Picaso Lab case review

[It's Electric]

There has been some interest in the Picaso Lab case for the rMBP on this board, so here is a quick review.

The sleeve fits the rMBP perfectly: it holds the laptop securely while still allowing easy insertion and removal. The leather is thick and seems to provide good protection. The brown color looks great (although another buyer received a reddish case).

Unfortunately, the materials and assembly leave something to be desired. There are a number of defects in the leather, such as this and this. The workmanship is less than ideal. The two halves of the case are not well aligned: view one and view two. The stitching is haphazard in places. The cumulative effect is that the case walks the line between artisanal and sloppy.

Overall, I am satisfied with the sleeve and have elected to keep it. That said, I would not enthusiastically recommend Picaso Labs. Other vendors supply better cases around this price point.

 

[Sumalee]

I'm still waiting for my case, but this is a handmade case with natural materials which is normal to find imperfections in them. As for the misalignment of the sheets of leather it is all about the owner's tastes... Personally I do prefer uneven things but that's for me

Alex is victim of his own success and he made some mistakes that he won't repeat in the future...

Anyway, I'm looking forward to get mine

 

[spdntrxi]

dude... that's is amateur .

The darkline is passable, but that other one that looks like a burn ? He needs to up his incoming quality standards. The crooked sewing is not cool at all. Wow I'm really surprised at this and now I am no longer looking forward to getting mine.

 

[It's Electric]

I'm still waiting for my case, but this is a handmade case with natural materials which is normal to find imperfections in them. As for the misalignment of the sheets of leather it is all about the owner's tastes... Personally I do prefer uneven things but that's for me

Agreed. I'm satisfied with the case.

Alex is victim of his own success and he made some mistakes that he won't repeat in the future...

I'm not certain what you mean. If you're referring to hurried and shoddy craftsmanship due to high demand, then it's his customers that are the victims. You and I may be fine with the rough look, but if the two cases posted thus far (mine and the reddish one) are any indication, there will be a number of displeased buyers.

 

[Sumalee]

Agreed. I'm satisfied with the case.



I'm not certain what you mean. If you're referring to hurried and shoddy craftsmanship due to high demand, then it's his customers that are the victims. You and I may be fine with the rough look, but if the two cases posted thus far (mine and the reddish one) are any indication, there will be a number of displeased buyers.

Just saying that he wasn't expecting to get overflowed like this, there have been a few mistakes like not shutting down the ordering until he gets the control back of the production. I ordered the same case has yours, If mine looks like yours I will be happy. I would've waited a long time but at the end if I didn't really wanted that case I would have cancelled my order.

 

[Fortimir]

I received mine a few days ago, and I have to stress, mine does NOT suffer from any of the afflictions of the thread starter.

Mine has perfectly aligned edges the entire way around, and the thread work is very straight. It's not machine straight, but it's more than acceptable for 100% hand-made and I have to say substantially straighter than even the ones in this post. Also, I got mine in black and there are NO imperfections in the leather.

I'm not sure if he rushed the thread starter's case, or if it was at the end of the night, or what. Alex seems to be a good guy and if you are displeased, I bet he'd make you another.

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The brown color looks great

I do agree that the color of your case looks fantastic. I also don't mind the marks and imperfections at all. I quite like that character.

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The darkline is passable, but that other one that looks like a burn ? He needs to up his incoming quality standards. The crooked sewing is not cool at all. Wow I'm really surprised at this and now I am no longer looking forward to getting mine.

Don't worry yet. Just wait till you get yours. Mine is as close to PERFECT as this type of hand-made gets. I mean, no misalignments or crooked stitching. My black leather is flawless on both sides, too.

If you are dissatisfied for any reason, let Alex know. He really appears to care about your experience and make sure you are completely happy. He has offered replacements and refunds where applicable.

 

[ZipZap]

So I'm the guy with the red case (when I ordered brown). Alex (Picaso) is rushing through orders and quality control has suffered.

Biggest issues: Leather mismatches and bad staining.

The inside of my case is actually a nice brown, outside (see other thread for pictures).

I was very disappointed after having waited so long.

Your brown seems to be the right shade, you just have other imperfections.

 

[spdntrxi]

Alex sent me a image of a brown that he has in stock, very close to brown one pictured here (not the reddish one) I wanted Chocolate brown like pictured in the ebay auction, so my order was switched to black. If I like the black one in terms of quality, I'll order a chocolate brown one...if he ever gets it as dark as pictured in the ebay auction.

 

[Fortimir]

Deleted

 

[EatMyApple]

Email from Alex:

I'm ran short on leather twice this month on Black and Brown, most of the delay of making the 15" cases was simply waiting for my supplier to restock me. I'm restocked with a lighter shade of brown, the shade I use for my Ipad cases (photo attached). I should have my darker Brown back in for the month of August (in a few days).

I think the MBPr is the most beautiful piece of engineering in personal computing this decade. I'm incredibly honored that you and others think my case is a good match for the MBPr. I'm more than happy to replace ALL the Brown cases sent out with a darker Brown. Of course, I'll also absorb shipping cost if anyone decides to go with a darker Brown.

I'm not a member of MacRumors and I'm unsure how to go about posting this message. If you can help, I'd really appreciate it.

