grove + mapleXO: skateboard iPhone 4 case

‘skateboard iPhone 4 case’ by grove and mapleXO

a 50-piece limited edition series, the ‘grove + mapleXO skateboard iPhone 4 cases‘ are created from old skateboard decks.

the line is a collaboration that artisan case creators grove undertook with lindsay jo holmes’s mapleXO, which repurposes skateboards for jewelry and accessories. the year-long project involved the slicing and sanding of 300 skateboards into layered strips, which were then hand-selected for colour coordination and glued together to form individual blocks from which the iPhone cases could be cut.

the cases themselves are packaged in bamboo boxes with the layered skateboard panels inset into their ends.

top view

the line is a limited edition series of 50 pieces

of the fifty iPhone cases, five remain unclaimed and are currently being auctioned off on eBay.

the cases are packaged in bamboo boxes inset with layers of skateboard wood

closer view of the case

stacked cases

each piece is composed of a block of wood that has been formed from sliced and glued skateboard decks

some of the 300 skateboards used in the creation of the series

left: a broken skateboard reveals layers of colour right: a block of glued deck slices

left: strips of wood from the skateboards are handselected into combinations to form a block out of which the phone can be cut right: cases in some of their final steps of production

a block, already cut, being drilled into form

pieces cut but unseparated

grove craftsmen assemble the cases