Postmark West Newton – a leather study in four stamps

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

A August study.

West Newton is one of the thirteen villages of Newton, Massachusetts, and it has long been a village of paper – letters posted, journals kept. This month we cut four stamps for it and pressed them into leather: journals for the desk, luggage tags for the leaving. We call the set Postmark West Newton.

First, the send-off. We drew a swallow leaving with a sealed letter, and set beneath it the two words every goodbye at the door has ever meant – WRITE SOON.

The Write Soon swallow and letter stamp from the Postmark West Newton leather collection in West Newton, Massachusetts.

We pressed it upright on a trio of luggage tags. Two wear ink navy and kraft tan; the third is a pale paper greige. Looks great when stamped onto the leather.

Three leather luggage tags stamped with the Write Soon swallow, from the Postmark West Newton collection in West Newton, Massachusetts.

The swallow travels too – into the lower corner of the toiletry bags, warm tan over deep espresso.

Caramel and espresso leather toiletry bags stamped with the Write Soon swallow, from the Postmark West Newton collection in West Newton, Massachusetts.

Next, the journals. We ruled five lines and let the middle one wander off its rule, the way the Charles wanders through the villages, before it comes back to finish the sentence. THE CHARLES, in small capitals, signs the page.

The Charles ruled-line stamp from the Postmark West Newton leather collection in West Newton, Massachusetts.

One journal in ink navy, one in pale greige – ink and paper. Looks absolutely gorgeous when stamped onto the leather.

Blueberry and pale leather journals stamped with The Charles, from the Postmark West Newton collection in West Newton, Massachusetts.

Then, the keychains. Newton counts thirteen villages, so we set thirteen circles in a ring around the words ONE OF THIRTEEN, and pressed exactly one circle solid. Anyone from here knows which one is theirs.

The One of Thirteen village-circle stamp from the Postmark West Newton leather collection in West Newton, Massachusetts.

A duo – village green and brick red.

Green and red leather keychains stamped One of Thirteen, from the Postmark West Newton collection in West Newton, Massachusetts.

And finally, the one we liked the most. The village grew up along the Boston and Worcester rails, so on the golden tan catchall tray a fountain pen's slit becomes the track – crossties and all – climbing from a little station clock to the tip of the nib, under WEST NEWTON arched like a station sign. It looks genuinely beautiful.

The West Newton Line fountain-pen railway stamp from the Postmark West Newton leather collection in West Newton, Massachusetts.

An Arizona leather catchall tray stamped with the West Newton Line, from the Postmark West Newton collection in West Newton, Massachusetts.

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.