Finders Keepers – a leather collection of the sea's own collectors

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

A September study. Volume II.

Finders Keepers is a small leather collection about the sea's own collectors – the creatures that find things worth keeping and keep them. One wears its finds; another moves straight into them.

First, the decorator crab, which picks sponges and anemones off the seafloor and fastens them to the hooked hairs of its shell – camouflage that works exactly like collecting. Ours parades the whole haul along the luggage tag beneath the words NEVER TRAVELS PLAIN.

Black-and-white die artwork of a decorator crab wearing gathered sea finds above NEVER TRAVELS PLAIN for the Finders Keepers leather collection, Volume II.

It looks genuinely beautiful – once on pale sea-blue, once on warm red.

A pale sea-blue leather luggage tag blind-stamped with a decorator crab and NEVER TRAVELS PLAIN, Finders Keepers, Volume II.

A warm red leather luggage tag blind-stamped with a decorator crab and NEVER TRAVELS PLAIN, Finders Keepers, Volume II.

The black tag carries the crab in gold.

A black leather luggage tag gold-stamped with a decorator crab and NEVER TRAVELS PLAIN, Finders Keepers, Volume II.

Next, the sea star, which runs on water pressure – hundreds of small sticky feet holding the rock while the surf argues. We draped one over its stone above the words STICKS AROUND – the whole job of a keychain, and a fine thing to promise a person.

Black-and-white die artwork of a sea star gripping a stone above STICKS AROUND for the Finders Keepers leather collection, Volume II.

Looks great when stamped onto the leather – one in golden tan, one in navy.

An Arizona tan leather keychain blind-stamped with a sea star and STICKS AROUND, Finders Keepers, Volume II.

A Blueberry navy leather keychain blind-stamped with a sea star and STICKS AROUND, Finders Keepers, Volume II.

Then the hermit crab, born without a shell of its own – it finds an empty one and moves in. We set it in the corner of the toiletry bags over the words MAKES ITSELF AT HOME, which is what a good travel kit does to any hotel sink.

Black-and-white die artwork of a hermit crab above MAKES ITSELF AT HOME for the Finders Keepers leather collection, Volume II.

The stack rides warm tan over chestnut – found-shell colors both.

Caramel and Sicilian-brown leather toiletry bags blind-stamped with a hermit crab and MAKES ITSELF AT HOME, Volume II.

After that, the sand dollar. Alive, it wears a coat of short moving spines, and when the water turns rough a young one swallows heavy grains of sand to keep its footing. We made it the medallion of the golden tan tray and ringed it with STEADY IN ROUGH WATER – the dish that takes on your pockets' ballast every evening.

Black-and-white sand-dollar medallion die artwork ringed by STEADY IN ROUGH WATER for the Finders Keepers leather collection, Volume II.

An Arizona tan leather catchall tray blind-stamped with a sand-dollar medallion and STEADY IN ROUGH WATER, Volume II.

And finally, the one we liked the most. A collector's shelf for the journal cover – a row of beach finds with one place left open for the next, above the words STILL COLLECTING. A journal keeps the same open slot.

Black-and-white die artwork of four beach finds and an open fifth place above STILL COLLECTING, Finders Keepers, Volume II.

Looks absolutely gorgeous when stamped onto the leather – one journal in pale warm greige, one in deep wine.

A Gray Sand leather journal blind-stamped with a collector's shelf and STILL COLLECTING, Finders Keepers, Volume II.

A Sangria leather journal blind-stamped with a collector's shelf and STILL COLLECTING, Finders Keepers, Volume II.

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.

P.S.

An alternate pale sea-blue leather luggage tag blind-stamped with the decorator crab, Finders Keepers, Volume II.

An alternate warm red leather luggage tag blind-stamped with the decorator crab, Finders Keepers, Volume II.

An alternate black leather luggage tag gold-stamped with the decorator crab, Finders Keepers, Volume II.