In Good Hands – a leather stamping collection on patient craft and keeping (Volume I-C)

From the Practice Log – an ongoing series of leather stamping studies. This one is Volume I-C.

A September study.

An original collection we call In Good Hands – three designs about patient handwork and the keeping of good objects, pressed across leather goods that earn their keep daily.

First, the flagship. We set a hand plane at the end of its stroke, the shaving rising off the blade in one unbroken curl – GOOD HANDS TAKE TIME, because that curl is what time in practiced hands looks like.

Black-and-white GOOD HANDS TAKE TIME stamp artwork with a hand plane and one curling shaving from the In Good Hands collection.

We ran it lengthwise along the luggage tags, in golden tan and in chestnut. The black tag carries the design in gold.

Looks absolutely gorgeous when stamped onto the leather.

An Arizona leather luggage tag stamped GOOD HANDS TAKE TIME with a hand plane and curling shaving.

A Sicilian Brown leather luggage tag stamped GOOD HANDS TAKE TIME with a hand plane and curling shaving.

A black leather luggage tag stamped in gold with GOOD HANDS TAKE TIME and a hand plane.

A shaving kit should own a shaving, so the same stroke lands as a compact press in the corner of the toiletry bags – honeyed russet over deep brown.

Indian Summer and Dark Espresso leather dopp kits blind-debossed with GOOD HANDS TAKE TIME and a hand plane.

Next, the journals. Koa begins with feathery compound leaves; as the tree matures they give way to long curved blades that do the grown tree's work. We drew both on one stem – GROW INTO THE WORK – and set it as the last mark in the lower corner, where growing into the work tends to happen anyway.

Black-and-white GROW INTO THE WORK stamp artwork showing juvenile koa leaves becoming a mature phyllode.

The journals come in deep green and in warm tan.

A Forest Green leather journal stamped GROW INTO THE WORK with transitioning koa leaves.

A Caramel leather journal stamped GROW INTO THE WORK with transitioning koa leaves.

Then, a small fitted box with its lid thrown back and one key inside – KEEP WHAT MATTERS. On the keychains, in warm tan and in deep brown, it minds the keys it hangs beside.

Black-and-white KEEP WHAT MATTERS stamp artwork with a key held in an open fitted box.

A Caramel leather keychain stamped KEEP WHAT MATTERS with a key in an open box.

A Dark Espresso leather keychain stamped KEEP WHAT MATTERS with a key in an open box.

And finally, the same box sits at the center of the golden tan catchall tray – the place where the watch and the ring spend the night. It looks genuinely beautiful.

An Arizona leather catchall tray stamped KEEP WHAT MATTERS with a key in an open box.

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 Arizona luggage-tag render from the In Good Hands study.

An alternate Sicilian Brown luggage-tag render from the In Good Hands study.

An alternate black and gold luggage-tag render from the In Good Hands study.