The Garden City Collection – a leather study from Highland Square, Denver

From the Practice Log – an ongoing series of stamping studies on real-world logos.

An August study.

Highland Square runs along West 32nd Avenue in Denver's old Northside, once a town of its own whose boosters called it the Garden City of the Plains. We spent August pressing that world into leather – the Garden City Collection.

First, the namesake. Highland incorporated in 1875 and advertised itself as the Garden City of the Plains; the perennial gardens are still there. We wound a wreath of columbine and coneflower around the old boast, with the year at its base.

The floral Garden City of the Plains stamp design for the Garden City Collection, a leather study of Highland Square in Denver.

Centered on the catchall tray in golden tan, it reads like the seal of a small proud town.

A golden tan leather catchall tray stamped with the Garden City wreath from the Garden City Collection of Highland Square, Denver.

On the journals the wreath sits in the lower corner – one cover in dusty rose, one in deep pine green. Looks genuinely beautiful when stamped onto the leather.

Dusty rose and forest green leather journals stamped with the Garden City wreath from Highland Square in Denver.

Next, the avenue itself. A row of storefronts under the street trees, WEST 32ND AVENUE running above the rooflines. The design lies lengthwise along the luggage tag the way the street lies along the neighborhood, and the trio runs from pale rose through deep pine to pale warm greige.

The West 32nd Avenue storefront stamp design for the Garden City Collection, a leather portrait of Highland Square in Denver.

Three leather luggage tags stamped with West 32nd Avenue storefronts from the Garden City Collection of Highland Square, Denver.

Then, for the kit bags, the word longtime locals still say with pride. NORTHSIDE stands under an arch of drawn brick, 1875 cut into the keystone – the year Highland became a town.

The Northside brick arch and 1875 stamp design from the Garden City Collection of Highland Square in Denver.

The bags stack in honeyed russet over dark espresso, brick on brick.

Honeyed russet and dark espresso leather toiletry bags stamped with the Northside arch from Highland Square in Denver.

And finally, the fact every local orients by: from 32nd Avenue, the mountains are west. A range on the horizon, an arrow pointing the way, THE MOUNTAINS ARE WEST beneath – a small compass for the pocket.

The Mountains Are West stamp design for the Garden City Collection, a leather study of Denver's Highland Square.

The keychains come in pale sea-blue and warm tan – high-country sky and sandstone. They look just awesome.

Pale sea-blue and warm tan leather keychains stamped with The Mountains Are West from Highland Square in Denver.

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 the collection made real, or anything here changed – say hello through our contact page.