I’m a sucker for a custom phone cover. I love funky images, superhero illustrations and beautiful design. If I had my way I’d have a unique cover for every day of the week!
Last week I heard about the opening of a new concept store in Rosebank Mall in Johannesburg. It’s called The Kase and has boutiques around the world offering gorgeous custom phone covers with incredible designs. This isn’t something new. Many printing companies offer custom phone covers and you can head to a flea market and buy Chinese cheapies as well.
The Kase is a bit different. For starters, unlike traditional printing companies your custom phone cover is printed on site while you wait. The whole process takes about ten to 15 minutes. You use the in store tablets to select your design (there are thousands to choose from on the system) or alternatively you can load your own photograph or design. There’s also the option to use The Kase’s website and design your cover before going to the store.
Not only can you choose your designs but you can also choose the material it is printed on. So you have a selection of silicon, wood, waterproof materials and leather. Once you’ve settled on a design and material you simply proceed to check out. There is a industrial machine set up in the store that then prints your cover for you (apologies for the picture quality, getting a good shot of the machine at work was nearly impossible):
The designs available at The Kase are incredible. There are collections from Lagerfeld, Guess, Paul&Joe and even Swarovski. I had my eyes on a gorgeous flowered skull design. The store also stocks fun phone accessories like stands, USB cables, earphones and funky cases.
The pricing various from around R250 to R390 for a custom case (obviously materials chosen impact that costing a bit). The store is located in Rosebank Mall and is open every day from 9am till 6pm.
There is one downfall that you need to be aware of. I’ve found that most places that do custom phone covers tend to only offer them for Samsung and Apple devices. It is extremely difficult to find options for other phone brands. The Kase has a wall behind the counter with the various cover options available. They have, by far, the biggest selection of covers for a host of brands available. On their wall they have most of the Sony Xperia range advertised as well as a host of Lumia options, Blackberry and HTC cover pricing on display. However, I had a bit of a hiccup because while they had printable covers for my phone brand they didn’t have the actual plates that fit in the machine – meaning they cannot actually print any covers. Before spending time selecting a design it may be best to make sure they can print for your chosen smartphone brand or you may leave somewhat disappointed.
If you get any custom phone covers printed we’d LOVE to see them. Please tweet us or post pictures of your covers on our Facebook wall.
