OurJud Report post Posted February 26, 2014 (edited) I've been doing a fair bit of research on wallets recently, especially by watching a guy on youtube who seems pretty obsessed with finding the ultimate thin wallet. His name is Steve Montelli and he's now in that privileged position - due to his channel - where people are sending him their creations in the hope he'll do a review on it. Anyway, the trend is definitely moving away from the 5" thick buldging bi-folds and towards the sleek, minimalist and modern slim wallets and it's something I am passionate about getting involved in. Now I'm not asking for anyone to design my wallet, but I would love to get a discussion going where people can throw ideas about in terms of innovation and originality. I must admit, so far my cardboard templates have been little more than variations on the classic front pocket wallet, such as the Saddleback ID Wallet, and I'm finding it very difficult to come up with a truly original design. As a little inspiration, this is Steve going through the wallets that 'made the cut' to 2014 [sorry they're not all leather] Edited February 26, 2014 by OurJud Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
benlilly1 Report post Posted February 27, 2014 My take on the video is: Minimalistic wallets are nice if you only want to carry a few cards and no cash. Most are too small and don't make it easy to put cash in. I wouldn't want to carry a card holder AND a money clip. It seems to be defeating the purpose of less to handle. A bi-fold makes more sense. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OurJud Report post Posted February 27, 2014 (edited) Mmm, not sure I agree on the cash issue with minimalist wallets, benlilly. I accept that when you have to start folding your bills into threes it doesn't really cut it as a wallet, more a card holder with cash stuffed into it. But many minimalist wallets do come designed for bills too. One thing I'm noticing with the current trend of modern wallet, or smartwallet as I like to call them, is that the makers seem to concentrate on creating a capsule to hold your cards and cash as compactly as possible, but then forget about access to those things. Easy access is something I will be making priority, but combining that with a minimalist, modern design is proving difficult. Edited February 27, 2014 by OurJud Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigGriff Report post Posted February 27, 2014 As I too am very interested in minimalist wallets, I will be very interested in what you come up with. I am currently using a front pocket wallet that I made out of 4 layers of 2/3 Hermann Oak I got from springfield. It's pretty thin, but it could be thinner. I could've done it with 2 layers. I really like the Ainste wallets in the review. Maybe I will try something like that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OurJud Report post Posted February 27, 2014 (edited) I am currently using a front pocket wallet that I made out of 4 layers of 2/3 Hermann Oak I got from springfield. It's pretty thin, but it could be thinner. I could've done it with 2 layers. I'm intrigued, BigGriff. Are you saying you could have made the exact same wallet, but out of two layers instead of four? How? Layers is something I'm trying to cut down on with my designs, but I'd still like to make one that can carry more than a couple of cards. Eight and a few bills is my target as I suspect that will cover most people's needs. Sorry for the photo quality, but here are just two designs I've come up with so far. The first image is a front pocket wallet; cash slot in the middle, and card holders (open-ended both ends) on the back and front. The second two photos show a small bi-fold; two card slots inside, cash strap on the back. The card holders on both wallets will hopefully take four cards each. Edited February 27, 2014 by OurJud Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
