The Crescent Bay Collection – Old Town Alexandria, a leather stamping study

From the Practice Log – an ongoing series of leather stamping studies. Volume I-A.

A September study.

For Old Town Alexandria – where the river carried in goods and information, and the wharves rose on made land. We pressed this study into leather as the Crescent Bay collection, named for the shape a 1748 survey gave the bay.

First, we drew a small Potomac sloop under working sail and set our own promise beneath it – SOMETHING NEW, EVERY TIDE. On the luggage tags it stands upright, in pale sea-blue and in honeyed russet.

Black-and-white every tide stamping artwork for the Crescent Bay leather collection of Old Town Alexandria.

A rendered leather luggage tags in turquoise stamped with Every Tide from the Crescent Bay collection of Old Town Alexandria.

A rendered leather luggage tags in indian summer stamped with Every Tide from the Crescent Bay collection of Old Town Alexandria.

The black tag carries the ship in gold.

A rendered leather luggage tags in black stamped with Every Tide from the Crescent Bay collection of Old Town Alexandria.

Next, the keychains. Digs along the old waterfront turned up a sailmaker's fid – the tapered wooden tool that opens stubborn knots. We drew it half out of the ground under the words STILL TURNING UP, which is also the honest condition of most keys.

Black-and-white still turning up stamping artwork for the Crescent Bay leather collection of Old Town Alexandria.

Deep brown for the wet grain of the wood, and golden tan for the earth it came out of.

A rendered leather keychains in dark espresso stamped with Still Turning Up from the Crescent Bay collection of Old Town Alexandria.

A rendered leather keychains in arizona stamped with Still Turning Up from the Crescent Bay collection of Old Town Alexandria.

Then the toiletry bag. The tool on the keychain served sailcloth and rope, so we tied the bag a bold reef knot of its own and wrote HOLD FAST beneath – which is all anyone asks of the kit that carries the razor.

Black-and-white hold fast stamping artwork for the Crescent Bay leather collection of Old Town Alexandria.

Navy over chestnut. Looks great when stamped onto the leather.

A rendered leather dopp kits in blueberry and sicilian stamped with Hold Fast from the Crescent Bay collection of Old Town Alexandria.

For the catchall tray, we went back to the 1748 survey. It drew the bay as a shallow crescent between two points, with its shoals. We anchored one sloop inside the curve and wrote SAFE HARBOR beneath – which is what a dresser tray is to rings and watches at the end of the day.

Black-and-white safe harbor stamping artwork for the Crescent Bay leather collection of Old Town Alexandria.

It looks genuinely beautiful in the golden tan.

A rendered leather catchall trays in arizona stamped with Safe Harbor from the Crescent Bay collection of Old Town Alexandria.

And finally, the journals. The river carried two cargoes into Alexandria, goods and information. The goods went to the wharves; a journal is where the information gets written down. For the corner stamp we drew our own small chart after the 1748 survey – the crescent shore with its shoals, and a compass in the open water. Pale warm greige like old parchment, and deep green for the bluffs above the bay.

Black-and-white crescent bay stamping artwork for the Crescent Bay leather collection of Old Town Alexandria.

A rendered leather leather journals in gray sand stamped with Crescent Bay from the Crescent Bay collection of Old Town Alexandria.

A rendered leather leather journals in forest green stamped with Crescent Bay from the Crescent Bay collection of Old Town Alexandria.

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're in Old Town and you'd like the Crescent Bay collection made real, or anything here changed – say hello through our contact page.

P.S.

A rendered leather luggage tags in turquoise stamped with Every Tide from the Crescent Bay collection of Old Town Alexandria.

A rendered leather luggage tags in indian summer stamped with Every Tide from the Crescent Bay collection of Old Town Alexandria.

A rendered leather luggage tags in black stamped with Every Tide from the Crescent Bay collection of Old Town Alexandria.