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I don’t normally write about products, however today I received my iPad2 Skin by a company out of Oregon called Grove; they hand-make Cases, Covers & Skins for Apple devices out of Bamboo. I dropped a whopping $20 USD on a skin for my new iPad2 and today it finally arrived. Below are the photos I took of the complete process, including captions.
I have to say that this is the coolest (not to mention eco-friendliest) product I’ve ever purchased. The overall installation process was simple and the natural bamboo look makes my iPad2 really standout in a crowd now.
[![Grove iPad2 Bamboo Skin - Envelope][4]][4] Super nice and sturdy packaging! Can’t wait to get this thing open…
[]: http://www.aaronkwhite.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/IMG_0458.jpg
[![Grove iPad2 Skin - Package Contents][5]][5] Package contents: The Invoice, a business card, sticker and the skin arrived an a very well protected case to help prevent any damage while in the mail.
[]: http://www.aaronkwhite.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/IMG_0459.jpg
[![Handwritten letter from the team at @Grovemade][6]][6] This was just a nice touch… Hand written not from Thomas on the Grove team. Notice I smudged the note to prove authenticity.
[]: http://www.aaronkwhite.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/IMG_0460.jpg
[![Grove iPad2 Skin - Closer Look][7]][7] A Closer view of the Skin… They burn in the logo on every product.
[]: http://www.aaronkwhite.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/IMG_0461.jpg
[![Grove iPad2 Skin - Packaging view][8]][8] A nice angle shot of the packaging… Seems to be a really thick paper/cardboard like material. This baby isn’t going anywhere during shipping.
[]: http://www.aaronkwhite.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/IMG_0462.jpg
[![Grove iPad2 Skin - The Back][9]][9] You can see the adhesive cover, the back wasn’t separating from this at all. You don’t have to worry about compromising the adhesive.
[]: http://www.aaronkwhite.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/IMG_0463.jpg
[![Grove iPad2 Skin - Peel Back][10]][10] This was actually quite difficult to peel off the skin. It took me a while, but I was being pretty cautious… I didn’t want to ruin my new iPad Skin.
[]: http://www.aaronkwhite.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/IMG_0464.jpg
[![Grove iPad2 Skin - Peel Back 2][11]][11] The full backside of Adhesive… This really did take me a while to accomplish.
[]: http://www.aaronkwhite.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/IMG_0465.jpg
[![Grove iPad2 Skin - Installation Complete][12]][12] Installation is now complete. via grovemade.com: ‘To apply, carefully align the camera cut-out with the iPad’s camera, making sure that the outer edges of the skin line up with the edges of the iPad. Starting from the upper left corner, gently press down while working your way outwards from the camera.’
[]: http://www.aaronkwhite.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/IMG_0474.jpg
[![Grove iPad2 Skin - Angle View][13]][13] Nice Angle view of the applied skin. You can really see the natural wood-like texture… Pretty!
[]: http://www.aaronkwhite.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/IMG_0469.jpg
[![Grove iPad2 Skin - Speaker View][14]][14] Obviously it would be a bad thing if the speaker was covered… luckily I was able to keep a steady hand and get this thing on pretty straight.
[]: http://www.aaronkwhite.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/IMG_0471.jpg
There is a nice cut-out for the camera. I really like that the Skin doesn’t cover up the entire back of the iPad, I am a bit concerned that it covers up a small section of the 3G antennae… it shouldn’t make any difference.
[]: http://www.aaronkwhite.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/IMG_0475.jpg
I highly recommend anything from @grovemade just beware that the prices are fairly steep since every case, cover & skin are HAND-MADE by a real person here in the USA. Because each piece is custom made per order it does take some time before you will receive it… it took about 3 weeks before I received my skin in the mail, but this is a small price to pay for such a high-quality product. You can head on over to the Grove website here: http://www.grovemade.com or follow the team on Twitter @grovemade
Very Nice Work Guys… now I need to order another one for my Macbook Pro!
-Aaron