The Black Mountain Collection – Cave Creek, Arizona, in leather

The Black Mountain Collection – an August study.

For Cave Creek, Arizona: five designs drawn from the town – its mountain, its mine, its rodeo, its creek – pressed into leather.

First, Black Mountain. We drew the broken dark ridge as it stands over town, set CAVE CREEK above it and ARIZONA beneath, and pressed it upright on the luggage tags. Black wears the mountain's own shadow and golden tan the desert floor; the third tag is pale sea-blue, for the sky over both.

On the black tag the ridge comes up in gold – this is a town that dug gold out of its hills, and the tag remembers it.

Three leather luggage tags carry the Black Mountain design from The Black Mountain Collection of Cave Creek, Arizona.

Next, the rodeo, riding here since 1977. Eight seconds is a whole ride, so a bronc goes over the words EIGHT SECONDS in the corner of the toiletry kit – honeyed russet over deep espresso, the colors of arena dirt.

Looks great when stamped onto the leather.

Two leather toiletry bags carry the Eight Seconds rodeo design from The Black Mountain Collection of Cave Creek, Arizona.

Then the Golden Reef Mine. We crossed a pick and a shovel under the name and put the claim on the keychains, one in golden tan and one in black. The black fob takes it in real gold – the only honest way to press a gold mine.

Two leather keychains carry the Golden Reef mining design from The Black Mountain Collection of Cave Creek, Arizona.

A catchall tray is where the pockets empty out at night, so we gave it a horseshoe turned points-up – the way you hang one so the luck stays in – with HOLD YOUR HORSES inside. Golden tan, pressed deep in the middle of the tray.

It looks genuinely beautiful.

A golden-tan leather catchall tray carries the Hold Your Horses design from The Black Mountain Collection of Cave Creek, Arizona.

And finally, the creek. The town is named for it, and it has been writing the same line through the desert longer than anyone here. The journal cover carries that meander, trailing off like a pen lifting, with THE CREEK KEEPS WRITING beneath – deep green and pale greige, cottonwood and dry wash. The next line is yours.

Forest-green and pale gray-sand leather journals carry The Creek Keeps Writing design from The Black Mountain Collection of Cave Creek, Arizona.

We made this out of love. Leatherius Woodman is on a mission to create and share artifacts of beauty, craft and love – this study is one of them, and we hope the feeling is mutual. Every image is a render – how we prototype before cutting a die.

If you'd like any of these made real, or anything here changed – say hello through our contact page.