March 19, 2025

Woolly Made: Crafting Leather Goods That Get Better With Time

Step into Woolly Made’s workshop, and you’ll immediately feel the difference. There’s no assembly line, no race to churn out the next batch—just the steady rhythm of skilled hands, the scent of leather, and the quiet precision of machines shaping something built to last. Every cut, stitch, and finish is done with care, ensuring each wallet and accessory isn’t just made, but crafted. Founded by designers Jake Fromer and Jeff Heil, Woolly Made was born from a desire to do things differently—to create wallets that blend modern precision with traditional craftsmanship, built to age beautifully rather than wear out. In a world of disposable goods, they’ve chosen a different path: fewer, better things. By prioritizing sustainability, durability, and timeless design over fleeting trends, Woolly Made ensures that what you carry today is worth carrying for years.

No items found.

Photography & Writing by:

Conrad Byron

Built to Age, and Get Better With Time

Most wallets fall apart because they’re built to. Thin leather, weak stitching, and layers of glue don’t stand a chance against daily use. Co-founder Jeff Heil recalls, ““At the time we both had Herschel wallets. We liked the modern design, but the quality felt like it was lacking.” That realization led to a simple idea: create a wallet designed to last, not be replaced. At Woolly Made, longevity starts with material selection. They use vegetable-tanned leather from Wickett & Craig, one of America’s oldest tanneries. Unlike chrome-dyed leather, which relies on heavy chemicals and degrades over time, vegetable-tanned leather is processed naturally, producing a more durable, high-quality material. “Most leather products are actually not the same kind of leather that we use,” says Jake Fromer. “We use a vegetable-tanned leather. It’s the authentic, age-old process of treating leather.”

Beyond durability, vegetable-tanned leather develops character. “Leather just patinas so beautifully,” Heil explains. “It gets better the more you use it.” Instead of breaking down, it deepens in color and forms a new look based on the usage—a wallet that gets better over time, just like a well-made product should. Craftsmanship goes beyond the leather itself. Woolly Made uses saddle stitching, a technique traditionally found in high-end leatherwork. “With a mass-produced wallet, if a stitch breaks, the wallet can’t be repaired,” says Fromer. ”With our process, we can easily repair broken stitches to
good-as-new.” It takes longer, but the result is a wallet that can be repaired if needed until the end of time.

Modern Tools, Timeless Craft

Handmade doesn’t mean outdated. Woolly Made blends traditional craftsmanship with modern tools, ensuring precision without losing the human touch. “When we started this, we
weren’t leather craftsmen by trade,” Heil admits. “We were more interested in creating a process from start to finish, something that we could control ourselves.” That mindset led them to laser cutting, —an approach that offered both precision and the ability to rapidly prototype and refine their designs. “We wanted to create something handcrafted,” says Fromer, “but also that reflects a
modern aesthetic.” Laser cutting doesn’t just add precision—it introduces new design possibilities.

One of Woolly Made’s signature details is its subtle perforations, a feature made possible by laser technology. “Because the laser is so quick and so capable of making these kinds of patterns,” Heil explains, “we thought, why not use them to our advantage to make a really unique look?” Despite using advanced tools, every Woolly Made product is finished by hand. The edges are sanded, burnished, and sealed to ensure smoothness and longevity. “The process has evolved over the years,” says Fromer, “but at its core, it’s the same: roll, to laser, to finishing, to sewing, and back to finishing.” That balance—precision cutting with hand sewing and handcrafted finishing—means every wallet isn’t just made, but intentionally crafted for the modern consumer and built to last a lifetime.

Buy Less, Buy Better

Fast fashion and cheap accessories have trained people to accept disposable products. Woolly Made challenges that mindset, proving that a wallet doesn’t have to be something you replace every year—it can be something you keep for a lifetime. It’s not just about durability—it’s about connection. “What resonates with a lot of our customers,” Heil says, “is being welcomed into the process.” Customers don’t just buy a Woolly Made wallet because they need a place to hold cash and cards. They buy one because they care about how it’s made, who makes it, and what it represents. Each Woolly Made wallet is crafted in Portland, Oregon, using materials sourced from American suppliers. That commitment to sourcing means that every step, from raw material to final product, is intentional.

Woolly Made isn’t chasing trends or releasing seasonal collections. They believe in fewer, better things. “The goal with all of our products,” Fromer says, “is to solve a different need for a different consumer. And underneath all that is just us always striving to create a minimal product, a simple design.” A Woolly Made wallet isn’t just another item in your pocket. It’s something built with care, designed to last, and uniquely yours. Years from now, it will still tell the story of where it’s been. Here, craftsmanship isn’t just about making something look good. It’s about making something worth carrying—not just for a season, but for a lifetime.