For Keeps × Leatherius Woodman – a leather stamping study in five ways of keeping

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

A September study. Volume II – informed synthesis.

For Keeps is a small leather collection spent on a single word. Keep may be the most leathery verb in the language – a good hide is made to be kept – and each of the five stamps here presses a different sense of it into an everyday object.

First, the luggage tags. We gave a small envelope a pair of wings and sent it flying ahead of the words KEEP IN TOUCH – a luggage tag's whole career, since it is the one piece of luggage that carries the address where you can be found.

Black-and-white KEEP IN TOUCH flying-envelope artwork for the For Keeps leather collection.

It flies in pale sea-blue and in pale warm greige – sky and paper. Looks great when stamped onto the leather.

A pale sea-blue leather luggage tag blind-debossed with the KEEP IN TOUCH flying envelope from the For Keeps collection.

A pale warm-greige leather luggage tag blind-debossed with the KEEP IN TOUCH flying envelope from the For Keeps collection.

The black tag carries the flight in gold.

A black leather luggage tag gold-stamped with the KEEP IN TOUCH flying envelope from the For Keeps collection.

Next, the journals. We pressed a flower flat – the oldest way of keeping one – and set WORTH KEEPING beneath it. A journal performs the same service for days: whatever lands between its pages stays.

Black-and-white WORTH KEEPING pressed-flower artwork for the For Keeps leather collection.

It sits small in the corner, on deep pine green and on dusty rose – the leaf and the petal. It looks genuinely beautiful.

A forest-green leather journal blind-debossed with the WORTH KEEPING flower from the For Keeps collection.

A rose-pink leather journal blind-debossed with the WORTH KEEPING flower from the For Keeps collection.

Then the toiletry bag. We crossed a comb and a toothbrush like swords on a crest and lettered DAILY UPKEEP beneath them – honest heraldry for the bag whose whole duty is maintenance.

Black-and-white DAILY UPKEEP comb-and-toothbrush artwork for the For Keeps leather collection.

It presses into the corner of the ink-black bag, riding over its espresso partner, where the unfoiled stamp reads as a quiet shadow relief.

Black and dark espresso leather toiletry bags blind-debossed with DAILY UPKEEP from the For Keeps collection.

Then the catchall tray took SAFEKEEPING – a nest woven of a few bold strokes, with a house key resting in it the way an egg would. Every evening, the tray does exactly this.

Black-and-white SAFEKEEPING key-and-nest artwork for the For Keeps leather collection.

Looks absolutely gorgeous when stamped onto the golden tan.

A golden-tan leather catchall tray blind-debossed with the SAFEKEEPING key and nest from the For Keeps collection.

And finally, the one we liked the most. A key whose bow is a heart, and beneath it two words: A KEEPER. It hangs on the keys of whoever you mean it about, and says so daily.

Black-and-white A KEEPER heart-bow key artwork for the For Keeps leather collection.

In warm red, the heart speaks for itself.

A poppy-red leather keychain blind-debossed with the A KEEPER heart-bow key from the For Keeps collection.

The black fob carries the heart key in gold.

A black leather keychain gold-stamped with the A KEEPER heart-bow key from the For Keeps 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 any of these made real, or anything here changed – say hello through our contact page.