We’ve just despatched a consignment of specially made iWoodAMPs all with a unique logo for a business to use as very unusual corporate Christmas Gifts. Very imaginative client who we are happy to be working with.
Unusual Corporate Gift Idea
Category: iPad Stands
In the News again….
Industry leading magazine “Furniture & Cabinet Making” features inventor of the iWoodAMP, Mr. Benedict O’Boyle. As well as telling the story of how the iWoodAMP was invented, Ben was interviewed and told the magazine:
“When I’m working with wood I feel like I’m transforming one of Mother Nature’s creations into something new” and “My designs must always be functional and they must be beautiful like the trees they came from. My products must also be practical, have form and be innovative.”
He also said “Creative Carpentry isn’t an easy job – physically hard and mentally challenging on a daily basis – but it comes with a lot of satisfaction and for me I honestly can’t think of anything else I’d rather do for a living.“
British Manufacturing in Action!
This is a very quick look at just part of the process of making an iWood-Mobile. Once the wood has been shaped to amplify the sound it then gets sanded before being waxed and oiled to make it last for ages!
We're in The Evening Standard Homes & Property
We’re in the Evening Standard as a potential Christmas present… “the iWood Amp cleverly increases the volume and enhances the sound quality of any tablet by its shape alone. Handcrafted from sustainable wood.”
They used a picture of our mobile stand for iPhones rather than for the iWoodAMPs but with those tight deadlines we forgive them!
How my 6 year old daughter inspired me to create an innovative wooden iPad speaker..
By Benedict O’Boyle
I left University in 2005 with a box of hand tools and a family on the way. In 2006 Benedict’s Fine Furniture was created in Hertfordshire, where I have been making bespoke, hardwood furniture and crafts ever since. Apart from a break to write a book, Little Step’s around the World, following my wife, Anya, our 3 year old daughter Layla and I, as we took an 8 month break to backpack around the world on a budget.
Returning to the real world and my passion for fine craft, I quickly found myself enjoying focusing on furniture, beautiful timbers and a pursuit of original design. Design with function and integrity. I was looking for something clever, but also beautifully natural and organic. Something people would love.
I started developing iPad stands after Santa gave the family an iPad for Christmas. I wanted to get our new tablet, out of Layla’s hand, whilst she was dancing to the music playing on it. I used half a log and cut a groove in it, creating a simple dock, for charging and keeping it safe when Layla was enjoying her music.
Upon instructing Layla as to the iPad’s new home, we both discovered that the iPad got louder when we put it in the log!! I realised the sound was resonating through the timber and this was causing an increase in the volume and an improvement in the sound quality, completely naturally.
I then developed an acoustic–curve beneath the groove. After months of experimentation with different dimensions of the acoustic-curve, I eventually found the optimum size for maximum volume increase.
This curved echo-box allows the resonating sound waves to bounce off any hard surface the iWood-amp is placed on, amplifying them like a gramophone horn. The curve forces the sound waves into the room, so that as if by magic, your iPad almost doubles in volume!! Even I was astounded by the difference it made.
The iWood-amp is 100% British, 100% solid wood and 100% hand-crafted. Shaped from a solid piece of locally sourced, sustainable timber, and finished with a natural oil polish. The beautiful grain and colour, makes it something that people want to hold and its solid yet tactile aesthetics make it the perfect gift, ideally for yourself!
The iWood makes watching movies, catching up on TV, browsing with friends or sharing music easier and more convenient, and without the need for plastic, wires or batteries! It completely naturally makes your iPad louder. The iWood-AMP works with any tablet with a speaker on the edge, allows charging while in use and it also works for the iPad mini. The iWood-mobile (a beautifully cute pocket-sized amp for your smart phone), and more iWood innovative products are already on the way!
Unusual Corporate Gift that Stands Out…
Hand crafted and unusual, iWoodAMPs make great personal gifts. Very often they are a talking point in themselves – we often get people looking for wires and batteries when they hear the difference in the sound that they make. When Ben demonstrated one to a corporate client, they were so impressed that they put in a large order for specially branded iWoodAMPs. We took the XL Video logo and had a brand made up to make each one an XL Video iWoodAMP. These are gifts that will last for ever and always remind people of who gave them.
You can find out more about XL video at http://www.xlvideo.tv and more about Bens unique furniture designs and creations at http://www.benedictsfinefurniture.co.uk.
As seen in Craft & Design Magazine….
In issue 232 of the well respected magazine Craft & Design, you’ll spot a feature on the iWoodAMP. Titled “Working with Wood” the article discusses Bens approach to design and how the iWoodAMP works. There is also a hint about some new products that will be available soon. The following is taken from the article:
“The iWood-AMP is a solid piece of locally sourced sustainable timber that is shaped to hold your tablet and to allow it to be charged whilst in use. This makes watching movies, catching up on TV, browsing with friends or sharing music easier and more convenient. Where the iWood-AMP is really clever though, is without the need for plastic, wire or batteries, it also makes your hand held device louder! Using a unique acoustic curve, ingenuity and nature, it amplifiesthe volume of any tabletwith a speaker on the edge. The significant difference in the sound quality and level is amazing!”
The magazine is available from http://www.craftanddesign.net/magazine/232/.
Be like Martin Freeman – Get the iWood-AMP!
Martin Freeman, actor and star of the Hobbit, Sherlock Holmes and The Office kindly sent us a picture of himself with his iWood-AMP.
Martin is well known as a big music fan so it’s nice to know that the iWood-AMP has his kind of star quality.
EU Design Registration
After months of work, we have invested in the iWood-Amp by getting its unique design registered across the European Community. Whilst we hope that no one will try to copy the iWood-Amp, we know that we now have some legal protection.
By coincidence one of our most recent customers is a lawyer who told us that he uses his iWood-Amp to play music while he reads through client documents at home. Let’s hope we never have to use his services.
A Lovely Comment…
We have just received a lovely comment from a customer and thought it would be nice to share it:
It was good to see that you were at the fayre at the week-end with more iwood-amps. Not only did the iwood-amp (as spotted by our 11 year old daughter), make the perfect present for my husband at Christmas 2012, but it has been in daily use ever since. The sound is fabulous, it is portable, tactile, made from sustainable wood and each one is unique. A ‘must-have’!
Thank you.
Ali