Charley, a Spring 2004 alum, left The Island School inspired by the sustainable life style he lived during his 14-week semester on Cape Eleuthera. He spent his summers during high school working at Maine Sailing Partners, the state’s preeminent sailmaker. There he learned how to build and repair sails. When his grandfather’s old hand-me-down leather wallet eventually wore through, he sewed himself a new one, using scrap sailcloth from the sail loft and Chuck’s Cash Stash was born. What is unique about Chuck’s Cash Stash is the use of modern composite laminate cloth rather than the older yellowish/white Dacron or canvas used by other recyclers. Composite laminate cloth is perfect for wallets it’s: waterproof, thin, light, vegan friendly and it looks wicked cool.
Over the past five years Charley has been testing and refining his design. Today over 125 Wallets are in the hands of the most extreme testers Charley could find. The idea to start commercially producing the wallet came from the overwhelmingly positive responses he received regarding long-term durability and general stoke about the design. Everyone loves the story, simplicity and bomb proof durability; “I love my wallet, it’s well crafted and handy; plus everyone asks me about where I got it and what it’s made of…” Charley always kept an eye out for other neat sewing projects and in 2009 he made some dresses out of old kiteboarding kites and they were featured in Kiteworld magazine.
With this momentum Charley decided to pursue the wallets full-time. After earning a Civil Engineering degree from the University of Maine in May 2010, Charley started sewing away on his grandmother’s ancient Singer machine. Today, Chuck’s Cash Stash wallets are manufactured entirely in-house by Lifethereal (LTR), a company based on Peaks Island.
Lifethereal’s production process aims to divert highly non-biodegradable materials from ending up in a landfill. The materials they use are selected firstly from scrap, blemish and discontinued fabric stock. As our production grows so does our network of sailmakers, racing teams and individuals whose waste we put to use. With this product we are proud to reduce the impacts of the sailing community on the environment.
The wallets are available for purchase at LTR’s website Lifethereal.com and Corduroy Boutique in Portland Maine. LTR is a lifestyle brand supporting projects that create jobs in Maine, raise environmental awareness and catalyze sustainability. LTR is represented by four of the world’s most influential and well-known kiteboarders who strive to inspire younger generations to live with less impact on the environment.