Twelve South

Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you know that when it comes to the finer things in life — whether handmade, cooked up in a gorgeous test kitchen, or wrapped in clever paper with an even more clever hand-crafted gift tag — Martha Stewart is kind of the Queen.

So when the editors of Martha Stewart Living made their selections for this year’s Holiday Gift Guide, we were kind of holding our breath. (Not unlike children at recess who fear being picked last. Thinking: “Please pick me. Please pick me!” and then realizing we’d said it out loud. Oops.)

And then…there we were, listed in the Guide. The editors love our BookBook…and here’s what they said:

Yes, it’s short and sweet. But that’s the thing about Martha and her people…they like to get straight to the point.

Stuff your own stocking — or someone else’s — with this year’s Martha Stewart pick from Twelve South. BookBook. (Ships free in the U.S. for a limited time.)

And after the shopping is all done, if you’re feeling crafty, be sure to visit Martha online for complete instructions to making your holidays gorgeous.

We really love to see people re-imaginging our products to make them their own. If you follow our blog, you’ve seen some examples of our BookBook for MacBook, BookBook for MacBook Air, and BookBook for iPad being modified by leather craftsmen to become notable tomes like a book of spells.

And now here’s another fresh approach to BookBook DIY. Scription, a Hong Kong-based blog written by Patrick Ng about all things stationary and cool, decided to take matters into his own hands when it comes to getting a camera hole on the BookBook for iPhone. (Notably he also puts a stylus into the credit card pocket, too.)

He did a great job — take a peek!

You can read more here about his conversion. If you’ve modified a BookBook in any way, we’d love to hear from you. Shoot us an email to marketing (at) twelve south (dot) com and tell us all about it!

We haven’t yet seen BookBook for iPhone modified with a book title. Get yours here, and see how you can make BookBook for iPhone your own! In stock and ships free in the US…but you’ll want to act fast!

Here’s a really cool picture of a BookBook for iPhone that we just got from Santiago Valencia on Twitter!

Want your own “vintage tome” for your “modern iPhone”? Click here to learn more about BookBook for iPhone.

We’re as social as anybody (well, maybe not anybody — we do have a business to tend to and social networking isn’t it) but love to read your comments on our products. This was just posted on Facebook by Thomjon about BookBook for iPhone:

“I thought it would be kinda cool to get one of these. I was so wrong…It is simply amazing! Works as advertised and looks even better. Plus, I have found no better conversation starter…will make you irresistible to starlets, jet-setters, and fellow travelers. Upload some Whitman into iBook and you’ll be right as rain.”

Follow us on Facebook and see what everybody’s talking about. And get your own BookBook for iPhone here. (In stock today! No kidding!)

Like everyone else, we love a good compliment. And being in the business we’re in, we tend to stay on top of what’s written about our products. Macgasm is one of the blogs we read regularly, so it’s a special pleasure when what we’re able to read is something really nice about one of our products.

You’ll know what we mean from just this first paragraph of the Macgasm review of our BookBook for iPhone:

“Once in a while a product comes storming into my life and really leaves me changed for better or worse. BookBook for iPhone is one of those products, and I have to admit, it’s been for the better.

That sounds a bit dramatic as the opening for an iPhone case review, but stay with me and I promise I’ll make you understand. BookBook for iPhone is a combination iPhone case & wallet-stuffs organizer wrapped in the shape of a tiny, aged, leather bound book.

I knew immediately following the announcement of BookBook for iPhone that I had to have one. I will admit, while my intrigue did border on obsessive, I was sane enough to interject, on occasion, the notion that this would end up as yet another iPhone case in my end table drawer, abandoned and hardly used.

Something was different this time though.

Twelve South has released the BookBook case for Macbooks as well as the iPad, of which I was pretty critical of from the jump off. The iPhone iteration though really grabbed me and thus far isn’t showing any signs of letting go.”

OK, we’re blushing here — kind of like Sally Field in her “you like me, you really like me” moment, only, of course, we’re trying to keep our cool. But then we read more:

“BookBook for iPhone is sold as an iPhone case, for obvious reasons. I am, however, more inclined to call it a wallet with an iPhone holder built in as I have completely replaced my wallet with this case, and couldn’t be happier. My wallet has always been a topic of frustration for me. I carry way too many things in it and it simply gets out of control.

Some may see the BookBook’s limited space as a negative quality, but I took full advantage of it and am living my pocket life in redux mode.  The three card slots easily accommodate two plastic cards each, which gives you room for five misc cards if you carry your license or ID with you and a little extra room in each for a business card or paper proof of insurance.

The cash pocket accommodates a few bills folded in half, and could stand to hold a bit more, but I could spin this as an excuse to live more digital, or start carrying one of many money clips I’ve been gifted at weddings.

