Bifold wallets
NELSON
SIMON
RUGGED MILS
LOUIS
Hand‑Painted Wallets
Slim wallets
NILS
ROOKBY
Minimalist wallets
LUCKY JACK
PASCAL
Money clip wallets
Wrist walletsHandmade Custom Leather Wallet Nelson
I've been working with leather for 37 years.
And every morning, I ask myself the same question: “How?”
How to make it? How to make it better? How to make it perfect?
Most days, I still feel like my work isn’t good enough — like there’s always room to improve.
My friends laugh at me:
"You’re crazy! Why make things harder for yourself? Just grab a piece of leather, cut it, stitch it — done. That’s a wallet!”
But I take that piece of leather in my hands...
and I ask again: “How?”
The Story of the First Nelson
The first prototype of the Nelson wallet?
I made it over eight years ago.
If you saw it now — you wouldn’t even recognize it.
I designed it for a close friend of mine.
He used a lot of cash and a lot of cards. He didn’t like those ultra-minimal wallets — the ones where you have to fold your bills in half, and even then you can barely fit a few.
But he also hated those huge, traditional bifolds — sure, they could hold 20 bills and 10 cards, but the size? No way.
He said to me:
“Make me something that’s:
– compact enough to fit in a front pants pocket,
– roomy enough to hold at least 20 bills and 10 cards,
– secured with a strong snap — I’m tired of wallets popping open at the worst moments,
– built from durable, long-lasting leather — not the kind that falls apart in six months,
– and stylish — something different from the rest.”
I knew I was in trouble.
But I had no idea how much trouble.
Luckily, he didn’t need the wallet “by tomorrow morning.”
It took me over a month just to get the base pattern right — and that’s in between working on other orders.
To be honest, I think he started to take it personally — like I’d forgotten all about him.
If only!
This wallet haunted me — I’d see it in my dreams.
But it was absolutely worth it.
When he finally held it in his hands, he was thrilled.
The wallet turned out truly compact — I stripped away every bit of excess: no spare space, no bulky panels. Just the exact width of a bill, and the length of a card.
And the capacity?
Way more than expected: 35 bills and 12 cards — easily. More if you really want to push it.
(At the time, it didn’t even have the rear quick-access card slot — when he saw that in the updated version, he said, “Okay, that’s just awesome.”)
So I added a bit of decorative detailing around the snap — tried to make it more interesting.
My friend liked it.
I… wasn’t convinced.
Return and Final Version
For a long time, I put the Nelson aside.
I loved the concept — but not the way it looked.
And honestly? It took way too much time to make.
I came back to the Nelson design after five years. I’d never quite let it go — but now I finally had the experience to bring it to life the way I always imagined. The flap was still a challenge. Even though the wallet was made from premium vegetable-tanned Italian leather, it just didn’t feel right. To test every change, I had to make a new wallet from scratch — again and again.
I finally found a solution.
The flap is now longer and made from thicker, full-grain vegetable-tanned leather.
It looks so much better — and performs even better.
This leather ages with character: it darkens, takes on scuffs and creases —
and that’s exactly the point.
This handmade custom leather wallet was made to live a long life — and age beautifully.
I also developed a special hand-dyeing and finishing technique.
No harsh chemicals.
No acrylic topcoats.
Just natural wax and sanding — preserving the leather’s structure and feel.
And of course — the little things that make all the difference:
– Fully customizable size (based on your preferred currency),
– Stitch color of your choice,
– Initials embossed or engraved,
– Rear quick-access card slot in your preferred style.
One thing I haven’t solved?
The labor.
Actually, I’ve probably made it worse.
Even now, with years of practice, each Nelson still takes me about 12 hours to make.
It’s meticulous, unforgiving work.
There’s no shortcut, no automation — every step is done by hand.
But I keep doing it.
Because I believe the world needs more beautiful, reliable, and truly unique things.
