BY REGINA GONZALEZ
Having flashy, bedazzled trinkets can add a little sparkle to your room or office supplies sometimes. From gaudy phone cases that are just too cute to not have, or jeweled bottles and letters that sorority girls know how to craft in their sleep, being sparkly is good. In fact, for sophomore criminal justice major Meghan Chayka, sparkly is luxurious.
In her DIY one woman show, Chayka turns average laptop cases into lavish works of art for friends and customers through her hobby turned online business called Luxury Life: Custom Laptop Cases.
Just like many of us who can get lost in the magic that is Michael’s arts & craft store’s sale section, as a freshman Chayka found herself wiping out the entire stock of the bejeweled stickers section one day, taking them home to stir up creative ideas on how to use them.
“I was tired of looking for cases online that I didn’t like, whether it was the color, texture or design, I just could never find a case that I liked,” Chayka said. “With just some stickers, glue and a clear laptop case that I had had on my laptop for years, I sat down, opened my mind and within just 3 hours my first luxury laptop case was born.”
Using everything from diamonds to wood chips or pearls, all she needs is some adhesive glue and tweezers to start jeweling a case, which can take her between 3-4 hours to finish. Her routine is extensive:
- Order a clear laptop case from Amazon according to the size, make and model of the laptop
- According to the person’s’ design preferences, go to the craft store and buy as many jewels as needed to cover the entire case: pearls, diamonds, colors, etc.
- Use special adhesive glue for jewels such as wood or metal glue (it’s also water proof, often used by home builders), and ONLY put glue on the jewels that are going to be stuck to the case, because the glue dries fast, and once it’s stuck it is very hard to remove (it can be done but it’s hard)
- Beginning this masterpiece, place each gem one- by- one until the case is covered and perfectly designed
- Finally, attach the cover to the computer and TA-DA, the laptop is all blinged out, ready to be carried down the red carpet
Though it may seem tedious to some, the finished product is sure to catch a few stares when whipping out your computer in class or public. Those exact reactions are how Chayka thought to turn her joy for jeweling into her very own business venture.
“I found that wherever I go whether it be to study at Starbucks, other coffee houses, lunch at the Oxford Exchange, the airport, basically anywhere I go with my computers I get questions from people asking me where I got it and if they can get one,” Chayka said. “I have business cards, so whenever people see me or my friends who have cases, I can hand out cards to people who are interested in buying one.”
A very personable and conscientious designer, Chayka is more than happy to cater to the ideas that a client has for a case and make that idea come to life.
“I love her cases, my case is a red, white and blue one that I asked her to make because I love the American Flag. She took such care into making it and making sure I loved it,” junior communications major Reagan Watkins said. “ Every case she makes she makes sure they are different and very special to the people she gives them to.”
As of right now all order requests can be taken by contacting Chayka at customluxurylife@gmail.com. However, stay tuned because an online shop for her bedazzled creations off her personal website megpierrephotography@gmail.com is currently in the works.
Regina Gonzalez can be reached at regina.gonzalez@theminaretonline.com