Tomas Chlebek The iPhone is a Warholian paradox. So is the Thorncase wooden cover, although it's not as conceptually consistent. Especially with the addition of walnut and maple to the bamboo.
Description of the earlier form of the theoretical and practical philosophy of the "natural" Thorncase covers for the iPhone at Jablíčkář it took place two months ago. I would like to refer to it as the part essential to understanding the purpose of the following lines. They avoid describing the mechanical, functional and generally practical properties of the given piece of accessory.
However, I will briefly return to the already reviewed bamboo cover. It loosened a little after some time (according to the manufacturer, one of the reasons may be temperature changes and the associated expansion of the wood), but even the brand new one did not hold as tightly to the phone as the walnut and maple covers mentioned below. To the point where it's very difficult to get them off your phone.
When I asked the manufacturer if this is a feature of all newer covers or just the maple/walnut ones, I was told that the latter option is more likely to be true. In addition, these properties should be more durable. As these types of wood are better acclimatized to local temperature changes, they are not subject to the effects of humidity to such an extent. They are said to be somewhat more resistant to falls and similar mechanical loads.
The dimensions and weight are practically the same, the shape of the rounded corners and the cut-out for the camera are a little different.
Initiation
The cover comes in a simple, small cardboard box, lined with green strips of paper. Slipped onto the box is a chalk paper wrapper with an image of the back of the iPhone with a cover fitted to match the one inside.
Packaging is an important part of all Apple products, and there's no reason why the Thorncase shouldn't be as well. In that case, it cannot be evaluated very positively. The print of the cover photo is not exactly high quality, the chalk paper cover is peeling off. The information on the reverse side contains stylistic and typographical errors. On the one hand, the packaging tries to be representative when it is made from completely recyclable materials and contains information about the product's properties; on the other hand, the same level of conscientiousness does not seem to have been put into it as into the object it represents.
A certain minimalism evokes the design of the product itself, but the quality of the workmanship is inconsistent. Indeed, each Thorncase cover is, in contrast to its seriality, original in some way, but this quality cannot be positively associated with inconsistency in the creation of the initial experience. Minimalism is far from the same as banality.
Confrontation
Thorncase has now quite fundamentally expanded its offer, because each type of wood offers a different aesthetic character. Its most distinctive feature is its color. It is true that in its effect on the overall form of the user experience, it is also significantly dependent on the other described aspects of the enclosures, but it is, of course, the only available environment. The very perception of the owner can then depend on this. The cover can act as a simple, although still very unconventional accessory, or an independent entity, transforming the appearance of the phone in the dark from a tool to a bizarre fetish, presenting a relationship to the object that is created by the everyday associated with the image of the person's own features, to whom the banal device in his hand suddenly appears to be a mirror of his persona. Intuitively, we want to say that the dark color is the most mysterious, but we can easily be surprised by the obscure expressiveness of light wood in the monster of the night room.
Each of the colors can better match a different color variant of the iPhone, giving rise to a conceptual symbiosis. However, even this does not have to be in conflict with personal preferences.
Description
The type of wood used to make the cover affects both the look and feel of the cover. While bamboo is distinctly "grooved" and glassy smooth within the individual fibers, maple looks much more like dry matte paper, its structure is almost imperceptible to the touch. Dark walnut is a combination of the two previous properties – it is distinctly porous, harshly dry, but not distracting, drawing attention to itself decently. These differences have no effect on the security of holding the phone in your hand, but together with the smell of (burnt) wood (which after months is already very faint, but still present) completes the individual character of all three materials used. As a result, we perceive a complex artifact, appearing alive in a specific environment, taking on its aspects, losing the qualities of a passive subject-thing, becoming an influencing agent.
Hyperbolization
The walnut Thorncase has the sharpest corners – but still rounded so that it feels natural to hold in your hand. It draws attention to itself in a sophisticated way, not clumsily round like bamboo and maple. (All in exaggeration, of course, due to close examination of small differences that can still change the overall character of a given piece of accessory.)
The walnut cover has the straightest lines, it looks the most industrialized of all. The maple one is slightly thicker than the other two, but with a matte finish it looks cleaner in design than the bamboo cover, which is most obviously wooden, exotic. The cutout for the camera has changed from intersecting straight lines to parallel lines since the previous reviewed piece, it now fits better with the overall look of the covers.
Motivation
Due to the different nature of the individual materials, it would be adequate to provide specific engraved motifs for each of them. The darkest walnut is moderately unusual as a material itself and in a specific design. It encourages the use of right angles and geometrically clearly defined relationships, sometimes disrupted by an element of surprise, similar to what happens in the structure of wood, which is notoriously unpredictable. Going against convention, let's imagine the banally eccentric bright surface of the maple in the context of the obscure mysticism of the almost forgotten religious rituals in the small elite groups of the living ancestors of people in general. Perhaps others will also appreciate our work if we present it as part of general awareness, introduce other possibilities of creativity, become part of it ourselves and expand ours and theirs.
It seems silly to combine such unusual objects with would-be odd parts of a predictable society. We don't want to be anarchists or narcissists, but let's draw attention to the careless handling of things of daily use!
About half a year ago, I bought a Stone Age wooden cover on the DomDom.us website and I must say that I am extremely satisfied :) The cover still looks like new, it fits the phone perfectly and the package also included a front foil :) In addition, I would say that not as powerful as Thorncase
Not that I'd put either of those on my phone, but what you got seems to be a veneered plastic case, which isn't really a wooden case. Maybe that's why yours is thin.
No, it's really wooden, I really know wood :D
I like these covers. Personally, I prefer cases where I have the whole phone in. However, Thorncase for back covers and belenty for stylish cases are definitely among my favorite players on the market