Carved improves handmade wooden case line for iPhone

Carved splash

iPhone cases vary from waterproof to minimal skins and all variations in between. Interestingly, there are several options that combine the beauty of nature, in stark contrast to the cold feel of anodized aluminum and glass. Carved is one of those companies that pours completely customized and natural elements into each case.

Utilizing wood, Carved hand selects each piece of grained material in their Indiana shop. The whole process takes place in their shop, including the CNC machining and even the shipping. If you want your product double checked by hand, Carved may be your new favorite case company, assuming you love wood…

Design and wood grain

The guys at Carved contacted me and offered to send over a case of my choice, having sent us work in the past. I opted for the Random Puzzle version which utilizes different types of woods and stains to create a puzzled mosaic on the back of the case. Each version and design is a clear plastic shell with wooden design and pieces inlaid on the back. The inlay process provides a flat surface across the case back with neither the plastic shell nor the wood as a raised surface.

Carved Random Puzzle

The puzzle design, includes 15 individualized pieces of wood, the entire surface is perfectly flat, and the grains are unique to each case. Consequently, if you are trying to prevent being part of the masses, nothing screams individuality like a case that cannot be replicated.

The case provides easy access to the mute switch, volume and sleep/wake buttons, and the headphone port. The plastic edges are clear and not distracting, but I do believe it takes away from the product’s beauty. With a high end look and feel on the back, it is all dampened by the cheapness of plastic sides.

Carved Aztec Calendar

To that end, Carved is working on their version of a completely wooden case with brass button covers. It is a long process, but the company admits to being in the final testing stages of this design and will provide options for the iPhone 5. Most importantly, Carved is excited their upcoming case is completely void of plastics.

Carved World Map Inlay

Conclusion

With 35 variations of their wooden cases, there is certainly a design to please most any taste. Some of the machined cases have extremely detailed images on the back that are highly impressive. The wooden back is excellent on my puzzle version and I am impressed with their ability to lay all of the pieces flat against the back of the iPhone. Additionally, at $29.00 on Amazon, the natural product is a reasonable purchase.

These cases are truly pieces of art and their designs are amazingly detailed and well crafted. I think once the full wooden case is released, people will have a hard time passing up the natural attraction. With the plastic sides, I really hate the detraction from the natural beauty of otherwise well stained wood and detailed images.

What do you guys think about wooden cases? Does anyone own a completely wooden case?

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