EXCLUSIVES

By Erez Reuveni
Image provided by DVForge

DVForge, a new company based in Tennessee, recently launched its unique DVBase product, an accessory for the Apple iPod. The DVBase is an aesthetically pleasing, high-quality product that complements the iPod's design quite well. MacDirectory recently spoke with DVForge's president, Jack Campell, about his company's goals, the DVBase and future product launches, and the importance of quality and aesthetics when creating products for the consumer.

MD: Why start a Mac-oriented company mid-career?

JC: I was CEO of an electrical company for the last five years. I left that job last January with the idea of finding a new direction, and one of the things I've wanted to do for years is to figure out some way to make my living in the Mac industry, because I've been a long-time ­ since 1985 ­ Mac user.

MD: How did you come up with the idea of making quality accessories for the Apple platform?

JC: I took the last year to think about where in the Mac industry there was a marketing opening. A space that begged for a product that was not then fulfilled. Over the last year it dawned on me to look at my own experience through my own eyes. I looked at my own desk at length and I realized I had beautiful Mac equipment with an eye to aesthetics, in a beautifully framed room with framed Apple memorabilia, and I looked down and there's this really ugly plastic USB hub that I've had for two and a half years.

MD: Tell me a little bit about your company mission.

JC: What we believe is a couple of things. If a person is going to live with a product for a long time, then it should be a well-designed, attractive product that the owner can take pride in. We also believe that the products designed for desktop use today don't meet that standard. The market is driven by inexpensive plastic parts. Many people are value-conscious, but there is a substantial portion of the market place that is very responsive to elegantly designed, well-crafted products that have some inherent beauty and lasting value, and those are the folks we want to serve with our products.

MD: So how'd the initial DVBase product come about?

JC: I had this conversation with my now partner Dale Sanders about a couple of months ago. We got to talking about what alternatives to construction could be. He mentioned metal, and I told him how the latest products from Apple have a metallic theme. Speakers, Powerbooks, and iPods have the chrome theme. Together we came up with the idea of something nice in the way of an iPod theme.

MD: The DVBase looks quite elegant and well made. What went into the product's design?

JC: Well, first off, we figured out that we needed to create a product that matches the finish on the back of the iPod. We did not want a product that stole attention away from the iPod. We wanted a product that complemented the look of the iPod. People may accuse us of having a derivative design. Well, of course it is, it's an accessory. It is supposed to be secondary to the product.

MD: So the iPod helped to inspire the product?

JC: Well, we made a careful effort to match the contours and the radii and the proportions to the iPod and the design that we landed on, to us, was a natural evolution of the design of the iPod. We owe a lot of our design to the design team of the iPod.

MD: So can you tell me about the production of the DVBase?

JC: There are two versions of the DVBase. One is a limited edition release that will ship prior to Christmas. The piece differs from the production piece that will come out in January in how it's manufactured. We grind each one of these out of a block of aluminum on a CNC milling machine. It takes thirty-two minutes of milling time to make each one of these into what you see. Then it's given to our most experienced polishers and polished to a mirror finish. Then it's run through a special nickel plate process we've developed to match the nickel color of the iPod and use the same laser engraving process we've developed to match the nickel color of the iPod.

MD: How has the DVBase been doing as a product?

JC: We've begun distribution in Apple stores in Europe and are looking to begin distribution through Apple stores in the States. We've been selected out of the top fifty Apple related products on the market by Macnet Media. They selected our DVBase as the editor's choice out of all fifty products, which is very gratifying.

MD: And do you have any future products planned?

JC: At MacWorld we'll be introducing our DVBase TI, made for the Apple Powerbook G4. It's a desktop riser stand that raises the Powerbook. We also have a stereo amplifier and stereo speakers and a USB hub in the works for February or March.

www.dvforge.com