5 Wallet Brand Success Stories [2023]

I started this project as my side hustle, and since I opened my shop in June 2018, it has grown slowly. Though it is still a tiny business, I enjoy creating useful tools that are loved by many users around the globe.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to share Ashland Leather with Starter Story. As an entrepreneur, I am personally a big fan of reading everyone’s journey! My name is Phil Kalas and I am the co-owner of Ashland Leather Company.

Our flagship wallet is our Fat Herbie double bifold wallet. Fat Herbie also happens to be our first wallet model so I guess we got a bit lucky from the start. Eight years later, we now have several wallet styles but also make Apple Watch bands, watch straps, belts, key cases, and other accessories. In our first year of business, we had $30,000 in revenue. Today, we have grown our passion to $600k in annual sales and provide jobs for five families... And we are still growing!

The Slim Wallet was our first prototype and still our most popular product. Minimalistic yet functional, they were inspired by the art of origami. The Slim Wallet’s thin material expands to allow 12-16 credit cards comfortably, as well as plenty of cash-- all without looking bulky. Our first Kickstarter campaign, in which we introduced a new collection of the Slim Wallet exceeded our fundraising goal by 600%.

That was in 2014, today we’ve launched 9 additional product lines, three highly-successful crowdfunding campaigns, and an ecommerce shop. Since that initial campaign, we’ve sold over a hundred thousand wallets and other accessories to date