Jonathan Grado

Grado Labs was contacted by Bushmills Whiskey with a question: Could we design headphones out of their old whiskey barrels?

These barrels, made from white oak, had already been repurposed into sunglasses and other goods. But headphones? That was new for us. We've never worked with white oak before. It sounded like a challenge, so we said yes.

How We Designed White Oak Headphones with Elijah Wood

My family has always loved experimenting with wood. Each type has its own unique sonic property, and we never know how it’ll sound until we get our ears on it. But we don’t just use wood for aesthetics. If it doesn’t sound right, it doesn’t make the cut. We had no idea how white oak would perform, acoustically speaking, so the first step was pure experimentation.

Once we confirmed the wood could deliver on sound, the next step was design. This is where Elijah Wood and his friend (and frequent DJ partner) Zach Cowie joined the process. Yes, Elijah Wood is a DJ and will show up to weddings. Wild.

Elijah and Zach helped us test the sound and finalize the look and feel of the headphones. We wanted to lean into history of the wood, without going as far as putting the silhouette of a whiskey barrel on the ears. So we landed on a design reminiscent of the top of one of their barrels. The packaging was rather unique as well: made of the same wood, we all designed a wooden box with a clear front that slid out. Almost like they were always on display.

The collaboration was part of Bushmills' video series exploring craftsmanship and creativity, and it all came together beautifully. This project opened up some new creative paths for us. We’ve continued experimenting with different woods, pushing the boundaries of how materials can shape not just the look, but the sound of our headphones.

The whole project was pretty unique, the design turned out beautifully, and we started to look at wood a little differently. This was the first of many times we would design whiskey barrel headphones. Also, I made a joke during filming about how I once fell down the stairs at Grado Labs dressed as Superman when I was a kid. Elijah was the only one who laughed. (It didn’t make the video.)

You can read more about the collaboration here:
— Esquire
— Gizmodo
— The New York Times
— GQ
— Hypebeast

Some amazing photos below by Geordie Wood.