We had the good fortune of connecting with Lindsey Pyle and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lindsey, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I inherited a passion and a love for thrifting from my Family. My mom would take us window shopping as kids to antique malls. As I grew up, it became more of a passion for me than a past-time. There is so much nostalgia in each item, maybe even a history, and a sense of adventure. When my mother passed, it was a small way to still connect with her, and share her light with others. I come from a creative family, and it’s hard not to get sucked into the project “du jour” but thankfully my creative process is something I want my friends, family, and others to be involved in, and that makes my creative path fun.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

Fun Fact:The fortune cookie was made and invented right here in America. The fortune cookie has been part of my entire life, weirdly enough. My uncle lived in Chinatown in Boston, MA. Whenever we would visit for the Chinese New Year there, it would be an olfactory assault on our senses. A freshly made fortune cookie would waft past my nose and I’d want to know where it was coming from. I remember being young and looking in an old window front that had gigantic bags of broken fortune cookies for around a dollar. Ever since, when I’m in Chinatown, I look for those big ol’ bags.

In 2009 I moved from Georgia to New Jersey where my family is from, and opened up a small boutique called Humorandgrace, with my sister, in Asbury Park.  Together, we created all of the products in the store. She made all the clothing, and I helped to build the actual store along with creating and choosing fun products to go along with the store’s vibe. One of the products was an extra-thin wallet that was created to be strong enough for a man, but fit into a woman’s back pocket- and could hold whatever it needed. This wallet stuck with me for a long time. Backtrack many years to my first job was bussing and serving at a Thai restaurant in Ohio. They would let us eat our weight in fortune cookies. After eating them I would throw the fortune in my wallet. Hell, I might have even taken some of the funnier ones off of tables I was cleaning up back then that were cast aside. Along the way I had amassed a collection of fortune cookie fortunes. Eureka! Why not layer the saved fortunes into the wallets we were making for the store during the sewing, creating a reverse fortune cookie? Nobody would get to peek early! You would have to use the wallet until it fell apart to finally read your fortune. This is how the Fortune Wallet was born. Nowadays, we write our own fortunes, and I don’t eat as many cookies. After my mother passed, I became the main caretaker for my father, who at the time had more than a few health scares that made sure I remembered what is truly important in life to me. I am happy to report he is doing better. I never would have thought that I would still be in love with what I was doing back in Asbury Park all these years later. So, I decided to revive the wallet we made back then, and upgrade it with my collection of VHS tapes and saved fortunes.  My sister bought me a sewing machine, thread, and refreshed all the sewing skills I would need to restart what I believed in- a product that does good. Sharing the Fortune Wallet with others, helping to recycle, and getting good vibes out there is what motivates me professionally.

Sourcing my materials is actually just as fun as you could imagine. From estate sales, yard sales, flea markets etc., I have collected all the recycled media that I create the wallets from since 2009, and hand picked myself. I basically have a Blockbuster Video store collection, with no VHS tapes, just boxes with the cover art. Magazines, books, beer packaging, VHS, audio cassettes, Compact Discs, the list goes on. If I’m not sure of the album, I always play some of the music while I’m checking it out to see if it has good songs. It’s like mini karaoke sometimes right in the store. There’s something about choosing each of the individual parts, from the insides to the outside to create one fun wallet for someone, this resonates to my artistic core. I actually like to think of them as “Conversation Starting” wallets. My personal favorites are early workout videos. Hilarious. I make the outside of the wallets from these classic pop culture pieces, and do make custom wallets as well. Ohh ohh ohh and surprise, this upcycled wallet will actually last anywhere from one to nine years depending on how you treat it. One of the originals was used for around nine years. Men may have back problems from the George Costanza wallet, and women can carry too much on their shoulders physically. Leave that baggage at home-let me help you lighten your load and balance you out. Interestingly enough,  “You are the best in your field was originally written as a fun fortune. It still sits today above my computer screen as I write this. I never really thought I would be great at anything, and now I am the best at what I do. That little sentence instilled the confidence that I needed. I’m not the best wallet maker in the world, but I do make the best Fortune Wallets in the world! This is my labor of love.

Lastly, the past couple years during the pandemic, My sister Casey and I have taken up spray-paint and brushes. I’m thankful that our local community up here loves what we do and supports us. The Howdy and the Pool murals are at the Stage Stop Pub, in Rollinsville, CO. You can see them from the highway.  The color gradient is at Knotted Root Brewing Co in Nederland.


Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

I would take them to Boulder and have them drive up Magnolia Road. It’s said to be the steepest paved and maintained road in the U.S. In the first 4 miles or so there are road grades of up to 17%, with hairpin turns and switchbacks. The pavement stops and turns into a dirt road that goes all the way to Peak to Peak highway. Before the highway, there is a large historical ranch that I help out on when I can.

Woody Woodward raises grass fed, grass finished beef up here, along with a herd of Yaks at The Historic Reynolds Ranch. It is about to be calving season and the little baby yaks will be here and there! These are the happiest and most well treated animals you could imagine.

As for food, I would want to cook for them. Magnolia Grassfed has the best ground beef for some burgers to be grilled up. If it was the right time of year, foraging of mushrooms for those burgers would be fun as well. As for a liquid bevi, Knotted Root Brewing out of Nederland would be at the top of my list to pair with that yummy burger.


The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Special thanks to my sister @casey_made for showing me skills and holding creative spaces to let me figure out what I was good/great at. Never took art classes, and look at me meow. Thank you to my father who may not have always been on board with what I saw as “The Future of Wallets”! He’d set up and break down events without me asking for any help. No more heavy tent weights for that guy. He paid dues that weren’t even his. And lastly, Thank you to all the customers who have bought things in the past and future!

Website: HUMORANDGRACE.US FORTUNEWALLETS.COM

Instagram: @SHOPHUMORANDGRACE @NASTYDRAWMUS

Facebook: SHOPHUMORANDGRACE

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