Andrea Johnson/MDN Sandy Petersen, from Sidney, Mont., shows off a smart wallet to Jaxson Spang, 11, and Easton Spang, 7, of Minot on Friday in the Commercial II building at the North Dakota State Fair.

The waning of the coronavirus pandemic means that North Dakota State Fair vendors like Sandy Petersen of Sidney, Mont., can get back on the road.

Petersen, who is selling her smart wallets and decorated crystal nail and heel files in the Commercial II building at the North Dakota State Fair, is a former teacher and rancher who has been selling her products at shows in the region since 1995. She said this is her third year at the State Fair, after a year off last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Petersen said she is glad that events are back on and people no longer have to wear masks in public.

She showed off the smart wallets to Jaxson Spang, 11, and Easton Spang, 7, who was open mouthed when Petersen showed him the trick. She put a dollar bill in one side of the wallet, closed it, and opened it from the other side and the dollar bill was neatly secured with a strap.

“It’s magic,” she explained to The Minot Daily News.

The smart wallets come in different patterns, including cartoon characters and different sports teams, and Petersen makes them herself.

A relative of her husband’s from Norma, had a smart wallet that was made of wood. Another relative suggested that a lot of people out there might like such a handy wallet.

Petersen said she didn’t want to make them of wood. She wanted the wallets to be practical and useful and made of cloth. The result is a unique novelty product that keeps dollar bills neat and in their place.

She said she has a “mail patent” on the smart wallets.

The nail files, made of crystal, are as different from a more typical emery board as a gravel road is from a newly paved highway, said Petersen, who said the files are very smooth and do a great job of buffing nails.

Petersen also sells her wares at other shows in North Dakota, including the Big One Craft Shows, and said she likes selling. She enjoys meeting new people, says North Dakotans and Montanans have always been nice.

She also likes the independence of deciding what show she will sell at next.