Etsy is the great place to shop for handmade items that are the perfect mix of craft and tech. The combo of the two is a special interest of mine. Here are five favorite categories.
1. Flash drives (also known as USB drives). They range from old Pez dispensers to old keyboard keys to handmade cases carved out of purpleheart wood from Central America. The kitschy to the beautiful.
2. Jewelry. Mechanimation makes jewelry out of old circuit boards, mounted in silver or copper frames. One is a piece from an Apple board. Yes, geeky, but also funky and almost elegant.
3. MacBook sleeves. My favorite so far is this industrial felt sleeve by Byrd & Belle, with black leather straps and embellishments, and the sizes are especially designed to fit the 13″ and 15″ MacBook Pros.
4. Housewares. I just love this set of glow-in-the-dark coasters with the Space Invaders images. Yes, perhaps more geeky than really techy, but somehow still elegant.
5. iPhone accessories. Check out these incredible wooden iPhone cases from Substrata, that come in a range of woods (this one is zebrawood). Or this amazing leather sleeve made to look like an old-fashioned Walkman. If you like a more classic look, here’s an elegant red leather case with a single snap as adornment. And here are cases made from vintage neckties, by RogueEmpire.
Plenty of good stuff for holiday or birthday gift-giving. And it supports independent designers across the world.