Given Time – a leather stamping study in the slow crafts

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

Given Time – a September study in the slow crafts. Volume II.

Some things refuse to be rushed. A cup of tea steeps at its own pace, and a crystal spends an age on every facet. Given Time is a small collection for people who let time do part of the work – a stamp presses into leather in a second, and the mark stays for good.

First, the emblem the collection presses under. Inside an hourglass, the sand that has already fallen has started to grow – a seedling standing in the lower bulb, with GIVEN TIME beneath the frame.

The GIVEN TIME hourglass and seedling design for leather stamping, rendered as black die art on white.

On the toiletry bags it sits small in the corner, warm tan over deep espresso, blind debossed.

Caramel and dark espresso leather toiletry bags blind-stamped with the GIVEN TIME hourglass.

Next, the luggage tags. A cloth-topped jar tied with cord sits quietly working, bubbles on their way up, and BREWING SOMETHING runs alongside – true of the jar, and just as true of whoever carries the bag.

The BREWING SOMETHING jar design for leather stamping, rendered as black die art on white.

It runs lengthwise along three tags – golden tan for the finished brew and deep green for the leaf it began as. The deep wine tag we poured last. Looks great when stamped onto the leather.

A golden tan leather luggage tag blind-stamped with the BREWING SOMETHING jar.

A forest-green leather luggage tag blind-stamped with the BREWING SOMETHING jar.

A wine-red leather luggage tag blind-stamped with the BREWING SOMETHING jar.

Then a keychain-sized lesson in patience. A quartz point spends an age on every facet and has never once been late, so we stood one upright and wrote IN NO HURRY beneath it.

The IN NO HURRY quartz-point design for leather stamping, rendered as black die art on white.

We pressed it into warm gray leather, stone on stone, and into dusty lavender for the amethyst-minded.

A country-gray leather keychain blind-stamped with an upright quartz point and IN NO HURRY.

A lilac leather keychain blind-stamped with an upright quartz point and IN NO HURRY.

Then the journal design. An idea steeps the way tea does – left alone for a while, it comes back stronger. We drew a cup seen from above, two leaves adrift in it, and set LET IT STEEP beneath the rim.

The LET IT STEEP cup-and-leaves design for leather stamping, rendered as black die art on white.

It looks genuinely beautiful – in warm tan for the brew and deep green for the leaf.

A caramel leather journal blind-stamped with the LET IT STEEP cup and two leaves.

A forest-green leather journal blind-stamped with the LET IT STEEP cup and two leaves.

And finally, the catchall tray, where every day agrees to end. Along a single shelf line we laid what a pocket surrenders at night – an old key, a palm stone and so on – under a young moon, with UNTIL TOMORROW written below the shelf.

The UNTIL TOMORROW pocket-objects design for leather stamping, rendered as black die art on white.

Looks absolutely gorgeous when stamped onto the leather.

A golden tan leather catchall tray blind-stamped with pocket objects and UNTIL TOMORROW.

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.