For years, coffee has been used a way to give kids’ pirate treasure maps that authentic “aged” look. Now, for possibly the first time in history, it has been applied to an iPad Smart Cover, giving it not only a beautiful patina but also lending it a delicious coffee aroma.
Two Lives Left developer Simeon Nasilowski (who makes the excellent Codea iPad app) bought a tan leather Smart Cover, but his sebaceous secretions started to darken it on only the side which he used to hold it while reading.
So Simeon did what any neat-freak would do. He decided to even up the colors. Using coffee. The first pass was a shot of homemade espresso (are all developers also coffee nerds?) brushed onto the leather surface. It darkened but, several coats and a rubbing down later, picky Simeon still wasn’t happy with the results. So he started rubbing ground coffee (hopefully from a burr grinder) right into the nap.
The result is a rather beautiful and rich finish. And of course it probably smells amazing, too. Don’t bother if you have a plastic Smart Cover though. Those things shrug of dirt like a mafia boss. In fact, here’s a tip: When your plastic Smart Cover does get grimy, scrub it inside and out with a washing up brush and some dish detergent. Rinse, leave to dry and it will be as good as new. Best of all, all that finger grease the microfiber interior sucks off the screen will also be washed away.
Charlie Sorrel writes reviews and how-tos. Follow Charlie on Twitter at @mistercharlie, and at micro.blog on @mistercharlie
One response to “Beautiful Leather Smart Cover, Custom-Colored With Coffee”
I really need to get one of those “coffee smart covers”. It looks better than Apple’s covers!