It all started with a casual comment from a customer

The production of Cram Long began with a casual comment from a customer: " I'm looking for a long wallet that's compact and easy to use ."

As cashless transactions become more widespread, compact and functional leather wallets are becoming a trend.

On the other hand, there are still people who choose long wallets because they want to be able to use bills without having to fold them.

"I want to handle my money well."
"But I want to use something as compact as possible."

Is it possible to create a compact, functional long wallet that meets both of these desires?

This thought, which occurred to me during a conversation with a customer, was what led to the creation of Cram Long.

Compact and easy to insert and remove

The two things that were important to us when creating this wallet were its compact size and the ease with which bills, coins, and cards can be easily inserted and removed .

However, each person uses their wallet differently and has different perceptions about how comfortable it is to use.

Rather than relying on the intuition of one person, we all pooled our opinions to come up with a design that was "compact and easy for anyone to use and take out."

Multiple planning meetings and sample production

In order to give shape to the concept, Munekawa holds a new product meeting once a week.

There, they exchange ideas about the shape and structure of the new piece.

Everyone takes turns trying out the samples they made based on what they discussed in the meeting.

Anything that concerns us is then shared at another meeting, and we use that information to create new samples.

In this way, we move forward with the design while aligning the sensibilities of all staff members.

This process was repeated over and over, and it took a full year and several months for the final design to be decided.

Since all planning, design, and production is done by a small team of people, it inevitably takes a long time to create new products.

However, it could be said that one of Munekawa's strengths is that we are able to create products that fully reflect everyone's opinions and insights precisely because we have a small number of people.

The barrier to achieving both "compactness" and "storage capacity"

There were times when the production did not go smoothly and we were worried.

What I had the most trouble with was the positioning of the card pockets and coin purse .

A coin purse that can hold a certain amount of coins and is easy to access requires a decent amount of space.

In addition, it is necessary to have slots for cards so that they can be easily removed and many can be stored in it.

However, the "compact size" of the space became a hurdle in creating such a space.

An idea born from repeated trial and error

At that time, the idea of ​​making the gusset part larger and adding a card pocket there suddenly came to mind. By doing so, we were able to create a structure where the coin purse also opens wide and makes it easier to take out coins.

It may only take a moment to come up with a solution, but such an idea will not emerge without a lot of trial and error before it arrives.

Brushing up your ideas to give them shape

We made a lot of samples before we completed Cram Long.

Even if you think you have a good idea, most of the time when you try to put it into practice, it doesn't work out as expected.

However, this experience of "not working out" is very important in creating things.

By resolving each problem one by one and refining it, your idea will gradually take shape.

Even after the shape is decided, we continue to make fine adjustments to the thickness and length of the leather parts in 0.1mm increments .

By making repeated fine adjustments like these, we were able to achieve "just the right size" and "smooth usability."

"The Cram Long L-shaped zipper wallet was perfected through the pursuit of a unique structure.

After many prototypes and sharing opinions, we were able to create a product that utilized the ideas, insights, and skills of all the Munekawa staff members over a long period of time.

I think that through Cram Long, you will be able to experience what Munekawa values.

We want to continue to value creating products that can be used for a long time, taking full advantage of the qualities of leather, a material that can be enjoyed for a long time.

■Material:
Italian vegetable tanned cowhide (inside) Japanese pig leather

■Size (mm) *The figures are approximate. Height 90 x Width 180 x Thickness 15

Capacity: Bills: Approx. 30 Cards: Approx. 16 (10 card pockets)
Coins: Approx. 30 pieces