New Yorker Phillip Hess planned a special trip to Maine with his grandparents, then made his grandma a set of coasters using images from the trip. The photos below were taken by his grandfather, Robert Sumner, who taught Phillip photography.

CM: How did you find out about Coastermatic?

PH: My friend had some out on his coffee table and so I asked about them.

CM: What's the story behind the images on your coasters?

PH: One morning I decided it would be really great to take a trip with just my grandparents. So I called them and suggested Bar Harbor, ME. Maine, specifically Mount Desert Island, is one of my grandparents' favorite places to visit and I had never really been (since the last time I was there with them was when I was about one). It seemed perfect for me to experience some place so beautiful for the first time with two people who knew it well, loved it greatly and had many stories to share from the places we'd visit.

We had an unforgettable trip and I wanted to give Grandma something that she could remember the trip by but that was also unique to our visit. Coastermatic seemed like a perfect choice. I picked four images (of the 1,700 I took) that I felt represented the trip best and ordered the coasters for her birthday. You can tell the one of Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse is her favorite by the stains from heavy use!

Been looking for a unique gift for someone you love? Personalise your own set of coasters here.

Written by

This set of coasters by Sam Christie captures some great memories. He tells the tales here!

CM: Any stories to recount behind the images you used?

SC: I was in a band from grade school to high school and parts of college called Counterfeit Pennies. We played a festival called Bamboozle in 2007 and put out a few EPs. This was the first t-shirt we ever made, with the original spelling of Counterfit. If you want to relive our glory days check out Counterfeitpennies.bandcamp.com.

The sandcastle picture is one I had built to propose to my fiancée. It's figures of Belle and Adam (the beast) from Beauty and the Beast. We were living in San Diego at the time and this was at a hiking spot called Torrey Pines. I had the castle built so you could see it at one of the hiking lookouts over the beach, it was about 6ft tall and "Marry Me Jess?" was written really huge in the sand near the castle so she could see it.

I bought a small guitar from Toys"R"Us, told her I was giving her guitar lessons at the lookout, then played the song from The Wedding Singer for her ('I Wanna Grow Old With You'). Then I took her to the spot where she could see it in the sand and proposed. We filmed the whole thing as well, it was pretty epic.

CM: How have friends responded to your coasters?

SC: They love them! It's a very unique (and affordable) way to share memories in a creative way.

Coastermatic coasters are a great way to capture memories. Choose your favorite Instagrams and create your own set!

Written by

Each month we feature one of our favorite customer sets. We love coasters that capture an especially cute moment, a beautiful scene, or those that get creative in unexpected ways. The creator of our selected set receives a gift code for a new set of Coastermatic coasters, including US shipping.

This month's featured set is by @taylorlynn!



Tom featured Taylor's set last week on our Instagram account for National Roller Coaster Day, and it got me thinking about the seasonal transition we're about to got through. Ferris wheels to remind us of all the fun of summer, then some leaves and a sunset to get us looking forward to autumn. Lovely set Taylor!

Want to be in to win?
Just take a fabulous photo of your coasters and tag it with #coastermatic on Instagram. Featured sets receive a gift code for a free Coastermatic set of 4 coasters. Make more Instagram coasters yourself, or send them to a friend!

Written by Tash Wong

With Coasterica currently located in tropical climes, we figured it'd only be proper for us to come up with a few tasty rum based concoctions for relaxing after work. When in Rome, right?

One combination we keep coming back to looks like this:

Here's the recipe:

• 2 parts POG (passion, orange, guava juice)
• 1 part your favorite rum
• Top up with San Pellegrino or other sparkling water
• Garnish with a lime

We just discovered The Kraken, so that's our go to rum for the moment. If you don't have POG where you live, make your own, or see if you can find some guava or mango juice to use instead. Enjoy!

Want a set of those Manhattan From Brooklyn coasters to sit beneath your tasty rum drinks too? You can get them here.

Written by Tash Wong

For a while now, people have been asking us about the set featured on Coastermatic.com, and whether they can have it too. And now, the answer is yes, yes you can.

Back in the early days, Tom and I put together this set to celebrate the view from the park we'd visit on breaks from school work. These images of the Manhattan skyline were taken on a brisk April morning from East River State Park, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. At the time, Tom and I both lived a few blocks away and had taken to having Coastermatic + grad school cram sessions at my dining room table.

Fast forward 15 months or so, and we now use this set every day. Since Coasterica has relocated to more tropical climes, this set reminds us of where we came from, and how far away we are from the big city.

We like this set a lot, and figure it's probably not fair to keep it all to ourselves. We're testing out a new feature that lets us sell pre-designed sets along side our standard custom option, so now, you can have this set too.

Need some Brooklyn love on your table top too? Order your Manhattan From Brooklyn set here.

Written by Tash Wong