Back in late January, I did a guest blogging stint on Boing Boing. One of the things I wrote about was my new Braithwaite wallet, a beautiful laser-etched, Deco-inspired coat wallet (that I carry in my front pants pocket). In the comments to my post, one person remarked: “I can’t wait for someone to rip off these designs and sell them for cheaper.” Connor Ferster, the man behind the Braithwaite, didn’t take offense, he took it to heart. He decided to make all of their wallet designs (interiors and exteriors) available as free PDF downloads (measurements and all), licensed under Creative Commons. Anyone can download the designs and either make their own wallet, based on the Braithwaite pattern, or remix the designs and make their own (and yes even as a commercial product). I think this is a really smart thing to do. It’s going to get them far more publicity and good will than whatever they might lose in sales.
Connor also tells me about a new program they have to replace any wallet you buy from them, should your wallet ever get lost or stolen. But this offer is only good through April 22nd which is when they actually start shipping wallets (they’re still in a pre-order phase).
18 thoughts on “Braithwaite wallets go “open source””
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”Anyone can download the designs and either make their own wallet, ”
is there a link for this? i had a look on their website but could not find any mention of patterns
Leathercraft is a bit beyond my present abilities, but duct tape is a known medium to me. I made my current duct tape wallet about a year ago and it is still going strong. Cost is perhaps a few cents.
http://www.instructables.com/id/quality-duct-tape-wallet/
That being said, those wallets are beautiful. It would be a shame to hide them in your pocket.
Yes link please!
I’m looking for it, too, and haven’t found it. (But reading people’s reactions to a wallet has been interesting.
just remember, if you ever give a wallet as a gift, put some cash in it… extremely bad luck to give an empty wallet as a gift.
…a gift certificate to the Maker Shed! ;)
You can find the pattern PDFs for download on the individual designers’ pages.
Excellent, thank you. Also, deserves to be said, extra treat seeing the photos of the two designers. Ahem.
http://braithwaitewallets.com/designers/3-connor-ferster