Three leather luggage-tag studies for Riis Settlement
From the Practice Log – an ongoing series of stamping studies on real-world organizations.
An August study.
A community mark becomes a welcome
Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement has served communities in western Queens for more than a century through youth, older-adult, immigrant, and family programs. Its work is built around places where people can meet, learn, and find practical support.
The current mark gathers four rounded forms around a small center. Its wordmark adds another quiet device: the two upright i forms and their floating dots. These studies translate those structures into scenes of hospitality without reproducing the logo or relying on charity symbolism.
As leather luggage tags, they could thank staff, volunteers, program partners, event supporters, or visiting collaborators with an object that feels useful and warmly specific.
Leather and treatment
Navy, caramel, and honey-toned leather carry the same motif within each family. The simple open forms are designed for crisp blind or restrained metallic impressions.
The three concepts
1. Table for Four
A round table with four chairs is viewed directly from above. The seats lean inward along the same diagonal rhythm as the four-part Riis symbol, converting a branded gathering shape into actual furniture and a place for conversation.
2. The Open Door
A door stands wide over a small mat. Its white, rounded opening is drawn from the negative space at the heart of the Riis mark—the center is no longer an abstract counter but a threshold left open.
3. Two Cups Warm
Two identical mugs stand side by side, each with one round puff of steam. Their stem-and-dot cadence quietly echoes the double i in the Riis name, while the ordinary scene recalls a community café and time shared face to face.
These are independent design studies for appropriate team, partner, collaborator, member, or client occasions. No affiliation or endorsement is implied. Every image is a render used to test the object before cutting a physical die.
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.
If you're Riis Settlement and you'd like these made real, or anything here changed – say hello through our contact page.