Boca de Ratones – an original leather collection for Boca Raton, Florida

From the Practice Log – an ongoing series of leather stamping studies, this time an original collection of place designs.

A September study.

Boca de Ratones, Volume I-A – an original leather collection for Boca Raton, Florida. Five designs drawn from the city's own record, each cut as a stamping die and pressed into leather.

First, the 1927 Town Hall. We drew the building as it stands, from the bell cupola down to the palms at either side, and set BOCA RATON over the roofline with the year beneath. On the black luggage tag the design takes the gold pass; it also signs the deep green journal from the lower corner, quiet as a bookplate.

The town hall stamping die for Boca de Ratones, an original leather collection for Boca Raton, Florida.

It looks genuinely beautiful.

The town hall design pressed into black leather luggage tags for Boca de Ratones, an original Boca Raton collection.

The town hall design pressed into forest green leather leather journals for Boca de Ratones, an original Boca Raton collection.

Next, the name. On the early charts, Boca de Ratones marked a jagged, rocky inlet – the words described the coast, and they wandered north across the maps before settling here. We drew the kind of chart that carried the name, lettered it along the water and gave it a compass rose. On the pale sea-blue tag it reads like the water it named.

The jagged inlet stamping die for Boca de Ratones, an original leather collection for Boca Raton, Florida.

The jagged inlet design pressed into turquoise leather luggage tags for Boca de Ratones, an original Boca Raton collection.

Then, the pronunciation. The city is spoken Rah-tone, so we set the sound in large capitals and put the whole lesson beneath it – SAY IT LIKE A LOCAL. It runs on a honeyed russet tag and on a warm red keychain, a small shibboleth to hand a visitor.

The rah tone stamping die for Boca de Ratones, an original leather collection for Boca Raton, Florida.

The rah tone design pressed into indian summer leather luggage tags for Boca de Ratones, an original Boca Raton collection.

The rah tone design pressed into poppy red leather keychains for Boca de Ratones, an original Boca Raton collection.

Next, 1981 – the year the first personal computer was developed in Boca Raton. We drew an early machine, monitor riding the system unit and keyboard out front, above THE PC WAS BORN IN BOCA. A single cursor waits on the screen. It presses onto a pale greige keychain close to the old machine-case color, and onto the matching journal – a fair home for first drafts.

The born in boca stamping die for Boca de Ratones, an original leather collection for Boca Raton, Florida.

The born in boca design pressed into gray sand leather keychains for Boca de Ratones, an original Boca Raton collection.

The born in boca design pressed into gray sand leather leather journals for Boca de Ratones, an original Boca Raton collection.

And finally, ironwork. Mizner Industries manufactured the wrought-iron grilles this architecture wears, so we composed an original grille of our own in that language – straight bars with spear tips, a twisted band, and a scrolled medallion at the center.

The mizner grille stamping die for Boca de Ratones, an original leather collection for Boca Raton, Florida.

Looks great when stamped onto the leather.

The mizner grille design pressed into arizona leather catchall trays for Boca de Ratones, an original Boca Raton collection.

The mizner grille design pressed into indian summer sicilian leather dopp kits for Boca de Ratones, an original Boca Raton collection.

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 these made real, or anything here changed – say hello through our contact page.

P.S.

An alternate black leather luggage tags render from the Boca de Ratones collection for Boca Raton, Florida.

An alternate turquoise leather luggage tags render from the Boca de Ratones collection for Boca Raton, Florida.

An alternate indian summer leather luggage tags render from the Boca de Ratones collection for Boca Raton, Florida.