Beginning the the process for new wallet designs…

By Connor | Published: 3:11 pm

I know everyone has been a little anxious to know how the process is going for the new line so I thought I would keep everyone updated on the process.  We are about to begin the prototyping process for our new men’s wallets line and are just in the process of solidifying which designers are on board.  This line will really be pushing the envelope creatively for us, will feature new textiles and colours, and will be an active response to the many requests we’ve been getting for ‘coins and cards’ styles of mens wallets.

Here’s  a roster of some of the designers that are going to be on board:

Almost everyone above is working on drawing right now.  We’ll be able to selectively release these new drawings for initial review to our current clientele (part of the benefits of membership).  Bottom line: if you own a Braithwaite, you’re on that list.  On the blog, we’ll be talking more about each of these designers and their backgrounds so you can get to know them a little bit but you won’t get to see any actual drawings unless you’re a client.

Just a quick heads up, 76% of our stock of Cypress is sold out (and the others are following not too far behind).  We understand that a lot of our prospective clients are waiting until the time is right for them to buy their wallet, and that’s great.  You still have some time left (it’s not like they are going to be gone tomorrow), but probably not much more than a month or two.  We’ll let you know on the blog here if anything else is starting to get really low in inventory so sign up for the RSS feed to keep updated.

Alright, that’s all for now!  Now that things have become a little less crazy with our shipping process (and MUCH more organized), we have time to blog more now!  We’re looking forward to producing this new line and we’ll be excited to talk about it as it happens.

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Gear Patrol - Reviews!

By Connor | Published: 3:02 pm

We just got an email from Mr. Jon Gaffney at GearPatrol.com that he and co-author, Dusty Overby, have just posted a review of The Vagabond and Cypress wallets on Friday.  The cool thing about reviews at Gear Patrol is that they actively use and test their products before writing the review so the information you get isn’t just ‘first impression’ stuff but a much more thorough exploration of the product.

We’re honoured that they contacted us to do a review of our men’s wallets and we’ve become fans of their site (they have great ‘top 10′ lists).  I personally love the piece they did on what to put in your ‘bug-out’ bag (I think most men have had the thought of ‘bugging out’ at one time or another).

To see the full review of the wallets, click here.

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Video series now online; Cypress leather care

By Connor | Published: 2:24 pm

We’ve uploaded our video series now and they are accessible by signing up at the bottom of each wallet page.  Currently, there are only two videos in the series and we’ll be adding more over time as we get the time and allocate the resources (videos take way more time to produce than we thought!)

There are also a number of things coming down the pipe (like our new warehouse and newer, better, cheaper, stream-lined shipping options) but I’ll be putting those things first in an email to all of you on our list after we’ve confirmed that everything is now running like clockwork.

Regarding Andrew’s question from the previous post:

“I left my Cypress in the sun for about 20 minutes and the leather has turned a dark brown, very similar to the post ‘How it ages’ however I have lost the amazing creases that gets so many compliments. I am really hoping that they will come back with time.”

We’ve actually noticed this just over the last two weeks, also.  Because the “Woodstock” leather we use on Cypress is particularly raw (which is why it ages so noticeably and so fast), it seems to be very sensitive to UV light.  Leather, like your skin, can indeed still darken in sunlight.  Also, like your skin, exposure to sunlight accelerates the aging process.  Some of the distinctive creases in the Woodstock leather will also begin to fade over time as they darken with the leather but some of them will remain prominent depending on how the wallet wears.

So, as we’ve learned, along with Andrew, Cypress will darken considerably if left exposed to direct sunlight.  The leather is by no means ruined but instead is just displaying it’s natural character as reminder of its organic origins.

There is also a video coming of how to clean the silk in your wallet.  We’ll be posting that on the blog here in the coming weeks.

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Getting to know your wallet videos - Your help requested!

By Connor | Published: 2:59 am

Hey all!

Firstly, a BIG thank you to everyone who has sent us email letting us know how much they love their new wallet!  Very much appreciated!  Especially all of the great photos! We’ll be doing a website update soon and will be posting as many of your emails (as testimonials) as we can.  We’ll get in contact with you first, though, just to make sure you’re okay with it.

