Every few weeks, we set aside the pieces that don't fit the standard catalog: the one-off cuts, the small batches, the colors the tannery only runs once. This Thursday, August 27, at 7:00pm Central, 114 of those pieces go live at once.
We walked through the whole drop on video before it goes up, if you want the first look:
A Cypress We May Not Cut Again
The piece we kept coming back to while filming is a burnt orange Cypress, tumbled with a little extra wax. Cypress is combination-tanned at Horween®, chrome tanning with a heavy vegetable retannage, which is what gives it that self-healing wax finish: flex it and the surface cracks open into brighter, more vibrant undertones underneath. We're down to our last side of this particular batch. If it sells through, we may not get to cut it again.
Hand-Stitched Leather Baseballs, in Eight Different Leathers
Not a wallet, and not something we've done before. These are hand-stitched leather baseballs with a slight squish built in, closer to a stress ball or a desk toy than a piece of sporting equipment. We ran them in eight different Horween® leathers, including a marbled ultraviolet reverse Shell Cordovan®, an amaretto and reverse pairing, and even the same leather Rawlings uses in its Heart of the Hide baseball gloves, on a baseball, because we thought that was funny.
Shell Cordovan® Wallets, and Where the Stamps Land
Every piece of Shell Cordovan® gets stamped once by the tannery: the Horween® oval ink stamp reading "Horween Shell Cordovan 1905," plus a second stamp from their measuring machine. We cut around those stamps on purpose, sometimes landing them in interesting spots on the finished piece rather than trimming them away. This drop includes a reverse green Shell Cordovan® Tony the Ant where you can see both stamps clearly on the interior.
Marbled Ultraviolet Shell Cordovan®: Fat Herbie and Bugs Moran
A special batch of marbled ultraviolet Shell Cordovan® went into some of our favorite designs this round, including the Fat Herbie and the Bugs Moran. The color shifts as it catches the light: pink at some angles, more purple or orange at others. No two pieces from this batch look quite the same.
Epic Grain Black Dublin, and the 5-Slot Frank
Dublin shares its tanning roots with Shell Cordovan®, tanned with the same tree barks, but this particular batch came in with a dramatically pebbled, puckered grain we're calling "Epic." It's natural, not tumbled in. We cut it into a Vertical Bugs Moran, a Tony the Ant, and a 5-Slot Frank, our take on the Frank the Enforcer with two extra card slots on the back.
The Blade Putter Cover, and a New 1.25" Belt
Back by request: a blade putter cover in reverse Color 8 Shell Cordovan®, individually numbered, with a plush felt liner and strong magnetic snaps inside. Only two exist in this drop. Alongside it, a new belt that splits the difference between our two standard widths: 1.25" wide, cut in Horween® brown Illini Latigo, with beveled edges and a roller buckle instead of our usual stitched-edge Bucktown build.
An English Tan Dopp Kit, and Shell Cordovan® Watch Straps
We brought back one of our Dopp Kits, this time in Horween® English Tan Dublin with Chromexcel (CXL) accents and YKK zippers throughout. And after a long break from making them, single-layer, unlined Shell Cordovan® watch straps return in several sizes and colorways, including Color 8, cigar, ultraviolet, and denim blue.
Johnny the Fox: Western Dublin, a Brand-New Violet Latigo, and Aspen Horsehide
Our most popular design gets three standout treatments this round. Western Color 8 Dublin, deboss-textured for extra depth of color. A brand-new violet Latigo on the interior, paired with the same leather in a hard-waxed Cypress finish on the exterior, the first time we've used this violet colorway. And Color 8 Aspen Horsehide, a naturally tumbled grain paired with English Tan Dublin inside.
Mini Fox: Gator Textures and a Marbled Garnet
The Mini Fox trims two card slots off the Johnny the Fox to cut down on bulk, for anyone who's stopped carrying as much cash and cards day to day. This round includes a blue and a whiskey gator-textured Shell Cordovan®, both paired with our new sky blue Latigo interior, plus a marbled garnet Shell Cordovan® with a directional color shift that changes depending on the angle you view it from.
Tony the Ant: Wax-Flesh Horsehide and Denim Blue Shell
Several takes on the Tony the Ant this round, including a wax-flesh Chromexcel (CXL) horsehide that rewards heavy use (the more it scuffs, the better it looks) and a denim blue Shell Cordovan® with an aqua-to-navy shift depending on the light.
Fat Herbie, the Traveler Passport Holder, and Whiskey Shell Cordovan®
Whiskey is one of the hardest Shell Cordovan® colors to get from the tannery, and we're lucky to have several pieces in it this round, including two Fat Herbie builds and a Tall Herbie. We also brought the Traveler Passport Holder back in burnt orange Cypress: essentially a Fat Herbie stretched taller to fit a passport.
Bugs Moran: Rainbow Stitching and Reverse Green Shell
The Bugs Moran and Vertical Bugs Moran show up across nearly every leather in this drop, including a run in burnt orange Cypress with three different stitch-thread colors (rainbow, tan, and rust), a 50/50 Quick Bugs with an external quick-access card slot, and several reverse Shell Cordovan® pieces where the color on the flesh side is genuinely unpredictable. No two came out quite the same.
The Jr Fold Wallet: a Design from 1970
For anyone deep enough into Ashland lore to remember it: the Jr Fold Wallet was designed by Arnold Horween Jr., third-generation owner of the Horween Leather Company, for his own use in the 1970s. We brought it back by request, in garnet, whiskey, and raw denim Shell Cordovan®.
Lucky Wallets, and Our Easiest-to-Use Minimalist Styles
The Lucky Wallet uses a slip-stitch side opening and a leather flap that holds itself closed once the veg-tanned leather breaks in, no snap or elastic required. This round includes American Bison (Horween®'s Yellowstone tannage) in brown, a wax-flesh Chromexcel (CXL) horsehide in cinnamon, and burnt orange Cypress.
Frank the Enforcer: 5-Slot and 6-Slot Vertical
Frank the Enforcer returns in both the standard 5-slot build and a 6-slot vertical version, across our brand-new violet Latigo, orange and red Latigo, green Latigo, sky blue Latigo, and Western Color 8 Dublin.
Minimalist Wallets: Machine Gun Jack and the Vic Snap
Rounding out the drop: the Machine Gun Jack, one of our earliest designs, cut from a single piece of leather with a snap closure, this time in marbled ultraviolet Shell Cordovan®. And the Vic Snap Wallet, originally built as a coin pouch, now a favorite simple card holder for people who want to carry less.
This preview doesn't cover everything going live Thursday. There are a few pieces we're holding back to reveal at 7:00pm Central on the limited release page itself.
The Drop Goes Live Thursday, August 27 at 7:00pm Central
114 pieces. Most one-of-a-kind, a few in small runs. Every piece tanned at Horween® in Chicago and handcrafted by us a few miles away. Once they're gone, they're gone for good.
Set a reminder and shop the drop Thursday at 7:00pm Central →