Cherry Road – a Memphis, Tennessee leather stamping collection

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

An August study.

Cherry Road runs along the eastern side of Memphis, past ninety six acres of gardens where a hundred thousand daffodils come up along the creek beds every spring. We walked that world on paper, then pressed what we found into leather – luggage tags and journals, keychains and a catchall tray – and named the collection for the road.

First, the Half Moon Bridge. The red footbridge arches over still water and the water hands the arch back – half a moon above, half a moon below. The circle closes. We drew both halves and set MEMPHIS beneath.

A black die drawing of the Half Moon Bridge and its reflection for the Cherry Road leather collection of Memphis, Tennessee.

On the tags it travels in the bridge's own red lacquer and in the navy of the water it stands over. The black tag carries the whole moon in gold.

Red, black and navy leather luggage tags stamped with the Half Moon Bridge from the Cherry Road collection of Memphis, Tennessee.

Next, the daffodils. A hundred thousand of them line the creek beds each spring, and every single one behaves like the main event. So: one bloom, and beneath it, ONE OF A HUNDRED THOUSAND.

A black daffodil die drawing reading One of a Hundred Thousand for the Cherry Road leather collection of Memphis, Tennessee.

It sits low in the corner of the toiletry bags, golden tan stacked over chestnut, blind debossed. Looks great when stamped onto the leather.

Two brown leather toiletry bags stamped with a daffodil from the Cherry Road collection of Memphis, Tennessee.

Then the road itself. CHERRY ROAD under a bowing blossom branch, with MEMPHIS set small beneath – an address scaled down to the thing that goes everywhere with you, your keys. The duo runs pale rose and deep green, blossom and leaf.

A black Cherry Road and blossom die drawing for the Cherry Road leather collection of Memphis, Tennessee.

Blush and forest green leather keychains stamped Cherry Road Memphis for the Cherry Road collection of Memphis, Tennessee.

For the tray, the Delta. Cotton bolls and melon wedges, bean pods and peanuts, all plaited into a wreath by broad tobacco leaves around THE DELTA – because a catchall is where the day's pickings land. On golden tan it reads like harvest.

A black Delta crop wreath die drawing for the Cherry Road leather collection of Memphis, Tennessee.

A golden tan leather catchall tray stamped with the Delta crop wreath from the Cherry Road collection of Memphis, Tennessee.

And finally, the one we like the most. Before the arboretum, before all ninety six acres, there was a bed of irises planted in 1953 – the whole garden began as one small entry. So the journal says IT BEGAN WITH IRISES, for whatever gets planted on page one.

A black iris die drawing reading It Began with Irises 1953 for the Cherry Road leather collection of Memphis, Tennessee.

The duo runs dusty lavender and deep green. Looks absolutely gorgeous when stamped onto the leather.

Lilac and forest green leather journals stamped with irises from the Cherry Road collection of Memphis, Tennessee.

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.