Secondly, after realizing that we get lots of similar questions from prospective clients, we decided to put together a small series of videos for each wallet.  It’ll be kind of like, “Getting to know your wallet” but before you buy it.  So far, we’re thinking of doing two videos for each wallet that will show the wallet a little more in depth.

We’ll be adding a new section to the bottom of each wallet page with the heading “Interested in knowing more?” where a prospective client can sign up for a 3-day email series where they get more information about the wallet they are interested in (way more information than we can fit on the website).  So, the two videos will each be in one of the days of the email series.

The things we are thinking of including are listed below but we were curious to see if any of our current clients have any sort of ideas on what else we can put in there (possibly to be able to make a 3rd video).  So, read below and if you think that we missed something, let us know!  The best part about doing it as an email series is that it’s expandable to fit however much information we decide to put there in the future!

Here’s what we’re thinking:

Video 1: Open it up, turn it around a few times, give some size comparisons (by placing it next to common objects for a sense of scale), and comparing a brand new wallet with a wallet that has been used for a month to give a sense of how it wears.

Video 2: Fill it up with cards and cash, show how the cards are accessed, fill it up with different currencies (UK, U.S., Can, Euro) to show how each one fits, showing how it fits in different pockets (front, back, jacket inner, jacket outer), and finally how to clean the silk lining in the event that it gets a little too mucky.

I like doing things in threes so I would like to do a third video but can’t really think of what to put in it.  Any suggestions?

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LAST Shipping Update!

By Connor | Published: 8:32 pm

Alright, if my calculations are correct, EVERY pre-order has now been shipped out!  Orpheus came in at 11:00am and I’ve been packing orders up until 4:30 this afternoon.  That should now be all orders to everybody.  Furthermore, they’ve all been shipped out to the correct addresses! (So sorry about that, Phil.  I still feel bad!)  So, a bunch of you have either received your wallets or received a tracking number in expectation of receiving them next week.  For clients who selected non-trackable shipping options, your wallets have been shipped out, too.  I haven’t been able to keep up with updating everyone on email but I’ll be continuing to do so on Tuesday.  Have faith, your wallet has shipped! :)  I anticipate all the orders to be delivered next week (with the exception of the Orpheus orders that shipped out today via Canada Post/USPS; you’ll likely be receiving those the week after) so keep your eyes peeled. :)

This weekend in Canada is a long weekend (Monday off) and I’ll be out of town until Tuesday on a short break in Vancouver, BC.  I won’t be checking email at this time but if you have any questions, please send them anyway as I will be able to get to them on Tuesday morning.  I also won’t be taking calls through either my cell phone or 1-800 number but, if you leave a message, I’ll call you back on Tuesday.

Thanks so much everybody for your continuing support!  I’ve been loving getting your emails as you receive your wallets; really makes my day.

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Orpheus Update 14-05-2009

By Connor | Published: 4:06 pm

Alright!!!! We just got word that the Orpheus shipment is just cleared customs and will be here tomorrow morning!!!  So, all of our Orpheus orders are sitting here waiting to be ’stuffed and shipped’ once they are received tomorrow.

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About USPS tracking

By Connor | Published: 2:16 pm

Hi all!

I’ve been getting a couple of concerned emails from clients regarding the state of their package when they try to track it on USPS.com.  There seems to be a perpetual message of showing up like the one below.  For some reason, the amount of tracking information offered by Canada Post/USPS seems to be rather lacking:

usps-snippet

The annoying, non-updating USPS message

Here is my understanding of the mail system as explained to me by someone in the biz:

When an expedited package is sent from Canada to the U.S., it goes  to a sorting plant in Canada then to the U.S. border control followed by a U.S. sorting facility.

So, when a shipment is tracked on USPS, it seems to only have information regarding it’s progress in the U.S., which, if it’s still in Canada, isn’t a lot of information. It’s basically saying, “It’s in Canada still”.

Combine this with the fact that USPS only updates their tracking information once a day, in the evening, and it seems that tracking on USPS isn’t as informative as I would have liked.

I’ve found out that the same tracking number can be used on Canada Post’s website (canadapost.com) to track the shipment’s progress through Canada.

