Call and Answer – a leather collection from climbing's call-and-response – Volume I-C

From the Practice Log – an ongoing series of leather stamping studies.

A September study.

Volume I-C – an original collection called Call and Answer. Climbers keep a short vocabulary because every word gets acted on; we borrowed that language, and the long day outside around it, and pressed it into leather.

First, we tied the figure-eight – the knot that gets checked at the ground before anything else happens – and set CLIMB ON beneath it, the belayer's answer that means all is ready, go. On a luggage tag the same words give any departure its permission. Three leathers carry it, one of them the bright red of a working rope.

Black-and-white CLIMB ON figure-eight rope die artwork for the Call and Answer leather collection, Volume I-C.

It looks genuinely beautiful.

A forest green leather luggage tag blind-debossed with the CLIMB ON design.

A caramel leather luggage tag blind-debossed with the CLIMB ON design.

A poppy red leather luggage tag blind-debossed with the CLIMB ON design.

Next, the exchange itself. ON BELAY is the climber's question and BELAY ON is the answer – two words that mean someone has you. We set them above and below a locking carabiner with its gate screwed shut, on the one object here that already clips what matters together. On the black fob the blind press reads as a quiet shadow relief.

Black-and-white ON BELAY and BELAY ON locking-carabiner die artwork for the Call and Answer leather collection, Volume I-C.

A black leather keychain blind-debossed with the ON BELAY and BELAY ON design.

A caramel leather keychain blind-debossed with the ON BELAY and BELAY ON design.

Then a page from the guidebooks for the journals: one route line climbing the corner with a small ring at every belay stance and an arrow off the top, PITCH BY PITCH stacked beside it like rungs. A wall goes up one pitch at a time; a journal fills the same way. It comes in warm stone gray and deep pine green.

Black-and-white PITCH BY PITCH climbing-topo die artwork for the Call and Answer leather collection, Volume I-C.

Looks great when stamped onto the leather.

A country gray leather journal blind-debossed with the PITCH BY PITCH design.

A forest green leather journal blind-debossed with the PITCH BY PITCH design.

The toiletry bags are packed the night before and opened long after dark, so they carry the whole day: one horizon line, the sun half up on its left end, the moon already out on its right, OUT EARLY and BACK LATE beneath their own skies. The stack renders in honeyed russet over deep espresso brown.

Black-and-white OUT EARLY and BACK LATE sun-and-moon die artwork for the Call and Answer leather collection, Volume I-C.

Indian Summer and dark espresso leather dopp kits blind-debossed with the OUT EARLY and BACK LATE design.

And finally, the catchall tray, where the day gets turned out of the pockets. EMPTY POCKETS arcs over a carabiner and a folding knife lying inside a rope ring, and FULL DAY answers underneath. We mean both readings of the first line.

Black-and-white EMPTY POCKETS and FULL DAY rope-ring die artwork for the Call and Answer leather collection, Volume I-C.

Looks absolutely gorgeous when stamped onto the leather.

An Arizona leather catchall tray blind-debossed with the EMPTY POCKETS and FULL DAY design.

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.