The ARTnews Recommends Editors × Leatherius Woodman – a leather stamping study

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

An August study.

For The ARTnews Recommends Editors.

First, the vocabulary their guide teaches – halve an A4 sheet and A5 appears, halve again and the family keeps going. We drew the whole series into one small sheet and pressed it into the corner of the journals, one in ink black and one in pale gray sand. On the black cover the press reads as pure shadow – quietly excellent.

The A-series paper diagram designed as black-and-white leather stamp artwork for The ARTnews Recommends Editors.

Black and pale gray-sand leather journals blind stamped with the A-series paper diagram for The ARTnews Recommends Editors.

Next, “the cherry on top” – their words for a binding that lies flat. A catchall tray does nothing else all day, so we gave it an open book in profile, pressed dead flat into the golden tan tray.

An open book above the words LIES FLAT, designed as black-and-white leather stamp artwork for The ARTnews Recommends Editors.

A golden tan leather catchall tray blind stamped with an open book and the words LIES FLAT for The ARTnews Recommends Editors.

Then, a verdict handed back across the desk: ARTISTS CHOICE, arched around a nib one drop away from the page. Keychains in fountain-pen navy and mottled chestnut. Looks great when stamped onto the leather.

A fountain pen nib badge reading ARTISTS CHOICE, designed as black-and-white leather stamp artwork for The ARTnews Recommends Editors.

Blueberry and brown leather keychains blind stamped with ARTISTS CHOICE fountain pen badges for The ARTnews Recommends Editors.

After that, their own standard. Good leather, the guide says, “will weather over time to show off just how much you’ve loved it.” So the dopp kits carry PROOF OF LOVE, a heart hatched stroke by stroke like an etching, on a honeyed russet pull-up hide over dark espresso – leather that records every handling.

A hatched heart above the words PROOF OF LOVE, designed as black-and-white leather stamp artwork for The ARTnews Recommends Editors.

Honeyed russet and dark espresso leather toiletry bags blind stamped with PROOF OF LOVE for The ARTnews Recommends Editors.

And finally, the one we liked the most: a ruled page, empty, with four words standing exactly where they belong. Caramel and pale gray sand take a blind press. The black tag carries the gold. It turned out genuinely beautiful.

The words TOP OF THE LINE standing on notebook rules, designed as black-and-white leather stamp artwork for The ARTnews Recommends Editors.

Black, caramel and pale gray-sand leather luggage tags stamped with TOP OF THE LINE for The ARTnews Recommends Editors.

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 The ARTnews Recommends Editors and you'd like these made real, or anything here changed – say hello through our contact page.