not quite “fit the bill”. (We have a lot Ducks in our midst here at Grove.)



While in school she found that art and ceramics helped to balance out the heavy workload of the architecture program. Infamously, she applied for her position at Grove three days before her thesis presentation for her Architecture final!

While not at work what Wendy really loves to do is to eat great food. She recently stated, “I am the Hulk when it comes to desserts.” Macaroons and ice cream are in the house!



Besides eating amazing food, Wendy likes to keep herself active with yoga, kickboxing, bootcamp, and running. She also loves hip hop, jazz, watching basketball, and reading books. Currently she is enjoying The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut as well as What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell.

Famously, Wendy’s met Trey Songz in a line at Burger King at the San Francisco airport while she claims she was looking disheveled, but probably not this disheveled.

Written by Mike Schultz. He is an oil painter from Ithaca, New York.  When he is not working for Grove, he’s painting and drawing to his heart’s content.  You can see his work on his blog and his website.