Heart of the Commonwealth – a Worcester, Massachusetts leather stamping study

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

An August study.

Heart of the Commonwealth is a small leather collection drawn entirely from Worcester, Massachusetts – five original stamps, pressed onto everything from luggage tags to journals.

First, the namesake. We cut Massachusetts as one solid shape and knocked a heart out of its center, right where Worcester sits, with THE HEART OF THE COMMONWEALTH running beneath. The tags come in warm red and golden tan; the black tag carries the heart in gold.

It looks genuinely beautiful.

Three leather luggage tags carry the namesake heart design from the Heart of the Commonwealth collection of Worcester, Massachusetts.

Next, Kelley Square, on the thing you hold while you drive it. Eight arrows arrive from eight improvised angles and agree, barely, on a center – beneath them the fob says SURVIVOR, because everyone who crosses it has earned the word.

Two leather keychains carry the Kelley Square survivor stamp from the Heart of the Commonwealth collection of Worcester, Massachusetts.

Then Turtle Boy for the toiletry bags. The fountain on the Common was built in 1905 to water anyone who stopped, four legs or two, which makes him the right patron for a bag that travels to the sink. He sits small in the corner, under two arcs of water.

Two leather toiletry bags carry the Turtle Boy fountain stamp from the Heart of the Commonwealth collection of Worcester, Massachusetts.

The golden tan tray takes SEVEN HILLS – seven of them shoulder to shoulder, holding the city the way the tray holds keys and pocket change. Looks great when stamped onto the leather.

A golden tan leather catchall tray carries the Seven Hills stamp from the Heart of the Commonwealth collection of Worcester, Massachusetts.

And finally, the journals. In 1964 a Worcester artist drew the most famous smile in the world, so we pressed a pen nib mid-stroke, the curve still rising, with SMILE CITY beneath – a journal is where the next one gets drawn.

Two leather journals carry the Smile City pen-nib stamp from the Heart of the Commonwealth collection of Worcester, Massachusetts.

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.