Innovation is life fuel, and artist, maker, and designer Owen Rendel is using his creative abilities to make his life and the lives of others easier and more fun.
Rendel created The Cassette Wallet, a user-friendly, eco-friendly, and convenient new wallet design made from used cassette tapes!
A resident of Tulsa, OK, he notably uses found objects to create objects as opposed to buying them. His wallet, which has become a hit with consumers, had a very impressive showing at The Tulsa Music Official Day Party during SXSW 2022.
We spoke with Rendel for THIS INTERVIEW following the Day Party about creating The Cassette Wallet, how it’s impacting the lives of its consumers, and what innovative projects are in his future. THIS is for YOU!
The Cassette Wallet is such a cool and unique idea, Owen. What we’d first like to know is what was so uncomfortable about your original wallet that it made you create this one?
Over the years I have experimented with various wallets, but I never could settle on one. My main qualm was the lack of quality material that was unable to withstand daily wear and tear. Additionally, wallets on the market were not suitable for my lifestyle – they held coins, cash, and too many cards ultimately becoming a bulky object that bloated my pockets. Lastly, it bothered me that something I used every single day was not created by me.
I knew I could make something perfect for me that was better than what was being offered.
You tested it with actual consumers and got feedback. Tell us about the changes they helped influence.
Testing the wallets was very important because I wanted to make sure this item could not only withstand my lifestyle, but also others. Allowing a beta group to test the wallet gave it more chances for failure. The two main takeaways from the test group were installing a more secure attachment system for the pull strap and reinforcing the top corners of the cassette tape that were vulnerable to cracking if dropped on a hard surface.
After a few months of testing, the users sent back the tapes for me to analyze points of success and weakness. I was able to take the wallets apart, assess the wear points, and discover the issues outlined above. In the new wallet version, changes were made to prevent those initial issues.
Tell us about the most flattering or inspiring response you’ve gotten from someone about The Cassette Wallet.
A super cool experience I’ve enjoyed is when people come up to me with meaningful tapes from their past and request them to be turned into wallets. These tapes range from mixtapes they’ve made, or their favorite old album.
Before the cassette wallet was an option, these special memories lived in cardboard boxes, tucked away in attics. It’s super special that I can convert these tapes into wallets that allow the owner to hold their cherished memories and use the tape in the modern day-to-day.
We’re huge fans of iconic Hip Hop group the Wu-Tang Clan. Do you have a version of The Cassette Wallet that’s made from group member Raekwon’s classic Wu solo album Only Built For Cuban Links which was famously a purple tape? That’s awesome! I haven’t come across that tape yet, but if there is ever someone who wants that exact wallet, I’m always down for a custom order!
You were at SXSW at The Tulsa Music Official Day Party. What did attendees get to experience?
At SXSW, attendees experienced a self-service vending machine activation. The vending machine was stocked with 100 custom cassette wallets ranging from old bootleg tapes to Christmas music by the Beatles. Participants could enter a special token into the machine, make their selection, and vend their own unique cassette wallet.
It’s very cool that The Cassette Wallet was born from being recycle conscious and that you, as an artist and an everyday person, care about the environment. Besides the eco-friendliness, what are other benefits of the wallet?
The cassette wallet has the unique feature of allowing the user to use tap-to-pay without having to remove the card from the wallet. It’s also a great conversation starter – most baristas are not expecting you to try and pay with what they perceive as an archaic music format. Along those same lines, the cassette wallet is discreet when it comes to matters of theft. No one is likely to steal what looks like just a cassette tape.
What to you is the coolest practical-life invention ever, and how did it make your life better?
I would say a 3D printer. It’s like another pair of hands that works at my studio, and an invention that can take my exact ideas and create it out of thin air. It’s practical, it’s magical, and has made life so much better by its ability to take an idea of mine and bring it into physical reality.
Do you remember your first invention? How does it compare to The Cassette Wallet?
I created my first invention when I was in middle school – it was a portable trash can made out of collapsible tent poles. The idea was a collapsible, portable trash can that could be assembled into a rigid structure when needed for yard work or a camping trip. It could hold a 50-gallon trash bag.
I have a fondness for the portable trash can, but it’s not something I use in the day-to-day like the wallet.
Can you tell us anything about your next consumer-based invention and how what you’re creating is leading to what you hope will be your ultimate invention?
I’m currently working on an improved cat feeder for our two cats at home. That’s not really a consumer product, but I suppose I don’t build for the consumer – I build for myself. What’s fun about this is I’m ultimately going to completely build out my entire environment. That’s how the cassette wallet started – I wanted to build the best wallet for me and my circumstances.
From there, consumers were interested in it. With that being said, I’m not sure what my next consumer product will be, but I hope there is something in the future that resonates with people like the wallet did. |THIS ENT
[By Mr. Joe Walker]
