Sketchbook gets second life as iPad Pro case

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The look of a sketchbook in an iPad Pro case may appeal to the ever-doodling artist.
The look of a sketchbook in an iPad Pro case may appeal to the ever-doodling artist.
Photo: Longo Case

The iPad Pro and Apple Pencil are impressive tools but what becomes of the special bond an artist has with their sketchbook?

This is centuries-old relationship Apple is disrupting, so an accessories company has designed a case for the iPad Pro that has the look and feel of a personal and coveted sketchbook.

It’s wire-bound, much like a field sketchbook from Canson or Strathmore, with a band that holds it closed like a Moleskine journal. Yet, it promises the same sturdiness of more conventional iPad cases.

The Sketchbook case can also raise the iPad Pro in the portrait or landscape position.
The Sketchbook case can also raise the iPad Pro in the portrait or landscape position.
Photo: Longo Case

Sales on the iPad Pro were not as robust as Apple would have liked, but since its debut in the fall, the 12-inch multi-tasking device, along with the Apple Pencil, has received enthusiastic reviews from creatives who routinely need to sketch out their ideas.

Longo Case has been making laptop and tablet cases for about 10 years and it is offering the Sketchbook case for about $26 on Kickstarter, where it’s about half-way towards its fundraising goal. If all goes well, the cases will be ready to ship by March, the company says.

The common sketchbook incorporates thin wire and thick cardboard to protect the paper it carries but the Longo Sketchbook offers more protection than the image suggests.

Longo could not find a suitable pre-made binding wire, so they made its own with cold-formed steel that is 1.35 mm thick. The front and back covers, which also folds into a table-top easel in both the portrait and landscape positions, are made with three materials, a leather cover, hard plastic middle to absorb shock and a microfibre inner that protects the screen.

It also has secure loops on the inside for the Apple Pencil.

The covers come in black, brown, gray and cream. It is also available for iPad Air and Mini models.

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