Saskatoon company cashing in with high-tech wallet design

Between credit cards, debit cards, IDs and goodold-fashioned paper money, a wallet can get crowded pretty fast.

That's led to new trend towardstreamlined wallet designs a trendSaskatoon's Ronin Energeticsis cashing in on with a new high-tech wallet it calls theArceo Wallet.

"We wanted to take a fairly mundane product that you might think, 'Oh, a wallet, everybody carries that around,' and really showcase that there's a lot of opportunity for mechanical innovation," said Alex Balogun, the company's founder and the wallet's designer.

Within days of launching onKickstarter,ArceoWallet has raised more than $15,000, well surpassing the originalfunding goal of $5,000.

Advanced materials

The wallet is made from a carbon-fibrecomposite, a material Balogun said you're more likely to find in theaerospace industrythan in your pocket.

"We wanted to help put carbon-fibrecomposites in people's hands in an everyday carry item that is very useful to their daily lives," said Balogun.

The Arceo, which starts at $88,features a magnetic latch and aspecial tensioning system designed by Balogunto keep everything snugly in place.

The wallets can be further customized to hold extra items like keys, tools and USB sticks.

"Whether you might want to carry around small tools, bit drivers, that type of thing, this is definitely the wallet for you," said Balogun.

Made in Saskatoon

The product is also serving as a showcase for for Ronin Energetics,a small fabrication shopin Saskatoonwhere the Arceo will be manufactured.

"Local manufacturing isreally making a resurgence, we believe. People want products that have more customization, more personalization. People want to be connected to the creators," said Balogun.

Open source

Butanyone with the right equipment can try their hand at manufacturing the wallet themselves. That's because Balogunhas "open sourced" his designs, freely sharing them online.

"We also want to help educate people about carbon-fibre composites and about the new paradigm shift that's happening in manufacturing right now," said Balogun.

"There's a lot of opportunity for mechanical innovation, not just in the mechanism that makes it work but also in the materials and the techniques used to turn those materials into a finished product."