Finders, Keepers – a leather collection about found and kept objects

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

A September study – Volume I-B.

Finders, Keepers is a small leather collection about particular objects – the ones that get picked up, turned over, and somehow go home with their story attached. Four original stamps, each about how a good object gets found and why it gets kept.

First, we set ASK ME WHERE I GOT THIS behind a printer's pointing hand, ruled top and bottom like an old shop ticket. A luggage tag makes the invitation literal – the object opens the conversation and its owner gets to finish it. It runs lengthwise across three tags, the quietest of them a pale sea-blue.

It looks genuinely beautiful.

Black-and-white die artwork of a pointing hand and ASK ME WHERE I GOT THIS between double rules for the Finders, Keepers leather collection.

A caramel leather luggage tag blind-debossed with a pointing hand and ASK ME WHERE I GOT THIS from the Finders, Keepers collection.

A dark-espresso leather luggage tag blind-debossed with a pointing hand and ASK ME WHERE I GOT THIS from the Finders, Keepers collection.

A pale sea-blue leather luggage tag blind-debossed with a pointing hand and ASK ME WHERE I GOT THIS from the Finders, Keepers collection.

Next, IT FOLLOWED ME HOME – a small string-tied parcel being led along on its own loose end, the way certain objects leave a shop with people who had no plan to buy anything. Anyone who collects will recognize the walk.

Black-and-white die artwork of a string-tied parcel beneath IT FOLLOWED and above ME HOME for the Finders, Keepers leather collection.

Looks great when stamped onto the leather.

An Arizona russet leather keychain blind-debossed with the IT FOLLOWED ME HOME parcel design from the Finders, Keepers collection.

A Sicilian-brown leather keychain blind-debossed with the IT FOLLOWED ME HOME parcel design from the Finders, Keepers collection.

On the toiletry bags the parcel sits low in the corner, honeyed russet over deep espresso.

Indian Summer and dark-espresso leather toiletry bags blind-debossed with the IT FOLLOWED ME HOME parcel design from the Finders, Keepers collection.

Then the catchall tray, where this ritual happens every evening. EMPTY YOUR POCKETS curves over a scatter of the day's cargo – the key, the lucky pebble and so on – pressed into golden tan.

Black-and-white circular die artwork of seven pocket objects beneath EMPTY YOUR POCKETS for the Finders, Keepers leather collection.

An Arizona golden-tan leather catchall tray blind-debossed with seven pocket objects and EMPTY YOUR POCKETS from the Finders, Keepers collection.

And finally, the one we liked the most. A collector's label for the journal's corner – ITEM and FOUND get their short ruled entries, and after KEPT BECAUSE the line simply waits. The best objects arrive with that sentence half-written; the owner supplies the ending. We pressed it once in deep wine and once in pale greige.

Looks absolutely gorgeous when stamped onto the leather.

Black-and-white inventory-label die artwork with blank ITEM, FOUND, and KEPT BECAUSE fields for the Finders, Keepers leather collection.

A sangria leather wrap journal blind-debossed with a blank ITEM, FOUND, and KEPT BECAUSE inventory label from the Finders, Keepers collection.

A gray-sand leather wrap journal blind-debossed with a blank ITEM, FOUND, and KEPT BECAUSE inventory label from the Finders, Keepers collection.

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.