“I really enjoy my iPhone skin. I set it down on a table in front of me, and the conversation changes: ‘Where did you get that? Is it wood?’ The greatest comment I got was from an avid Droid user: ‘I never wanted an iPhone, but that skin makes it look and feel like a work of art. Now I want an iPhone just so I can have that skin.” —Kristan, a happy iPhone 4 skin owner
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Important Updates:
•If you pledge for a skin for a new iPhone but don't like what is announced by Apple, you will have the opportunity to switch your reward to a skin for your current iPhone 4/4S.
•In response to requests, we have added iPhone 4/4S skins to the rewards. You can now support our project even if you don't plan to get the new phone. Please see the FAQ for more details.
Who We Are
FurnLab is a team of Denver-based product designers that's focused on local production (made in the USA). Jeffrey Matthias, FurnLab founder, is heading up this project, and Robyn Meier of I've Got Wood is joining us to lend her sense of style to our designs.
Our Product
To create our iPhone skins, we use a laser cutter to cut and etch custom designs into a walnut wood veneer that’s backed with 3M peel-and-stick adhesive. The wood is lightly finished to give it some water resistance, and the adhesive allows for easy, residue-free removal. Our product is different from other real wood skins on the market because, unlike others, ours wraps the sides and corners of the phone to provide added protection from scratches. And because we can take any image of your choosing and turn it into a work of art, you're walking away with a truly unique product.
Why Kickstarter?
We’ve been producing iPhone 4/4S skins for about five months and we'd love to gear up for a quick release of skins for the new iPhone as soon as it's released. While we have our design process down, kicking off production has a few costs involved, such as purchasing bulk materials and paying for production time on a laser, and that’s where we need your help.
What’s In It For You?
As a backer, you’ll receive a real walnut wood skin for the new iPhone. You can choose to pledge for a classic blank skin or a custom engraved skin. If you choose the latter, you can choose one of our existing designs or send us an image of your choosing.
The Prototype
Our original iPhone 4/4S skin was developed as a low-level reward for a different Kickstarter project that was never launched. We got such positive feedback from everyone who saw the skins that we turned them into a product of their own.
While specs for the new iPhone have yet to be released, the skin will be a variation of one that we already produce. Information that’s been leaked about the new iPhone suggests that the form is very similar to the 4/4S, though it may be larger.
We are exploring the use additional kinds of wood, but so far we’ve had the best results—by far—with the walnut.
Release Schedule
The new iPhone is rumored to be announced Sept. 12, and its release date is rumored to be Sept. 21. On release day, we’ll have a phone in hand to reverse-engineer the design and adapt our current skins to fit the new body design. Guaranteeing a perfect fit may take up to two days, and then we’ll ramp up production on the laser cutter.
Early Bird skins will ship within five business days of the phone’s release date. We have limited the Early Bird rewards to keep our production and delivery schedule realistic. For those who don’t get an Early Bird slot, we’ll produce your skins by order of pledge date once we have completed the Early Bird skins.
Please note that if the project funds, we will immediately start contacting our backers to collect images for custom work where applicable. Delivery of those skins will be dependent on timely receipt of the images.
Open Source
If we hit $4000 in funding, we will release the iPhone 4/4S skin design as open source; if we hit $15,000, we will release the new iPhone skin design as open source.
Questions about this project? Check out the FAQ
Support
Funding period
- (27 days)