The Expedited U.S. shipping option is a 10-12 day delivery service, depending on where in the U.S. you live.  So, anyone who ordered with Expedited U.S. shipping should be receiving their wallets this week and next week.

Through this experience, I’ve found that this shipping option does not serve our clients as much as I would’ve liked it to.  We’ve since been approached by an alternate mailing company (an large international company who is relatively unknown in N. America; they are partly owned by TNT Courier) who is interested in providing faster, more reliable shipping options for cheaper.  We are currently in talks with them to see exactly what the service/price levels will be but we’ll be posting an update on it through the blog as it develops.

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Orpheus Update 11-05-2009

By Connor | Published: 8:38 pm

Alright!  All pre-orders for Cypress, Raptured, Vagabond, The Sunrise have been shipped out.  All remaining Cypress orders were shipped out yesterday.  So, for clients who have ordered with Standard shipping (in Canada) and Small Packet Air (in U.S.), you will likely be receiving them sometime next week (judging on the progress of Expedited orders through Canada Post/USPS).

Orpheus has FINALLY shipped out to us from Hong Kong and we are looking forward to receiving it, hopefully by Friday.

(Customs has been a pain in our butt lately as they have, for some reason, decided to cut open and personally inspect all of our boxes before clearing them.  This is incredibly frustating for us as we have *zero* control over the decisions of the customs officers.)

Regardless, all of the Orpheus orders are sitting as envelopes, pre-labeled, ready to get picked up so there will be no problem getting them out within the same day.

Thanks for your patience, everyone!!

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Shipping Update 07-05-2009

By Connor | Published: 8:11 pm

Alright, all of the orders are now out except for about 20 Cypress orders and the Orpheus orders.  We were expecting Cypress to be here tomorrow but it looks like customs has “struck again”.  They decided to rip open our shipment (again) which they did today and it SHOULD have been cleared for delivery but the customs guys didn’t get around to updating their system indicating cleared packages until AFTER the plane left.  Grrr.  So frustrating. Apparently we can get them here for Saturday but that still means that they won’t leave Calgary until Monday.  Getting it here Saturday ensures that shipments will be received by couriers Monday morning, though, which means they’ll also be moving on Monday.

Okay, we’re FINALLY going to be able to start emailing Expedited shipping clients tonight letting them know their tracking number.  We just didn’t bother emailing TNT clients since they will either have them today or tomorrow, anyways.  If there are any overseas TNT clients that would like their tracking numbers though, we can get them for you.

We have also been getting a emails from clients who have received their wallets already and have been gushing to us about how much they love them.  Keep it coming!  It makes all of the last few months of stress worth while :)  I totally appreciate it!

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Shipping update 06-05-2009

By Connor | Published: 7:48 pm

Alright, so we’ve gotten about 80% of the orders out within 29 hours of receiving them!  We received them at noon on the 5th and have just came back from a big trip to the  post office.  All of the TNT orders are out, all of the Express Post orders are out, and almost all of the standard shipping orders are out.  The exception to these are the Orpheus orders which will be going out on May 11th.  Our second order of Cypress should be here Thursday or Friday so the remainder of those orders will go out then.

We’ve received a handful of client emails checking in about their tracking numbers.  Sorry for not getting back to you today; we’ve opted delay replying to emails in the interest of shipping out orders faster.  We’ll be following up with you on Thursday or Friday (although many of you will likely have received your orders by then!)

For clients who have ordered an Orpheus along with another wallet, we’ve shipped out your other wallet order now and will ship out the Orpheus when we get them.  No worries about the extra shipping since it is our fault that they weren’t able to ship together.

For the small number that have received their wallets today (we were able to get about 30 TNT orders out yesterday before the outgoing deadline of 3:00pm), we hope you are thrilled about them!  We’ve already heard back from one client who found his Cypress to be “much better than he expected”.  Thanks, Dan!

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  • About Us

    Braithwaite Wallets, Inc.; is a men's wallet company that is owned and operated out of Calgary, Alberta in Canada. The company has existed since 2006 and we began selling wallets in March, 2008.

    This blog has been created to keep our current and prospective clients up-to-date on the latest news in wallet design and development as well as just to post bits and pieces (articles, music, etc.) that we find appealing and we wish to share with our clients.

    Braithwaite Wallets, Inc.