Good Company – a desert wildlife leather stamping study

From the Practice Log – Volume I-D of an ongoing series of leather stamping studies.

A September study.

GOOD COMPANY is a small leather collection drawn from the desert animals that keep one another. Four of them live in this study – each carries one true habit of companionship, and every object here is meant to be handed to the person it names.

First, the roadrunners. Pairs bond for life and renew the bond each spring with courtship steps, so we drew two at full stride – one half a step ahead – over STILL RUNNING TOGETHER. A luggage tag for the person you travel through everything with.

Black-and-white paired roadrunners stamp artwork with the words Still Running Together for the Good Company leather collection.

The black tag carries the pair in gold foil; the deep wine and warm tan tags carry it blind.

Gold on black looks genuinely beautiful.

A black leather luggage tag stamped in gold with paired roadrunners and Still Running Together from the Good Company collection.

A deep-wine leather luggage tag blind-stamped with paired roadrunners and Still Running Together from the Good Company collection.

A warm-tan leather luggage tag blind-stamped with paired roadrunners and Still Running Together from the Good Company collection.

Next, the quail. A covey crosses open ground in single file, chicks strung between the adults, and settles together at dusk. We drew the crossing with EVERYBODY HOME beneath it – for the golden tan tray by the door where the keys land, and for the toiletry bag stack in warm gray over chestnut, the quail's own plumage.

Black-and-white Gambel quail family stamp artwork with the words Everybody Home for the Good Company leather collection.

Looks great when stamped onto the leather.

A golden-tan leather catchall tray stamped with a Gambel quail family and Everybody Home from the Good Company collection.

Warm-gray and chestnut leather toiletry bags stamped with a Gambel quail family and Everybody Home from the Good Company collection.

Then, the javelina. A herd knows its own by a shared scent – whoever carries it belongs. We set one mid-walk, bristles up, under ONE OF OURS: a keychain that repeats the promise every time the keys are picked up. One fob in chestnut, one in warm gray.

Black-and-white walking javelina stamp artwork with the words One of Ours for the Good Company leather collection.

A chestnut leather keychain stamped with a walking javelina and One of Ours from the Good Company collection.

A warm-gray leather keychain stamped with a walking javelina and One of Ours from the Good Company collection.

And finally, the one we liked the most. A broad-billed hummingbird holds still only for the patient, so the journal's corner carries one perched above THE CLOSER YOU LOOK – for the friend who notices everything first. One journal in deep green, one in pale sea-blue, the bird's own two colors.

Black-and-white perched broad-billed hummingbird stamp artwork with The Closer You Look for the Good Company leather collection.

Looks absolutely gorgeous when stamped onto the leather.

A deep-green leather journal stamped with a perched hummingbird and The Closer You Look from the Good Company collection.

A pale sea-blue leather journal stamped with a perched hummingbird and The Closer You Look from the Good Company collection.

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.

P.S.

An alternate black leather luggage tag stamped in gold with paired roadrunners for the Good Company collection.

An alternate deep-wine leather luggage tag blind-stamped with paired roadrunners for the Good Company collection.

An alternate warm-tan leather luggage tag blind-stamped with paired roadrunners for the Good Company collection.