As much as I’d love to gift everyone on my list the latest iPhone (one day, I will truly be the Oprah of my friend group), the truth is that new phones are expensive. But you know what’s less expensive and has the same ability to make over even the most vintage of iPhone models? A new phone case — preferably one that’s customizable and, therefore, one of a kind.
Here’s where The Dairy comes in. The Australia-based tech brand is known for its bold, artistic cases for phones, AirPods, tablets, AirTags, and more. While the artist collabs and myriad patterns definitely caught my eye (how could they not?), I recently got the chance to use The Dairy’s custom design tool to create my own dream iPhone case from start to finish.
The Dairy Custom Apple iPhone Case, $49.95
The four-step process for making your own case on The Dairy’s website is super-easy, and it took me about 10 minutes total. I already had an idea of what I wanted, but if you’re looking for inspo to get the juices flowing, taking a peek at its existing styles might be a good start. After choosing your phone model (it has options for both iPhone and Android devices), you choose between two levels of case protection: Armoured offers more protection (and runs $5 extra) but is slightly bulkier than the slim Snap cases, which are super lightweight. From there, you can choose either a glossy or matte finish for your case. I went with Armoured just to err on the safe side and opted for a matte finish.
The second step is where the fun truly begins. You begin by choosing a body color for your case. The Dairy offers 21 presets to choose from, but you can also create a custom color by sliding a color wheel and choosing your desired intensity. Since I was uniquely positioned to create my own color, I toggled the settings until I settled on my favorite shade of deep emerald green. If solid colors aren’t your thing, you can also choose from a variety of vibe-y preset designs, ranging from pinstripes to colorblock to grids. (And if you want to get really wild, you can upload a custom image and crop it to fit the case.)
The third step involves adding either text or “stickers” to your case. The stickers are similar to what you’d see at a tattoo shop’s flash design sheet. Think kitschy, classic motifs like cherries, smiley faces, daisies, crescent moons, and more. I knew I wanted my initials, plain and simple, so I entered “KH” and played around with the placement, size, and coloring until I figured out what I liked. I ended up with a sky blue serif font with a milky white shadow on the lettering (this is optional, BTW). Once you’ve settled on every detail, the final step is to enter your payment and address info, and play the waiting game. (Also this is probably obvious, but any custom phone cases or custom accessories are final sale.)
A month passed before my case arrived in the mail, which I know is an eternity if you’re an avid online shopper — but trust me when I say it was well worth the wait. Not only were the colors pretty true to what I created on the site, but the case itself felt sturdy and well-made. The matte finish is so luxe but also tends to show fingerprints — if this is something that will eat away at your soul, go for the glossy finish. My only serious gripe is that it doesn’t work with wireless or MagSafe chargers, but I’m hoping that The Dairy can figure this out in the future. Judging it purely on look and feel, it’s a solid 10/10 for me. Plus, the experience of making a bespoke case online was genuinely fun: During the process, I sent screenshots of variations I was making to my fashion designer twin sister (who is a true arbiter of taste), and we went back and forth about what we could tweak here and there. While monogrammed phone cases aren’t anything new, The Dairy takes it to a whole new level, where the creative possibilities are truly endless. Plus, as someone who loves having a wardrobe of phone cases to swap out, I’m already brainstorming other colorways to order next…
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