Initially, you may find it, as I did, a bit awkward talking on a book. Once I realized that you can simply fold the entire front cover back, I was immediately comforted. The phone actually feels amazing in this position when talking. Folding the front cover around to the back also really helps with texting and the added thickness really stabilizes the phone in your grasp.”

We’re so happy that he liked it — but what happens in public?

“Things started getting interesting when cashiers at Target were inquiring about it. The madness continued at our local BBQ pit, where it spawned a pretty in depth discussion about losing your wallet and losing your phone at the same time, a notion that still has me a little nervous as I write this review.  Although, if you have MobileMe, soon to be iCloud, you could use Find My iPhone to track down both your wallet and your phone.”

That *is* a really cool thing. It’s not like your wallet alone has a “find me” feature, does it?

“The fact is, it’s a sexy looking wallet which is even more intriguing when people realize it’s an iPhone case. I don’t cringe when I have to take out my George Costanza wallet any more, and actually  enjoy talking to people about the company and the product.

I am in love with BookBook for iPhone. It really has helped me reduce my pocket clutter, and I like the idea of keeping my phone and wallet in one case. It’s possible that I will be the only one who would actually list this in a review as a positive, but the packaging for the BookBook is beautiful. It’s very clean and sophisticated and will look great on a shelf.

The clear ID case with thumb slide is a must for any functional wallet and I’m glad they decided to include it here. Without it, I likely wouldn’t have been able to permanently replace my wallet. The craftsmanship of BookBook for iPhone is really evident. The lines are all clean and credit cards as well as the iPhone all slip in perfectly.”

We promise: You’ll like it, you’ll really, really like it. Get your own BookBook for iPhone, now back in stock at Twelve South with free shipping in the U.S.

Industrial design blog Core77.com is a great design blog and then some. Its global audience is made up of industrial designers from students through seasoned pros. And it’s rich with great content, from a design firm database to articles to discussion forums and job listings, to portfolios you won’t be able to steal away from. So it’s a great thing when Core77 notices some of your design work.

In this case, they’ve taken note of our BookBook line — available for your MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iPad, and iPhone. (Special note: BookBook for iPhone is back in stock today (08/30/11). Hurrah! But act fast.)

Here’s what Core77 said of our BookBooks:

I suffer from that object fetish schizophrenia where I’m taken by very new things and very old things. Sketching on an iPad is awesome, and so is laying ink in a Moleskine. On my desk I’ve got a stack of rare internal documents from the Singer company circa 1920 or so, and it’s being fed into a Canon scanner from 2010. I use a zig-zag sewing machine from 1953 and I use brand-new Schmetz needles that have the modern “scarf” cut into them.

Mac accessory-maker Twelve South’s BookBook perfectly encapsulates the old/new thing. It’s a laptop case taking the form of an ancient leatherbound book, offering both protection and scratching that vintage itch.

The company also touts it as making your MacBook less likely to be stolen, but that won’t fly here in New York; I’ll never forget my neighbor in Brooklyn being robbed so thoroughly they even took the sheets off of his bed. Still, I’m digging the BookBook, and now they’ve even got a little one that serves as a wallet and iPhone case.

Why, yes we do have a little one that serves as a wallet and an iPhone case! And that little one is back in stock at this very moment. So quick — to the Twelve South site — to get your BookBook for iPhone while they’re here. Ships free in the USA.

If you’re not already a devout reader/follower/watcher of Lifehacker, you’re missing a lot. Think of Lifehacker as your really street smart friend who seems to know how to score all the best things in life, who stays on the cutting edge of what’s truly cool and what’s coming soon, is good with his or her hands, who seems to have an engineer’s mind for figuring things out…but isn’t boring at parties. Yeah, that guy.

So when that guy (or gal) chooses one of the things from your company for a feature called “Stuff We Like,” it just couldn’t be any cooler.

Here’s what Lifehacker’s Jason Chen says after taking our BookBook for iPhone for a test drive:

“Someone has finally made an iPhone case/wallet combo that’s not only usable, but spacious and classy as well. If you’ve got limited pocket space, then this BookBook by TwelveSouth is tantalizing.”

And…

“This thing is great. Rather than keeping a wallet and a phone in my pants, now I can carry one thing that is about the same size as my wallet. The only problem is that I’m the kind of guy that likes to keep all his cards on him at once, so that, for example, I’ll be prepared if I need to go to Blockbuster, or get my car towed, or show my dentist or doctor my insurance. But is that necessary? Can’t I just leave those sometime-use cards in a stack at home and insert it into the BookBook when I need it? Do I always have to carry my business cards around in my wallet in case I run into somebody? Would an email address do? Yes, most likely. So this case has changed my use habits a bit as well.”