Alex Ngo
Picaso Lab
PicasoLab.com
408-320-9539


Check out my cases on Facebook.
I would really appreciate your feedback.

 

[It's Electric]

I'm not sure if he rushed the thread starter's case, or if it was at the end of the night, or what. Alex seems to be a good guy and if you are displeased, I bet he'd make you another.

I don't question that Alex is a good guy. My point is that, given the dubious quality of the product pictured above (some will like the character of the case, and others will not), the fact that other users were shipped the wrong color, and the general lack of communication from Alex (see this post for an example), prospective buyers may want to think twice about purchasing.

 

[recharge23]

I don't question that Alex is a good guy. My point is that, given the dubious quality of the product pictured above (some will like the character of the case, and others will not), the fact that other users were shipped the wrong color, and the general lack of communication from Alex (see this post for an example), prospective buyers may want to think twice about purchasing.

yeah, i've decided to put off buying it for now. still waiting on fortimir's review too. not sure what i'll do in the meantime as this sleeve is the only one i want.

 

[spdntrxi]

mine is out for shipment.. I'm only about 30 miles from him.. so hopefully tomorrow.

I changed my order to black because of supply issues(color) with the brown.

 

[EatMyApple]

mine is out for shipment.. I'm only about 30 miles from him.. so hopefully tomorrow.

I changed my order to black because of supply issues(color) with the brown.

Post some pics when you receive it!

 

[recharge23]

anyone else get theirs and willing to post some pics? still on the fence with this sleeve due to all the imperfections ppl are having.

 

[austinguy23]

I received mine a few days ago, and I have to stress, mine does NOT suffer from any of the afflictions of the thread starter.

Mine has perfectly aligned edges the entire way around, and the thread work is very straight. It's not machine straight, but it's more than acceptable for 100% hand-made and I have to say substantially straighter than even the ones in this post. Also, I got mine in black and there are NO imperfections in the leather.

I'm not sure if he rushed the thread starter's case, or if it was at the end of the night, or what. Alex seems to be a good guy and if you are displeased, I bet he'd make you another.

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I do agree that the color of your case looks fantastic. I also don't mind the marks and imperfections at all. I quite like that character.

----------



Don't worry yet. Just wait till you get yours. Mine is as close to PERFECT as this type of hand-made gets. I mean, no misalignments or crooked stitching. My black leather is flawless on both sides, too.

If you are dissatisfied for any reason, let Alex know. He really appears to care about your experience and make sure you are completely happy. He has offered replacements and refunds where applicable.

Then post pics and/or vid of it.

 

[spdntrxi]

anyone else get theirs and willing to post some pics? still on the fence with this sleeve due to all the imperfections ppl are having.

going on vacation.. so all my photogear is packed away

I changed my order to black/red based on Alex telling me that his latest batch of brown was not very dark. It is indeed well made, the stitch is not machine straight but acceptable. The edges are finished quite well on the one I received, so I'm happy with that. The fitment is very snug and I assume it will loosen a little as it streches ( I hope )

 

[asterix111]

Is there any cons with the full sleeve? Does the computer slip out easily after using it a while?

 

[Nodrog51]

Another very happy customer here

I appreciate this is some time since the op posted about their problems but I con't find any other examples to suggest that this is an actual review as opposed to someones personal experience. Yep, stuff happens, welcome to life.

I just received my hand made full brown/red case for my 15" Retina and the quality is straight out of the pictures on his website. I ordered it on the 18th, it was shipped on the 22nd (with a weekend in-between) and I received it yesterday, 31st - that was from the US to the UK! That's bl**dy good going in my book.

Remembering this thread when I was looking for a case, I had to come back and post a dirty big +1 for Alex and his work. One VERY happy bunny!
cheers
Gordon

 

[jmsookias]

We actually just received a couple of his cases and we wer blown away by the quality. Here is my review of it.

http://www.twentysomethinglondon.com/picaso-labs/

 

[jason.5665]

Picaso lab case

does anybody know how long he takes to reply to his emails ? i placed an order and emailed him three day ago and he still hasn't replied. his communication is not very good.

also does anybody have any pictures of the 13" retina mbp brown and red case ? the images on his website have to shallower depth of field to make out any good detail.

 

[-owen]

Order from PicasoLab only if you can...

wait for weeks, perhaps months. I placed an order on October 22, 2013 and it took more than 3 weeks to receive a short email apologizing that Alex was "behind on his emails" and had supplier problems. Luckily I used PayPal and will get my money back after filing a dispute.

I am sure these are beautiful cases however his communication skills leave a lot to be desired.

 

[NoHo]

Those marks are normal on high-quality leather. They will come and go often so it's nothing to worry about. Leather doesn't look great until it's worn and used.

That's the reason so many people were upset about their iPhone 5/S leather cases. They became worn and didn't look like they did new, but that's actually what you want from leather. If you want leather to look new, you probably don't know what you're using leather for.

 

[ZipZap]

Huh?

The problem here is that Alex takes on too much work, and fails to communicate.

Frankly, his cases in person are just ok.

 

[thawi]

I just filed a dispute with paypal, after waiting a month without any response to my emails. The case looks really nice, but i am getting a bit worried about not getting anything at all. Hoping PayPal will help me get my money back.