Skin it!
What is a skin and why do you want one? In our shallow, looks obsessed society it's an easy way to give a homely gadget a pretty facelift. They're basically high quality decals that are made to fit a given device like a second "skin". They are also terrific protection from scruffs and daily wear. My stark, white Kindle looks as good as the day I got it over a year ago, despite being continuously handled. It is now on it's third skin (above), a lovely Van Gogh print from Gelaskins that goes so well with my newest Borsa Bella bag.
My two previous, on top a custom skin from Skinit using a watercolor I scanned by my Great Great Aunt and the bottom, Meadow by Decal Girl. You might notice that each company does the front piece differently. I do like how Decal Girl covers the whole front but I love how Gelaskins doesn't label the buttons, making it feel a little more seamless.
It was the state of my prestine kindle after the most recent skin change that made me take the leap and order one for my Mac Book Pro. I had be admiring this design for awhile, Forest from Decal Girl, for it's retro-ish charm and whimsy. Now my state of the art laptop fits in with my midcentury decor.
I especially love the decal for the inside. This is where my hands spend the most time and it I like the added protection and flair. I also opted for a matt finish which was a little extra but I think worth it. I think the glossy finish would have be too much for this larger device.
There are skins for all kinds of devices and if applied properly. The hottest right now being for the iPad, a perfect candidate because of how much it will be handled.
all photos & content © Lara Rossignol
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 at 5:00AM
Reader Comments (10)
*Love* your grandmother's watercolor! & that laptop skin is so fun :D
Love this post Lara and your stunning new Kindle skin! I'm a big fan of Decalgirl so I haven't ventured elsewhere. In fact, all my gadgets (K2, iPhone, iPod and DS Lite) are all covered in the Rozi pattern. I think CS must think I'm batty because I request the pattern for everything that I want to skin.
The latest skin I bought was for DD's netbook...she is absolutely in love with her fairy sitting on the moon...a big plus is that it keeps her netbook fingerprint free!!! Geez, if I show her your Van Gogh above, she'll want it!
wow, lara, these are gorgeous!!
Oh no this will be bad for my checkbook! :D Thanks for the link to DecalGirl!
I have the decal girl on my Kindle too. Laura, may I ask how you got the personalized screen savers on your Kindle? They are so cool. Thanks, Cathy
I used the hack I found in this forum thread...
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40302&highlight=screensaver+hack+kindle
Very colorful, my lady would probably love each of those lol. The only "skin" company I've ever used goes by the name of MyTego, and sadly I just can't recommend them at all. The end result looked amazing, but the customer support is terrible, and the "production" time plus the time it took to ship the skin out to me came out to be 3 months, all told. Three months for a sticker is almost a crime, they were lucky I didn't cancel my order.
I must have been living in a cave the last year or so. These skins (just learned what they are) are GORGEOUS! I visited every link and found favorites. I just have an ipod touch to cover.... but I found an adorable skin for that. And when I get a laptop.....am so getting a skin for that too. Your laptop is stunning!!!
How do you do it all? You sure have a flair for style.
What a great ideal! Love your style