River & Tide – an Exeter, New Hampshire leather collection

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

An August study.

In Exeter, New Hampshire, the Exeter River runs fresh under String Bridge and comes out the other side tidal, renamed the Squamscott. We spent August pressing that river town into leather, from luggage tags and journals down to the catchall tray by the door – four designs, one small collection called River & Tide.

First, the threshold. Under String Bridge the water changes its name, so we drew exactly that – four ruled lines enter straight as river and come out the far side of the little bridge as waves. RIVER over one half, TIDE over the other.

The River & Tide black-and-white stamp design for the River & Tide leather collection of Exeter, New Hampshire.

We ran it lengthwise along three luggage tags, from pale sea-blue to warm greige, with a pale rose tag between them. It looks genuinely beautiful.

Three leather luggage tags carry the River & Tide bridge design from the River & Tide collection of Exeter, New Hampshire.

Next, the boats. Flat-bottomed gundalows once hauled lumber down the Squamscott, and every child since has folded a paper boat. We folded the two together: a paper boat rigged with a gundalow's lateen sail, THE LITTLE GUNDALOW.

The Little Gundalow black-and-white stamp design for the River & Tide leather collection of Exeter, New Hampshire.

On the keychains it sails in pale sea-blue and warm tan. Looks great when stamped onto the leather.

Two leather keychains carry The Little Gundalow design from the River & Tide collection of Exeter, New Hampshire.

On the toiletry bags the same boat rides the lower corner – navy over chestnut, tide water over gundalow timber.

Two leather toiletry bags carry The Little Gundalow design from the River & Tide collection of Exeter, New Hampshire.

Then, the 1916 bandstand at Water and Front streets. The town's brass band has played since 1847 and still takes the stand on Monday evenings in July, so we set the pavilion inside its own spreading sound and titled the die MONDAY NIGHT IN JULY.

The Monday Night in July bandstand stamp design for the River & Tide leather collection of Exeter, New Hampshire.

Pressed into the golden tan of the catchall tray, it lands where the day's keys and pocket change do. Brass band, brass-colored leather.

A golden leather catchall tray carries the Monday Night in July bandstand design from the River & Tide collection of Exeter, New Hampshire.

And finally, the one we liked the most. Every family home keeps a doorframe of pencil ticks, climbing until the ruler runs out of child. We cut that ruler into leather and stood a fledgling on the topmost tick, with MEASURED IN SUMMERS written beside it.

The Measured in Summers black-and-white stamp design for the River & Tide leather collection of Exeter, New Hampshire.

It sits on the corner of the journals – deep green and pale rose – where the story of each inch gets written down.

Two leather journals carry the Measured in Summers design from the River & Tide collection of Exeter, New Hampshire.

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 these belong in your corner of Exeter, or you'd like anything here changed – say hello through our contact page.