Today’s interview with Onikagi’s project founder, Jackson Aw is a little bit different compared to our previous interviews. Firstly, the project isn’t about games or anything entertaining for that matter, it is about two local designers coming out with an idea to produce convenient interchangeable leather wallets with the cause to help the community in Bandung, Indonesia.

Their Kickstarter project- Onikagi: Modular Leather Wallets for Humanity aims to create a customisable modular leather wallet made by the traditional leather craftsmen of Bandung. The fundings of the campaign will provide jobs for the craftsmen and also bring in safer, more efficient equipment to help support the people who are currently suffering from bad living conditions such as air pollution, food shortages, outspread of diseases and water contamination which they face on a daily basis.

Watch the video here:

Let’s just dive straight to our interview shall we-

Interview

Nicholas: A good evening to you Jackson Aw, how fares the month of May?

Jackson: Really exciting, curated an art show, published an art book and created my first kickstarter campaign, ONIKAGI.

Nicholas: Can you give us an introduction of yourself to our readers, how did you end up founding the Onikagi project and what is your favourite local cuisine in Singapore?

Jackson: I am a creator of all things. In 2012 I founded a designer vintage camera brand, working with artists worldwide, it was eventually bought over by a local photography store.  Currently I am focusing on my new venture, Mighty Jaxx, which produce designer art figures which we distribute worldwide. I met Ken (he founded Kenji Leather) last year when I approached him to create custom leather camera cases. We get along really well and eventually we conceptualize ONIKAGI together.

My favourite local cuisine is Nasi Lemak. My studio is at Joo Chiat so we always drop by Tanjong Katong for the awesome late night Nasi.

Nicholas: What drove the direction for Onikagi to produce the Modular Leather Wallets?

Jackson: Design exist to solve problems. My problem is that while I really like thin card wallets, my coins have no where to go! So Ken and I decide to work on a concept that is universal enough to be used by the Westerners (who have no need of a coin pouch) and us. As with any product, we need to fabricate prototypes, that’s why we went to Bandung. As shown in the video, I’ve seen the local families daily struggles and that pushed us to work with the Indonesia craftsmen exclusively. Every little bit helps.

_{Simplistic. Slick. Stylish}

Nicholas: The first thing that struck me odd when I saw your Kickstarter project was the choice of currency used to fund the Onikagi modular wallets. Why Euros (pounds) instead of the Singaporean currency?

Jackson: It’s actually in pounds as we registered the campaign through our UK rep.

Nicholas: Having watched the Kickstarter video for the project, we can see that the wallet has interchangeable parts with a magnetic functionality. Can you give us an idea on how customisable the Onikagi wallet can potentially be?

Jackson: Currently we offer the coin pouch, money flap and SD/CF card holder. The combination is limitless but we are working on a module for keys in the near future.

_{Does it come in Black? – Bruce Wayne}

Nicholas: I believe it is universally known by now that magnets have the potency to ruin and erase the data of magnetic credit card strips. How will you guys be able to resolve this issue with the Onikagi wallets?

Jackson: We introduces the snap button version to combat the problem and continuing our research onto magnetic mounts after we are successfully funded.

Nicholas: Personally, I feel that it is very generous of you guys to provide free shipping worldwide to the people outside of Singapore who are interested in the modular leather wallet. But how will you go about profiting if say, the majority of your audience are from the USA?

Jackson: We got that sorted out, besides our main aim is to bring awareness to this project and profits are something we seldom spoke about. Having started various ventures, we both know money is a by-product of a greater vision.

Nicholas: Once the project gets it’s gears rolling, how will the manufacturing process of the wallets be like? Will all the wallets be handcrafted by Ohim?

Jackson: Ohim will assemble a team of craftsmen to produce these wallets.

_{Traditional leather craftsman Ohim} 

Nicholas: The leather wallet appears to be very slim and compact, can you give us a rough idea on how much capacity the wallet will be able to hold?

Jackson: The top slot is meant for notes and a card if you wish, the side slot can fit up to 5 cards.

Nicholas: You guys currently have 3 available choices of colours for the modular wallet, are you planning to add any more colours to appeal to a more broader audience?

Jackson: Yes, we are experimenting with different materials and may release limited edition series in the future.

Nicholas: Thank you for having this interview with us Jackson, I truly appreciate the cause of the Kickstarter campaign to help the people of Bandung and I hope the Onikagi: Modular Leather Wallet project will be a shining success!

Jackson: Thanks Nicholas for this opportunity!

You can help support the Onikagi Kickstarter campaign here.

(You can still hurry and pledge for the limited Early Bird Special before all the slots run out!)

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