Draught Dry Goods x Classfare Billfold

Being part of a shared office space (unit 7000, or “7K” as we call it) makes for low rent, good company, and great parties. And when you share said office space with creatives like Caesy Oney, you also garner a great deal of inspiration.

As Caesy is a gifted designer — and a magician with leather goods — it was a no brainer partnering with him to create our very first billfold (note: when working with a talent like Caesy, “partnering” looks mostly like getting out of the way). We asked Mr. Oney about the billfold, collaboration, and being neighborly.
 

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CF: So how did you come up with the design for this wallet?
Caesy: I’ve intended to introduce a new billfold for a long time now, but as the direction of Draught Dry Goods shifts and evolves, I’m finding that I have a much more critical eye during my development process than I used to. And by that, I just mean that I am much more concerned about the intersection of proportion/function/material/message, how I understand those things independently, and then how I might communicate that understanding through the lens of a project like Draught. In other words, I needed a new wallet that worked and looked a certain type of way, but also provided an opportunity to iterate and collaborate. There is very little wasted space or embellishment in the interior of the wallet and it doesn’t carry any more or less than I need it to. I guess at the end of the day, it’s just a wallet, but to me it’s very important, and I am not interested in designing or making things that I wouldn’t consider smart and beautiful. Most of my designs are very minimal in general, but hopefully my decisions feel considered and thoughtful in the customer’s hand.

CF: What’s it made out of?
Caesy: One style is constructed entirely out of vegetable tanned leather, and the other has a vegetable tanned interior with a hair-on cowhide exterior. Other than that, there’s two small hand-stitched seams, two machine-stitch seams, and a very small amount of a non-noxious cement.

CF: What specific design details stand out to you?
Caesy: I like that the wallet doesn’t feel inherently masculine, which is important to me. I also like the artwork that we came up with for the collaboration. It’s the first time “7K” has been located in a product.

CF: What does collaboration mean to you?
Caesy: Collaboration is an integral part of my practice. I’m very conscious of what and how I am learning, and I’ve found that working with like-minded creatives is the best way to progress while building and expanding upon my community.

CF: Tell us about our shared studio, 7K, in your own words.
Caesy: 7K is a mixed used creative space in Portland where I’ve run my projects for the past few years. It’s had a revolving roster of amazing artists and designers (the most recent addition being Classfare!). It’s my favorite place in the world to think, make stuff, and party. We approached this collaboration with this in mind. 7K is where good things come together.
 

Look below for more new product collaborations from Classfare.