FRIEZE ART FAIR NEW YORK 2012
MILAN 2012: SALONE INTERNAZIONALE DEL MOBILE
MILAN 2012: SATELLITE EXHIBITIONS
MILAN 2012: BRERA DESIGN DISTRICT
Posted by hipstomp | 21 Dec 2011
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Comments (5)
"Ask any welder, woodworker, or tailor where their products are most
likely to fail," writes craftsman Noah Lambert. "They'll point to the weld, the joint, or the seam—anywhere two pieces of material are fastened together."
It's for that reason that Lambert makes his Uni-Fold Wallets by folding a single piece of leather and stitching it shut with just two seams. Part of the growing movement of American handmade goods, the wallet's material is sourced from Pennsylvania's Wickett & Craig tannery, below, which specializes in vegetable-tanned leather for equestrian products.
Comments
The quote is incorrect when it generalizes out from flexible items. A seam in a garment is generally the first place to fail under tension, especially if the fabric is something tough like silk or leather. A glued joint or weld in a properly-built wood or metal structure, on the other hand, is the last place to fail. I've seen a chair leg break two inches away from a peg and glue join without even a creak from the join itself.
The theory and execution is noteworthy but the wallet is chunky and can barely stay flat with nothing inside. If you put a few cards in there, it will baloon to a size that you can't sit on.
Form definitely does not follow function in this case.
Another thing most leather workers know is when to thin the leather in places where it's folded against itself. This creates a non-bulging fold. A wallet made from 3mm leather folded over 6 times is not the best idea without some thinning.
Intriguing idea, but not certain if it's truly an issue. Personal experience with my wallets has not ever shown a problem with weak seams, but maybe that's only myself. If it were indeed an actual issue with wallets, I could understand the need for it to be addressed, so maybe he's been in some rougher circumstances than I.
Hmm.... Al Roderick (Above) speaks some truth, if the welder is good, or the carpenter, the joint is stronger than the materials usually. As were the other commenters. This wallet looks like style over substance and looks much like the opposite of what i look for in a wallet; a slim profile.
From what i can see, it doesn't even look like the leather is skived to aid the natural hinge which is fairly standard. Looks like a solution to a problem that doesn't exist, and one that introduces more problems of its own.