business

A Case
For Good

Creators of unique phone
cases pay it forward.

lowers. She focused on beauty,
health and fitness products, but
she wanted to develop a product
of her own. Jamie and Sean con-
sidered many options and decid-
ed on high-quality cell phone
cases. They noticed how popular
phone cases had become, and it
was a natural fit.
“I’ve always been pretty trendy,
and it’s cool to see the vision
come to life,” Jamie said.
They were determined to do
more than just make a product
and sell it; they wanted to prac-
tice their belief in repairing the
world. “I took so muc h from how
I grew up, tikkun olam was so
important to me,” Jamie said.
Both Sean and Jamie were
raised with a strong Jewish
background. Sean, 33, grew up
in Farmington Hills, attended
Congregation Beth Ahm and
was active in BBYO. “The service
component of BBYO had an
impact on me,” he said.
Jamie, 34, lived in Southfield
until fifth grade, then moved to
West Bloomfield. She attended
Hillel Day School through eighth
grade and went to Congregation
Beth Shalom.
“I always remembered what I
learned about tikkun olam and
wanted to continue that in the
business,” she said.
They decided to donate at
least 10 percent of every sale to a
charitable organization. At times,
they donated up to 90 percent
of the profits. So far, they have
donated more than $5,000 in just
over one year.

CELEBRITY PARTNERS

CHERYL WEISS
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Jamie Iden Strasberger and Sean Strasberger

36

March 1 • 2018

jn

J

amie Iden Strasberger com-
bines her talent for being on
top of trends, her creativity,
and her passion for tikkun olam
to build her successful cell phone
case business Because of a Case.
In just over a year, she,
along with her husband, Sean
Strasberger, has attracted celeb-
rities to collaborate with her to
design cases for charities.
The Huntington Woods couple
is changing lives, case by case
and cause by cause, as they
live their slogan: “Protect your
phone. Protect the world.”
In July 2016, Jamie knew it
was time to stretch and grow in
a new direction. She had a suc-
cessful YouTube channel, Reviews
by Jamie, with nearly 60,000 fol-

At the beginning, Jamie spent
hours online every day email-
ing organizations, influencers
and celebrities on social media
to find collaborators willing to
create a unique design for a cell
phone case. A portion of each
sale in that design, then, would
be donated to the charity of that
person’s choosing.
“We had no personal connec-
tions. We just kept emailing,”
Sean said.
Jamie added, “I think we
surprised ourselves! The first
month we were open, we got
the first collaboration with
YouTube. It was kind of like fate.
They believed in the company,
believed in what we’re doing.”
That first collaboration was
with Tracy and Stephanie from
the YouTube channel Eleventh
Gorgeous. They designed a case
with marbled shades of blue,

pink, aqua, and purple, with
donations going to the Anxiety
and Depression Association of
America.
More collaborations followed,
including Sarah Herron from
The Bachelor and Bachelor in
Paradise. Her “bravery” and
“courage” geometric designs
benefit Herron’s SheLift organi-
zation.
YouTube stars Cassie and
Caroline designed BFF cases
covered with donuts, unicorns,
hot cocoa and snowflakes for
Operation Warm.
Because of a Case also col-
laborated with Brynn Rumfallo
of Dance Moms. She designed a
case and a pop socket, marble
with blue and gray accents, and
a gold signature for the Juvenile
Diabetes Research Foundation.
Customers and Instagram
followers asked for more
charities, and the Strasbergers
responded. Sea turtles are scat-
tered around the case for the
Sea Turtle Conservancy. A case
with a pastel elephant supports
the Elephant Crisis Fund. The
website (becauseofacase.com)
displays an array of marbled
watercolor designs with gold,
sweet florals, tiny pineapples,
watercolor snowflakes and more.
Jamie and Sean’s current favor-
ite case is Cracked Amethyst.
“We worked really hard on that.
Our Instagram followers voted
on it and they chose the name,”
Jamie said.
Best-sellers are the marble
designs. Their cases are sold in
more than 20 stores, and they
hope to increase that this year.
Looking back at their experi-
ences, Jamie and Sean reflected
on their best moments so far.
“When we got that first col-
laboration. It was the first one
I emailed, and they personally
wrote us back! We were so excit-
ed!” Jamie said.
Sean added, “Also, our first
holiday season. We didn’t know
what to expect, and how crazy
busy we were. We had the col-
laborations, the packing, the
orders…”
As busy as the Strasbergs are
with Because of a Case, they
enjoy their free time with their
3-year-old son, Ezra. Shabbat
is their special family time. Just
as Sean and Jamie grew up with
the table set with challah, wine,
candles and a nice dinner on
Friday nights, they enjoy that
same tradition every week with
their son. •