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Lowly Cassettes Return As Designer iPod Nano Cases

Media Release | September 18, 2007
Contexture Design
Vancouver, Canada

Note: 45 Nano Cases were limited edition and are now SOLD OUT.

Audio cassette tapes are making a pop culture comeback, this time as protective designer cases for iPod nanos by Contexture Design.

Known as '45 nano,' the cassette-cases follow January 2007's release of '45,' Contexture's limited-edition iPod cases custom-made from vinyl 7-inch records.

"Reusing an old music medium to protect technology that surpassed it really resonates with us as music fans and sustainable designers," says Trevor Coghill, Contexture Design co-founder.

"Before iTunes' playlists, people made mix tapes," says founding partner Nathan Lee of the similarities between cassettes and digital music players. "And like iPods and nanos, tapes were also a really portable music technology."

One side of the cassette-cases has been hollowed out to fit first- and second-generation iPod nanos, shielded by a clear plastic window that includes openings for access to the music player's controls, headphone jack and charging dock.

The cases' flipside has been retained and looks like a 'vintage' cassette. For added cushioning, the cassette-cases include foam padding and come enclosed in their original, clear plastic cases.

According to Contexture's philosophy of using recycled and repurposed materials, '45nano' has been designed and constructed sustainably using reclaimed tapes and foam padding.

'45' and '45 nano' are available online for the sticker price of $45. As a further incentive, Contexture still offers a $5 rebate to online buyers who participate in the street level poster campaign. To qualify for the rebate, participants hang concert style posters around their neighbourhood.

To view 45 nano cases visit www.contexture.ca/45nano. To download print quality images visit www.contexture.ca/media. See below for product and company backgrounders.

Contact

Nathan Lee
Contexture Design
604-729-2444

Backgrounder: '45' Nano Cases

Backgrounder: Contexture Design

Contexture is an award winning Vancouver-based multidisciplinary design firm with departments in product design, fabrication, and graphic art and design. The firm's two designers, Nathan Lee and Trevor Coghill, are graduates of UBC's Landscape Architecture program and have been working together since 2005. Their work emphasizes simple, elegant and sustainable design, and is often inspired by reclaimed materials with historical, cultural or environmental significance. Respect for materials and dedication to sustainable design has earned Contexture a reputation for intelligent, well-made products with the smallest possible footprint.

Contexture products include a line of wooden accessories featuring the 'Coffee Cuff', made from reclaimed architectural veneers, the 'Fly-Like-a-Hot-Dang' wood and paper glider, a 'Mapbook' and a line of wildlife-themed hanging mobiles including 'As the Crow Files', 'Redfish', and 'Pollen Nation', all made from found maps. Contexture has also introduced a line of 'Cutout Cards' that are made out of the laser-cut leftovers from their collection of hanging mobiles.

Contexture Design has been featured in The New York Times Style Magazine, Spin, Plenty, Fashion Magazine, and the Globe and Mail, to name a few, and has appeared on CBC Radio and TV. Contexture has won numerous awards including 'Eco Designer of the Year' in the 2011 Western Living Design Awards , 'Ones to Watch' in the Western Living Designer of the Year Award in 2010, and the Design Exchange Award for Industrial Design in 2008 for their mobile, 'As the Crow Flies'. Additionally, Contexture has participated in design-related events such as IDSwest and the West Xprssd exhibit of emerging Western Canadian designers, and their work has been shown at the Museum of Vancouver and at the Royal Ontario Museum as part of the Toronto International Design Festival.

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