Some Assembly Required – a Middletown, Connecticut leather collection

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

An August study.

Middletown, Connecticut grew up around a great bend in the Connecticut River, and for three generations its Main Street has sent children home with model planes and train sets. We spent a while in that world and pressed what we found into leather – five designs, luggage tags to journals, gathered under one name: Some Assembly Required.

First, the luggage tags. We drew a balsa model plane climbing over the great bend of the river and the paired arches of the Arrigoni Bridge, and set READY FOR TAKEOFF beneath the scene – every long trip begins as a hand-launched one. The trio runs dusty lavender and warm red beside a black third. The black tag carries the design in gold.

It looks genuinely beautiful.

The READY FOR TAKEOFF airplane, river bend and bridge stamp design from the Some Assembly Required leather collection of Middletown, Connecticut.

Lavender, warm red and black leather luggage tags stamped READY FOR TAKEOFF, from the Some Assembly Required collection of Middletown, Connecticut.

Next, the toiletry bags, warm tan over chestnut like workbench wood. In the lower corner sits an instruction sheet's exploded diagram – a toy plane in numbered parts, waiting for glue – above the words SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED. The collection takes its name from this one; anyone who has met a mirror at six in the morning knows why.

The SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED exploded airplane stamp design from the Some Assembly Required leather collection of Middletown, Connecticut.

Warm tan and chestnut leather toiletry bags stamped SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED, from the Middletown, Connecticut collection.

Then the keychains, one warm red and one navy, each carrying a single solid puzzle piece over the words ONE MORE PIECE. A keychain is the piece a pocket refuses to lose.

Looks great when stamped onto the leather.

The ONE MORE PIECE jigsaw stamp design from the Some Assembly Required leather collection of Middletown, Connecticut.

Warm red and navy leather keychains stamped ONE MORE PIECE, from the Some Assembly Required collection of Middletown, Connecticut.

For the catchall tray we laid a closed loop of toy train track around the words THE LONG WAY HOME, a little locomotive rounding the bottom curve. Keys and coins end their route here every evening; the engine keeps going. Golden tan leather, stamped deep.

The THE LONG WAY HOME train-track stamp design from the Some Assembly Required leather collection of Middletown, Connecticut.

A golden tan leather catchall tray stamped THE LONG WAY HOME, from the Some Assembly Required collection of Middletown, Connecticut.

And finally, the journals, navy and pale greige – blueprint and paper. Everything that ever flew off a workbench began as a wing plan pinned flat to a board, ribs crossing a long spar, and a journal is the board. The cover corner carries that wing plan above BUILT FROM PLANS.

Looks absolutely gorgeous when stamped onto the leather.

The BUILT FROM PLANS model-wing stamp design from the Some Assembly Required leather collection of Middletown, Connecticut.

Navy and pale greige leather journals stamped BUILT FROM PLANS, from the Some Assembly Required collection of Middletown, Connecticut.

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.