DODOcases from the company's new Spring 2012 collection
A stop by the DODOcase headquarters in San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood on Wednesday evening was a good move (and not just because there was a taco truck humming away right outside): the 2nd birthday festivities for the purveyor of iPad and Kindle covers made using traditional bookbinding techniques were well underway. Even better, guests were treated to a behind-the-scenes look at the warehouse and the many steps it takes to create the company’s pleasantly professorial (not to mention handmade) board, cloth and bamboo cases.
As co-founder Craig Dalton led a small group of us through the space inside the American Industrial Center, we learned that it takes days (days!) to fashion a proper DODOcase. Covers must be pressed. Glue must cure. Bamboo frames must be cut, assembled and glued in the warehouse’s wood shop. Covers must be stamped and, upon request, personalized with initials, company names or Twitter handles.
But even though the company takes pains to make every case using the old school bookbinding wisdom of its team, you better believe they’re ready when a new generation device hits the market.
“We were shipping our first case within three days of the iPad 3 launch,” Dalton recalls.
And while the company sticks to its core offerings – just iPad, Kindle and Blackberry Playbook cases are available now – the line expanded somewhat this year with the arrival of a colorful new Spring 2012 collection, featuring cases in orange, blue, green and yellow hues. That stands in contrast to the original black cases with the look of Moleskin notebooks. There are also special cases, such as one featuring work by artist Rex Ray and another covered in a cloud print.
Below, a few more pics of the tour…
This limited edition San Francisco Center for the Book case retailed for around $250 before it sold out during its run last year.
They aren't just really, really thirsty people. The water bottles are actually used to help press many DODOcase covers at a time.
Neat stacks of bamboo frames. My nightmare was knocking this over.
A best-seller from the spring collection
More digital style news…