Crossings – a Cuero, Texas leather collection

Waterfall Volume II. A September study.

Crossings is a collection of five original designs for stamped leather, rooted in the Guadalupe River Valley around Cuero, Texas – a place where the herd meets the river, and where the vaquero's word settled into the cowboy's pocket.

First, the crossing itself. A drive leaving Cuero met the Guadalupe before it met anything else, so we stretched the ford along the whole luggage tag – a point rider climbing the near bank and longhorns chest deep in the ripple lines behind, with GUADALUPE CROSSING beneath the scene. Every trip starts with one.

The black-and-white Guadalupe Crossing stamp plate from the Crossings leather collection of Cuero, Texas.

We pressed it on river navy and on warm tan. The black tag carries the crossing in gold.

A blueberry leather luggage tag stamped with Guadalupe Crossing from the Crossings collection of Cuero, Texas.

A caramel leather luggage tag stamped with Guadalupe Crossing from the Crossings collection of Cuero, Texas.

A black leather luggage tag stamped in gold with Guadalupe Crossing from the Crossings collection of Cuero, Texas.

Next, the smallest exchange in the valley. The vaquero's braided rope was la reata; the cowboy borrowed the tool and wore the word down into lariat. We coiled the rope into a ring and let it hold both names.

The black-and-white La Reata stamp plate from the Crossings leather collection of Cuero, Texas.

On chestnut it presses as a blind stamp, rope on hide. On the black fob the rope goes in gold and reads like aged brass.

A Sicilian brown leather keychain stamped with La Reata from the Crossings collection of Cuero, Texas.

A black leather keychain stamped in gold with La Reata from the Crossings collection of Cuero, Texas.

Then, the anthem of open country. We ran a single strand of barbed wire across the journal's corner and let it stop mid line, its cut end curling free under DON'T FENCE ME IN. A page is the one range nobody wires shut.

The black-and-white Don't Fence Me In stamp plate from the Crossings leather collection of Cuero, Texas.

It went onto deep green and warm tan.

A forest green leather journal stamped with Don't Fence Me In from the Crossings collection of Cuero, Texas.

A caramel leather journal stamped with Don't Fence Me In from the Crossings collection of Cuero, Texas.

Then, the two waters. On the catchall tray, Arroyo del Cuero winds in from one side and the Guadalupe from the other, each stream wearing its name, and they leave the dish as one river – the way a day's pocket carry runs downhill to the same place.

The black-and-white Two Waters stamp plate from the Crossings leather collection of Cuero, Texas.

Looks great when stamped onto the golden tan leather.

An Arizona leather catchall tray stamped with Two Waters from the Crossings collection of Cuero, Texas.

And finally, the horsemen. Two riders abreast – an open loop of la reata swinging over one, a stock whip and a trotting cattle dog beside the other – above VAQUERO Y COWBOY. In this valley the two ways of moving a herd rode together long enough to become one trade.

The black-and-white Horsemen stamp plate from the Crossings leather collection of Cuero, Texas.

We stamped them into the corner of a toiletry kit stacked in honeyed russet over deep espresso brown.

Indian Summer and dark espresso leather dopp kits stamped with Horsemen from the Crossings collection of Cuero, Texas.

We made this out of love. Leatherius Woodman is on a mission to create and share artifacts of beauty, craft and love – this collection 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 anything in this collection made real, or anything here changed – say hello through our contact page.