Easternmost – a Lubec, Maine leather collection

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

A September study – Volume I-B.

Easternmost is a small leather collection rooted in Lubec, Maine – the town where the country meets the morning. Its designs are pressed into small leather goods made to travel, luggage tags and journals among them.

First, the compass. Lubec sits farther east than any other town in the contiguous United States, so we drew a rose that admits it – the east ray stretched long past its siblings, EASTERNMOST arced over the crown, LUBEC MAINE beneath. The black tag carries the compass in gold; navy and pale sea-blue take the blind press.

The Easternmost collection of Lubec, Maine shows an east-pointing compass rose with EASTERNMOST and LUBEC MAINE lettering on black-and-white artwork for leather accessories.

It looks genuinely beautiful.

The Easternmost collection of Lubec, Maine shows an east-pointing compass rose with EASTERNMOST and LUBEC MAINE lettering on black leather luggage tags.

The Easternmost collection of Lubec, Maine shows an east-pointing compass rose with EASTERNMOST and LUBEC MAINE lettering on blueberry leather luggage tags.

The Easternmost collection of Lubec, Maine shows an east-pointing compass rose with EASTERNMOST and LUBEC MAINE lettering on pale sea blue leather luggage tags.

Next, the journals. Lubec looks east across the water, so the cover carries half a risen sun on a flat sea horizon, rays fanned wide, FIRST TO SEE THE SUN arced above – the day's first light for the day's first page. One journal is black, where the press reads as a shadow just before dawn; the other is a warm honeyed amber, the color the light arrives in.

The Easternmost collection of Lubec, Maine shows a rising sun with FIRST TO SEE THE SUN lettering on black-and-white artwork for leather accessories.

The Easternmost collection of Lubec, Maine shows a rising sun with FIRST TO SEE THE SUN lettering on black leather leather journals.

The Easternmost collection of Lubec, Maine shows a rising sun with FIRST TO SEE THE SUN lettering on honeyed russet leather leather journals.

Then the keychains. We drew a sprig from the barrens – wild blueberries wearing the little five-pointed star each berry carries at its crown, DOWN EAST set beneath. One fob is blueberry leather, which felt only fair; the other is deep green, for the leaves.

The Easternmost collection of Lubec, Maine shows a blueberry sprig with DOWN EAST lettering on black-and-white artwork for leather accessories.

The Easternmost collection of Lubec, Maine shows a blueberry sprig with DOWN EAST lettering on blueberry leather keychains.

The Easternmost collection of Lubec, Maine shows a blueberry sprig with DOWN EAST lettering on forest green leather keychains.

Then the tide. We stood the old smokehouse on its timber legs and marked the water twice: a solid line where the sea is, a dashed line where it will be by supper. Over the roof run the words TWICE A DAY THE SEA CHANGES ITS MIND. The catchall tray takes it at generous size – everything in your pockets washes up there every evening. The toiletry bag wears the same stamp small in the corner, weathered gray over dark espresso, the colors of wet shingle and old timber.

The Easternmost collection of Lubec, Maine shows a smokehouse on timber pilings and two tide lines with TWICE A DAY THE SEA CHANGES ITS MIND lettering on black-and-white artwork for leather accessories.

Looks great when stamped onto the leather.

The Easternmost collection of Lubec, Maine shows a smokehouse on timber pilings and two tide lines with TWICE A DAY THE SEA CHANGES ITS MIND lettering on arizona leather catchall trays.

The Easternmost collection of Lubec, Maine shows a smokehouse on timber pilings and two tide lines with TWICE A DAY THE SEA CHANGES ITS MIND lettering on country gray dark espresso leather dopp kits.

And finally, the passport covers. From this waterfront the next country sits in plain view, one short span across the Narrows – so the cover says TWO COUNTRIES ONE BRIDGE over a single drawn span. Navy for the channel, warm red for the shutters and roofs the town keeps by the water.

The Easternmost collection of Lubec, Maine shows an interpretive bridge with TWO COUNTRIES ONE BRIDGE lettering on black-and-white artwork for leather accessories.

The Easternmost collection of Lubec, Maine shows an interpretive bridge with TWO COUNTRIES ONE BRIDGE lettering on blueberry leather passport covers.

The Easternmost collection of Lubec, Maine shows an interpretive bridge with TWO COUNTRIES ONE BRIDGE lettering on poppy red leather passport covers.

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.