Twelve South

Notebooks.com included our BookArc for MacBooks in their list of “Must Have MacBook Accessories for College Students“. Even cooler though, the author Carter Sprunger reveals the BookArc is a key component in his own personal set-up. Its one thing to mention a product, it’s quite another to recommend a product because it’s sitting right on your desk and you use it yourself every day.

This is my current set-up, which I enjoy very much. When paired with an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse, the BookArc allows you to truly get a desktop feel when you are at your desk. Just slide your MacBook into the stand, connect your monitor, and your are good to go. The design allows for better heat dissipation as well as well as safety from items on your desk that may scratch your MacBook. Also, with your MacBook closed, the video RAM goes directly to power your external monitor, providing a considerably faster experience.

via Must Have MacBook Accessories for College Students | Notebooks.com.

In every BookArc box there is a list of 12 things to do with your package after it’s done holding your BookArc of course. We have always felt that if we can add value – even to the packaging – we should. And from an earth-friendly standpoint, re ‘using’ beats re ‘cycling’ any day.

That said, we’ve also enjoyed seeing other customers’ ideas about reusing our packaging as well. Here is one of the more unusual uses we’ve seen recently. Apparently, our box is the perfect size to fit this handy strap-on bicycle storage bag. Who knew!

Repurposed TwelveSouth BookArc box on Flickr

If you have new ideas on how to re-use your BookArc box, let us know.

We feel the packaging is just as much a part of the product as the product itself. After all you’re paying for it too. We also are responsible for what happens (or can happen – in an earth-friendly sense) with the package after it’s safely delivered its goods to you. These reasons and more are why we put quite a bit of effort into our packaging. We ran across a blog where our happy customer was just as moved by the packaging and the BookArc that came in it. She gets it too. Here’s some of what she had to say…

Aside from being utterly delighted and tickled that I’d found the perfect stand for Wilma, when I opened the box I noted the unique quality and craftsmanship of the container. And those who know me well know I LOVE containers. Anyhoo, inside the box was a four-page white brochure on smooth, quality paper with lots of negative space and straightforward copy:

• Cover: BookArc desktop stand for MacBook owners guide, Twelve South logo
• Page 2: What’s in the box, get your Arc ready to roll, installing and removing inserts, working with your MacBook closed
• Page 3: 12 ways to re-purpose your BookArc box, have questions? and about Twelve South
• Back cover: the words, “thank you”

Wow. I took a second look at the box after reading the 12 ways to re-purpose your BookArc box. Oh, my. They had some great ideas. And their list inspired even more ideas in my mind. I showed the box to Michael. At that very moment he was organizing his digital video tapes. We both looked at the box, looked at his messy pile of tapes and declared, “Eureka!” and every tape he had fit neatly and perfectly into the Twelve South BookArc box.

Voila. Thank YOU, Twelve South. You’ve got passion and you’ve earned my business loyalty. Keep it coming.

Thank you Terry. It’s customers like you that keep us inspired every day.

Read the whole blog entry here: It’s Just a Box, Right? « Passion Miner.

Learn more about BookArc (and its box) here. Twelve South BookArc

“Will BookArc fit with a Speck SeeThru case on?” may be the number one question we get about the BookArc. The answer is yes – sorta. Here are two popular solutions. You can check these out and decide if these solutions would work for you:

Remove bottom part of Speck SeeThru. Just use the top portion and use the largest BookArc Insert #2. Below is a link to a YouTube video from ‘friend of Twelve South’, Sam Levin, demonstrating this method.

Use the Speck SeeThru ‘without’ a silicone insert in BookArc. We can’t really ‘officially’ recommend this solution because – eventually – this will scratch your SeeThru. But if you want to carefully put your MacBook with a Speck SeeThru shell in the BookArc, this could be a fine solution for you.

Get more specs and information on BookArc here.

Here’s an actual email, word-for-word, from Customer Service today.

I think the BassJump could be a big hit for PC-laptop users as well.
I have not seen any products like this before, for PC-laptops. Have you?
Will you develop this product for that market as well?

Thank you
[pc]

Hi [pc],

Sorry, but Twelve South is committed to making accessories exclusively for Macs. Thanks for your interest and question. If you ever get a Mac, we have some wonderful accessories for you.

