A couple of months back, I was presented with the glorious opportunity to work on a custom leather piece together with OGL, a local leather artisan in Singapore. Started together by long time friends, Johnny Low and James Dung, OGL has their own cult following all across Europe as well as many parts of the world. James and I were acquainted through a denim forum, where I found out that he was Singaporean and got to know more about his craft. I also met Johnny along the way, another avid denim lover, through a local board where he had a thread about leather.
On February 27, I made a trip down to their leather workshop to meet up with Johnny for the first time, as I was due for a visit to their as of yet to be opened leather workshop and also to pass him a procurement. There, I met James whom I didn't know, who was back in Singapore for a short period of time from Bordeaux, France, where he is largely based. We got acquainted in real life and we spoke about a variety of topics ranging from predominantly denim, to the forums and boards we participated in. I was also fortunate enough to be given to a first glimpse and a tour of the studio. Most generously, I was schooled on the various types of leather, their uses as well as maintainence and tools of the trade.
Having read about OGL previously, I knew that they had a lot of experience with customs and collaborations. Halfway into the converation, Johnny raised the possibility of a collaboration with me for a leather product. Initially I thought it was a joke, since I had practically no knowledge in leather or the design of leather goods. However, egged on by Johnny who was in every bit serious, as he encouraged me to design a product that I would use, I dived into the design of the prototype for something i decided on - a wallet.
While OGL was very well versed in a lot of Native, Workwear as well as contemporary styles, I thought that it would be fun to do something different. The concept of this wallet was inspired from 4 different styles - The standard gentleman's bifold, a basic money clip system, an easy access coin compartment as well as the concept of security. As I gave thought to a couple of variations, of which one of them eventually reminded me of the standard key pouch, through a stroke of luck I managed to come up with a design that integrated the 4 different systems I had in mind.
The following week, I met up with Johnny and discussed how it would look like. While my initial sketches were very raw, Johnny provided the expertise of his knowledge and he further refined the product to increase the functionality of it and the feasibility of it being created.The standard bifold I wanted it to turn into a trifold instead, merged very well with the placement of the money clip and the easy access coin compartment was well, easy to access. The addition of the strap to hold the trifold in place when closed was an essential that I wanted to keep because of the ingenuity of the concept and the functionality of it, even though I was warned that it would be a little inconvenient to access the notes, which was exactly what I wanted. I was also given the leather options available and it was lovely that I had the opportunity to work with predominantly lambskin as well as cowhide for this.
On March 15, the product finally came to fruition as it was finally completed. Due to other commitments, I was only able to view the final product in person a week later, as it was presented to me by Johnny. I was pleasantly surprised to finally see it in flesh as the finalised product didn't deviate from what I originally had in mind. In addition, there were also very nice and subtle additions such as the hidden buttons for the coin compartment, which would produce a beautiful patina with age, as I would imagine.
Overall I would say that I am more than satisfied with what I have received and am honoured that it will be a mainstay which will be available for purchase on the OGL website. I would like to sincerely thank Johnny and James for the opportunity that they have provided me with, as well as the knowledge that they passed on to me in the process. Special thanks go to Johnny for his labour in the execution of this wallet.
finally, you can of course make a purchase
here and view more of OGL's other products on their website.