How String Ting Became ‘The’ Ting For Your Phone

Make it stand out

The year is 2005, you just took the bus into town to go to Claire’s and then buy a ‘bois suck, throw rocks at them’ notebook, the butterfly charm on your pink Motorola Razr is swinging in the breeze as you flip it out to txt ur m8. 

Finding String Ting on Instagram gave me a shooting starburst of heart-warming nostalgia, the complete contrary to the fear I feel seeing everyone wearing low rise jeans again. 

Although not inspired by the resurgence of noughties style, String Ting founder, Rachel Steed-Middleton, tells me over the phone: “People do say they are so nostalgic, but phones didn’t exist in the same way twenty years ago. They didn’t have the same functions as today – they had snake and downloadable ringtones. The difference from those charms that hung off your phone is that String Ting totally holds the weight of it.” 

___STEADY_PAYWALL___

“[When creating String Ting] I was thinking about the phone as the new bag, in the sense of like, when you go out to dinner, or you go to a wedding, aside from a lipstick, and maybe some plasters, all you're bringing with you is your phone. That's the only thing you need. I thought then, how can you make your phone part of the outfit? For me, it was about creating something sexy and utilitarian more than anything else.” 

Rachel is half English, half American, and grew up in Canada. In another life, she ran a branding and design firm. When her days got cut at work during the pandemic, she started String Ting as a lockdown hobby to raise money for charity and teach her children about philanthropy amid a tough time. She lives in a gated creative community in London and set up a bead stand for her neighbours (which she now employs). “It was really nice. During a grey time, it was like ‘okay, what can we do that is positive?’ and that’s how it started.”

String Ting evolved into the beaded and beautiful strap for your phone you’ve seen round the wrists of Dua Lipa, Miley Cyrus, Gigi Hadid, Sydney Carlson and Devon Carlson. 

“But that’s what is fun about the range,” she explains. “They appeal to women in their 60s as much as they do girls in their teens. Like my mum has Bunny Hop Hop, which is a Jeffrey Koons inspired piece. It looks really chic on her, but then equally, you could be super trendy with it and be really young.” 

The String Ting train went from Devon, to Dua Lipa, and then to Kaia Gerber. It’s a freak train that won’t stop. “What's really cool,” Rachel explains, “is that they're all creative, hard working women. They're not people I know personally, and they've been so supportive. For people with a platform like theirs to shine a light on a small independent brand is so generous. They’ve spent their lives building their brands, so to share their audience with me is extremely generous and I'm so appreciative.” 

String Ting has arguably been powered by the direct message. “They're all DMs. String Ting sliding into everyone’s DMs. I literally just slide in there and they reply.” 

A love affair with bright colours is happening everywhere, from lime green to bubblegum pink. With handmade trinkets and beads and bobbles of bright colours popping up by independent creatives all across my Instagram, I asked if we’re going back to things we loved as kids for comfort? Rachel says, “String Ting is totally teenage me in adult form.”

“But that’s what is fun about the range,” she explains. “They appeal to women in their 60s as much as they do girls in their teens. Like my mum has Bunny Hop Hop, which is a Jeffrey Koons inspired piece. It looks really chic on her, but then equally, you could be super trendy with it and be really young.” 

Running a business isn’t new to Rachel, she’s spent many years trying to figure it out, to get to this by accident. “The thing you’ll do will just eventually come. It will find you. I would never have made String Ting if I had sat down and tried to make String Ting. You have to keep putting the energy out and doing things genuinely, and then eventually, something pops. I never would’ve thought I would say that I’ll be laughing from the kitchen, happy making beaded phone accessories. You can’t map it.” 

Rachel knows responsibility happens in many ways, and that some don’t choose philanthropy, but it is important to her. “I’ve spent my life advising brands on what to do, and sometimes I wouldn’t like how they were as corporate citizens, so it’s nice to be able to have seen something fucking horrific and you can say something about it or donate money. I can give £200 to someone and I don’t have to justify it to anyone. It doesn’t have to make sense, I can decide if it makes sense. A brand is still driven by individual personalities and it’s up to those personalities to fly the banner for the things that matter to them.” 

Since starting String Ting, Rachel’s been able to donate to people and charities that she couldn’t do on a personal level – one of them being Beam. “And for example, when the Capitol was stormed, I felt so helpless. But I could release a product and say all of the proceeds from it will go towards Fair Fight Action and then I was able to donate £500 to Georgia electoral fairness. I can’t do that personally. I don’t have the cash. But it’s wicked to be able to say, ‘no that’s fucking wrong’, and be able to send money. Obviously, money isn’t always the answer but there is little I can do quarantined from my house.” 

The String Ting train chugs on. Wondering what’s next for the brand, Rachel pulls the, “if I told you, I’d have to kill you”… then teases with, “Some really cool collabs. I’m looking forward to working with brands that have synergy with String Ting and seeing what we can create together.” It was the day after our interview when the Wildflower x String Ting collab was announced – a new design partnership with the handmade phone case brand of Devon and Sydney Carlson. And obvs it was a sell-out. 

 I dunno about you but this Ting is all the ting I need right now.

Words: Eliza Frost | Photos: Sara Kabiri