Thanks,
Twelve South Support Team

We get this question several times a week. It is so fun to tell them no But that’s Twelve South – not just Mac ‘friendly’ – we’re Mac only. Really. We wish there were more ‘Mac Only’ companies around. Then again, we’re just fine being one of the only ones too.

Check out the Mac Only BassJump here.

Ahh, Christmas Shopping! I’ve never been on the other side like we are this year. We are so excited that so many BackPacks, BookArcs and BassJumps are going to be under so many Christmas trees. We love our retail partners around the world like Apple Store and Best Buy, but I have to tell you we hold a special place in our heart for our customers that trust us enough to order directly from twelvesouth.com.

Guy Kawasaki said in his awesome book “Reality Check” that “God invented e-Commerce” for bootstrappers and its so true. Your support is so appreciated and helpful. Thank you and Happy Holidays.

Holiday 2009 Shipping Schedule
Happy Holidays! Here are the very last dates & times you can order from Twelve South and receive your order in time for Christmas. Please note the times listed are Eastern Standard Time.

Free Ground Shipping in the Continental US
Orders must be placed by 2:00PM EST, Wednesday, December 16th

International Shipping outside the US (including the North Pole)
Orders must be placed by 2:00PM EST, Thursday, December 17th

2nd Day Air Shipping in the Continental US
Orders must be placed by 2:00PM EST, Tuesday, December 22nd

Overnight Shipping in the Continental US
Orders must be placed by 2:00PM EST, Wednesday, December 23rd

“It’s a ridiculously simple idea.”

It’s not every day you get mentioned or reviewed in Newsweek. Pretty cool. Even cooler Dan Lyons (aka Fake Steve Jobs) is the author. He totally gets the BookArc and is a complete Mac nut. He ends with a nice overview of our little company called Twelve South.

“It’s a tiny company in Charleston, S.C., called Twelve South, and when I say tiny, I mean it’s one guy, his wife, and two employees. Like, really tiny.”

We may only be four employees right now – but that’s a 100% increase from the beginning of the year

via [ Stuff I Love: The BookArc - Techtonic Shifts Blog - Newsweek.com. ]

Learn to love BookArc yourself. Click here.

If you are a ‘complete Mactard‘ like us and BookArc or BackPack is on your Holiday wishlist, here are US retail stores you can find a BookArc or BackPack this Holiday season.

Apple Store US and Canada/Europe/Australia/Japan. We are so proud to say Twelve South products are available in most Apple Stores on the planet. The dream store (remember when there weren’t Apple Stores?) is host to the BookArc and BackPack. The team there will be happy to help find them for you. Hint – they’re usually in the Mac Accessories section near Apple adapters and cables.

Best Buy. Best Buy locations that have the Apple Store-within-a-Store all have BookArcs and BackPacks. They just arrived (Nov 09) so pop in and make sure they look good on display for us. If you don’t see them out and available – ask. They should be there and the great Best Buy staff will be happy to help you find them.

Of course, you don’t have to get out of your PJs to get your Twelve South goods delivered to your doorstep. We are still offering FREE shipping in the US right from Twelve South.com.

- Buy Twelve South BackPack here – with FREE US shipping

- Buy Twelve South BookArc here – with FREE US shipping

Wow. We don’t know what to say. It’s our version of ‘being on the cover of Rolling Stone’! The BookArc is on the cover of Macworld just 15 weeks after the company launched! We all just stopped and stared at it for a minute – then got back to work.

We’re totally honored by the accolade, but it makes us just work harder to make even more cool stuff exclusively for the Mac. We’re thrilled that Macworld thinks we’re off to a good start! Thanks Macworld.

See the full story here.

Learn more about the BookArc.

Twelve South is thrilled to announce we are now available in Apple Stores throughout Europe – both in Retail and Online. Apple Store Europe now joins Apple Store US in bringing Twelve South goodness to a store near you. Below you’ll find just a few of the Apple Store Europe online links where the BookArc Stand  and BackPack Shelf are available now. When visiting an Apple Retail Store in Europe, just ask for Twelve South and the super-friendly staff will be glad to help you out.

Cheers!

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