Independent iOS studio

Small apps, carefully made.

Small Trail Studio is an independent iOS studio making thoughtful apps for everyday life. Each app starts with a real need, then gets polished until it feels right in anyone’s hands.

See the apps

The apps

From the studio, to your home screen.

Scratchbook, LifeWheel and InSeason are out. Two more are in the works — no names yet, and each one steps into the light as it arrives on the App Store.

Scratchbook: National Parks

Park Passport & Wildlife

A keepsake collection of the U.S. national parks. Visit a park, scratch the foil off its hand-styled badge, and watch all 63 fill in region by region. Every park keeps the date, your own photo, and a field note; the 29 species you spot get logged beside them; and the whole collection rebuilds itself into a poster, pin set, badge board, or sticker pile worth sending.

  • All 63 parks
  • Scratch-off badges
  • Wildlife log
  • Free to start
Download Scratchbook on the App Store Learn more
Scratchbook screenshot: the national parks grid at 33 of 63, with a shelf of shareable posters under the header
Scratchbook app icon — a scratch-off national park badge
LifeWheel screenshot: eight life areas rated on a pastel wheel, with the journey line and an average of 8.2 beneath it
LifeWheel app icon — a wheel of eight pastel segments

LifeWheel: Your Life in Motion

A visual journal for wellness

A calm check-in for the eight areas that matter most to you. Rate each one from 1 to 10, watch them bloom into a pastel wheel, then play the whole journey back as it morphs through your history. When a score moves, a one-line note catches why, and your journal keeps the story behind the numbers — while Insights reads it back: what’s strongest, what’s asking for attention, and the streak you’re building.

  • 8 life areas
  • Journey playback
  • Journal & insights
  • Private by design
Download LifeWheel on the App Store

InSeason: What’s Fresh Now

Eat with the seasons

A location-aware guide to seasonal eating. InSeason maps your spot to one of seven US growing regions and shows which of 170+ ingredients are in season right now — with peak windows, nutrition highlights, pairings, and prep ideas for each one.

  • 170+ ingredients
  • Location-aware
  • Liquid Glass design
Download InSeason on the App Store Learn more
InSeason screenshot: today's seasonal ingredients
InSeason app icon — a leaf with a sparkle

The tip jar

Made with care,
fueled by coffee.

Our apps carry no ads and no trackers, and they collect nothing about you. They exist because a small idea felt worth making — and they’re better because people use them. If one has earned a spot on your home screen, a coffee keeps the studio lights on.

Support the studio

About

Small ideas,
thoughtfully made.

We make thoughtful iOS apps from everyday ideas. We care about products that do one thing well, feel native to the platform, and respect the person holding the phone. Want to say hi? Get in touch.

Larry Chen

larry@smalltrailstudio.com Threads @larry.chen
Yichen Wang

Yichen Wang

yichen@smalltrailstudio.com
Isometric render of Larry's desk in daylight: a wooden desk with a monitor, laptop, mechanical keyboard, shelves of model cars and trinkets, and plants
Where the ideas take shape. The light switch is yours.