About
The Dollar Wallet - Made in the U.S.A. & starting at $1
$25,419
3,908
FINAL DAYS! New personalization options and the Kickstarter and #STARTexp exclusives:
By popular demand, we are introducing a more simple personalization option for the Dollar Wallet! One line of your text and an optional social media icon (30 character maximum) for $8 and you still pick the stain and band color. Check out some sample customizations we've made and back the $8 Simple Customization level before time runs out!
The Kickstarter exclusive will be painted Kickstarter green! One side will be laser etched with your choice of an exclusive laser design we'll be releasing later or choose from a selection of the designs that will be available at the $6 level (basically all of them that will work and look good etched into paint). The wallet will then be coated in polyurethane to protect it from friction, the elements, and sadness. This will come standard with a black band.
Similarly, The #STARTexp exclusive will be painted red! One side will be laser etched with your choice of a selection of the designs that will be available at the $6 level (basically all of them that will work and look good etched into paint). This wallet will also be coated in polyurethane to protect it from the boring and the mundane. Standard is the black band.
THE STORY
Hi, my name's Kyle and I wanted to make a wallet that is simple, functional, affordable, well-designed, and made in the U.S.A.
The Dollar Wallet is the answer to the desire for a thin-profile, minimalistic wallet that doesn't charge a premium for simplicity.
The Dollar Wallet costs $1. It is made from high-quality, American-made fiber board and non-roll elastic. It's a smidgeon bigger than a credit card. It's durable, reliable, and fits up to 8-10 credit cards and some cash. Yep, still just a buck.
The Dollar Wallet Plus is like its older cousin. It's a little more mature, more refined. The Dollar Wallet Plus can be upgraded and customized to your heart's content. It starts at two dollars and is made of high-quality American-sourced plywood and the same non-roll elastic available to upgrade with multiple colors and patterns.
HOW WE GOT HERE
We've made our way through about a half a dozen prototypes to the version you see today. It started as a sketch in my notebook at work, first laid out horizontally, then as I shared the idea with a few friends, shifted to vertical.
Then I made a cardboard sample which lasted all of one morning before I got excited, drove to A.C. Moore, bought some craft plywood and carved a new sample in the workshop at work on my lunch hour. I carried that prototype for a week as I researched options for final materials. I settled on 3/32" Taskboard for the Dollar Wallet and 1/16" Aircraft craft plywood for the Dollar Wallet Plus. Both offer rigidity and durability from a high-quality material that will thrive in your pocket all day and a high value to cost ratio to keep production costs low enough to make the Dollar Wallet affordable for everyone. I rented time on a local laser cutter to make production prototypes of both materials, stained them, and began testing in my pocket and with friends.
The production prototypes you see are laser cut, as the final version will be. The only minor modifications remaining to be made before production are tightening up the notches for the elastic on the sides to fit the band more snugly, and using better stitching to secure the elastic.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Production prototypes are expensive. In order to make this product a reality we need to use the funds from this Kickstarter to purchase our supplies in bulk and purchase a laser cutter to install in our garage studio allow us to make the wallets as efficiently as possible.
Production of the Dollar Wallet starts with the raw boards, which get laser engraved and cut into the Dollar Wallet shape. Meanwhile, the elastic bands are cut and sewn into a loop. Then the elastic is placed in the notches and the Dollar Wallet is complete.
After the success of our kickstarter will will immediately order the supplies and laser cutter (UPDATE: We have already ordered and received the laser cutter and many of the supplies), with an anticipated delivery date of mid-October for our Early Bird backers and mid-November for most backers. The clear intention of timeline is to make the Dollar Wallet available in time for Christmas so that those of you who are inclined can give the Dollar Wallet as a gift to the minimalist-loving friend or family member of yours!
This project has pledged 5% of its profits to go back into the Kickstarter community, learn more at http://kickingitforward.org.
Risks and challenges
Risks are relatively low with a successful campaign. We have multiple quotes on the laser cutter and have secured pricing for the bulk materials, all we need now is to press the order button and we'll all be a little closer to pocketbook bliss.
The only risks are sudden uncontrollable price changes and delivery time on the laser cutter. We are excited to embark on this journey with you and will be posting regular updates to keep our backers aware of all production processes!
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Funding period
- (30 days)