Victor Peoro × Leatherius Woodman – a leather stamping study

From the Practice Log – an ongoing series of stamping studies on real-world logos.

An August study.

For Victor Peoro of Best Leather.

First, the site's oldest habit – spotting a fine old briefcase out in the world, the way a birder spots a rarity. We drew the briefcase standing in tall grass, field-guide style, set IN THE WILD beneath it, and ran the design lengthwise along the tags. Two wear the luggage browns he has photographed for years, warm tan and deep espresso.

The third is black, and the black tag carries the gold.

Black and white IN THE WILD leather stamp design created for Victor Peoro of Best Leather

Caramel, dark espresso and black leather luggage tags stamped IN THE WILD for Victor Peoro

Next, the author bio that has opened his pages for years: "your average guy with an appreciation for above average goods." So we drew the average. A bell curve, with one small star far out on the right tail, where the above average goods live.

Keychains with the little star – one chestnut, one warm gray – look just awesome.

Black and white ABOVE AVERAGE leather stamp design created for Victor Peoro

Sicilian brown and country gray leather keychains stamped ABOVE AVERAGE for Victor Peoro

Then, the thumb test. Before believing a product page, Victor presses a thumb into the leather and watches what comes back. We pressed one in for good, low in the corner of the kits, black stacked over deep brown. On the black kit the print sits as a quiet shadow relief – found the way patina is found, by looking closely.

Black and white THE THUMB TEST leather stamp design inspired by Victor Peoro's hands-on reviews

Black and dark espresso leather Dopp kits stamped THE THUMB TEST for Victor Peoro

For the tray, the promise Best Leather has kept since 2012 – goods that see you "through thick and thin, and then some" – set in a ring around a strap tied in a plain overhand knot. Honest leather takes the bend without cracking; the knot is the proof.

It looks genuinely beautiful pressed at full size into the golden tan.

Black and white THROUGH THICK AND THIN AND THEN SOME leather stamp design

Arizona leather catchall tray stamped THROUGH THICK AND THIN AND THEN SOME for Victor Peoro

And finally, the one we liked the most. Four stars filled and the fifth left open, because the fifth star takes ten years and only the leather can earn it. A journal is where a long verdict gets kept, so the row sits in its lower corner. One journal in deep wine, one in pale greige.

Black and white THE FIFTH STAR TAKES TEN YEARS leather stamp design about patina

Sangria and gray-sand leather journals stamped THE FIFTH STAR TAKES TEN YEARS for Victor Peoro

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're Victor Peoro and you'd like these made real, or anything here changed – say hello through our contact page.