Read more here. Subscribe to Lifehacker (for free) here, and get ready for loads of Shortcuts of the Day, MacGyver Tips, Body Hacks (thankfully not the Kathy Bates in Misery kind), and other totally useful things to know about.

…And turn this episode of “Stuff We Like” into Stuff You Like by getting your own BookBook for iPhone here. (Free shipping in the U.S. for a limited time.)

Here are Twelve South, we love great photography and videos…so we are super appreciative when a reviewer takes the time to share his or her experiences with our products via photography, video and the typewritten word. The nice people over at iDownloadBlog have done just that in their review of our latest BookBook, the BookBook for iPhone. And the verdict? “…It’s the James Dean of iPhone accessories.”

In their words:

“Rarely do I find myself getting overly excited about something as mundane as a phone accessory, a case no less.

The thing is, this isn’t just any accessory, it’s the accessory. In fact, it might just be my favorite iPhone accessory of all time. It’s elegant, it’s functional, and it lends peace of mind and simplicity to a life that can seem overly complicated at times.

In my opinion, the hallmark of a great product isn’t merely based on its technical merit, its precision, or its beauty. It’s a combination of all of those; but most importantly, a great product is one that you don’t have to think about, it’s just there for you when you need it to be.

That’s what makes the Twelve South BookBook case so good. It’s extremely practical and functional. It has that old school organic class that’s so hard to come by in the silicon world that we’ve found ourselves forced into. Dare I say it’s the James Dean of iPhone accessories; strikingly handsome, a bit gritty, with Oscar winning capabilities.”

If you enjoy the photos and the lyrical writing…you should check out the video:

Watch the iDownloadBlog Video on BookBook for iPhone. And get your own “James Dean of iPhone accessories” here.

(And start working on that Oscar acceptance speech, won’t you? We don’t want to hear any of this “I never expected this to happen” or “You like me, you really like me” nonsense. Go win it. And for goodness sakes, don’t forget to thank your partner, especially if you can do it like Steve Carell.)

It’s always a pleasure to read anything in The Washington Post lately that *isn’t* about the debt ceiling. So it was indeed a thrill to open up the WP Magazine this weekend (which locals receive on Saturday, but which appears to the rest of the nation on Sunday) to see that this week’s Trend Report featured none other than our BookBook.

Holly E. Thomas, arbiter of uniquely good taste that she is, chose BookBook among five great things she’s come across lately…and we’re honored! Here’s what she had to say:

“Camouflage your shiny new MacBook Pro, iPad or MacBook Air in something decidedly old-school with the BookBook from Twelve South. The hardback leather cases are designed to look like antique tomes, blending in on a coffee table or bookshelf, while keeping your tech treasures safe. $69.99-$99.99 at Anthropologie (5402C Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase, 301-652-1056) and www.twelvesouth.com.”

It’s true, people — our BookBook is indeed for sale at Washington’s Anthropologie. If that’s not power to the people, we don’t know what is! Get your own BookBook here, for iPad/iPad 2, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air…or of course, for your iPhone (new!).

Twelve South puts your money where your phone is. Introducing BookBook for iPhone.

Charleston, SC, July 26, 2011 – Twelve South is pleased to announce the arrival of a new must-have accessory for iPhone owners. BookBook for iPhone 4 is a beautiful, pocket-sized wallet that holds both iPhone 4 and your driver’s license, debit card, cash and receipts. The new BookBook for iPhone 4 is available now at Apple Store and twelvesouth.com for $59.99. More info and images can be found here.

Made exclusively for iPhone 4, this tiny vintage book replaces the need for a traditional wallet, which means one less item to keep up with, and one less thing in your pocket or purse. Two of your must-have items, iPhone and wallet, become one item. Having iPhone inside BookBook means you will never forget your wallet again.

The sturdy leather cover provides maximum protection for iPhone. Open BookBook for edge-to-edge access to iPhone. There are no frames getting in the way of your thumbs. All buttons and ports are accessible. You can sync or listen to iTunes while iPhone is in the book. Soft, chocolate brown suede lines the interior of the wallet.

BookBook features a handy ID window, making it easy to flash your license. The window has a convenient thumb slide for quick removal of your ID when needed. There are two slots for credit/debit cards and a vertical pocket for cash, receipts or business cards. BookBook conveniently puts your bank card next to your bank and finance apps.

Andrew Green, Creative Director at Twelve South, said “There are many iPhone cases out there in all shapes and sizes, but we couldn’t find the one we wanted. So we rolled up our sleeves and designed the ultimate case. A cool, pocket-sized book that serves as a wallet and iPhone case. It’s a phone book and checkbook rolled into one.”

Made with genuine leather, each BookBook is hand-distressed so no two are exactly alike. Since it looks just like a pocket-sized book, it’s an easy way to disguise your wallet and phone. The stylish design keeps you and your iPhone from looking like everyone else.

Click here to read the original release.