In the Making – a leather stamping collection of patient handwork – Waterfall Volume II

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

A September study – Waterfall Volume II.

In the Making is a small leather collection about handwork caught mid-gesture – the needle still in the cloth, the last piece just finding its place. Five designs, each a thing being made, stamped on the object that finishes the thought.

First, the luggage tags. We stood a spool at one end and a needle at the other, then let a single thread wander the whole length between them – FOLLOW THE THREAD, the oldest travel advice there is. The design runs lengthwise, so the thread travels as far as the tag does.

Black-and-white die artwork of a spool, wandering thread and needle above FOLLOW THE THREAD for the In the Making leather collection, Volume II.

We pressed it into deep wine and deep green; on the third tag, a pale warm greige, the thread reads like stitching on linen.

A sangria leather luggage tag blind-stamped lengthwise with a spool, thread, needle and FOLLOW THE THREAD, from In the Making, Volume II.

A forest-green leather luggage tag blind-stamped lengthwise with a spool, thread, needle and FOLLOW THE THREAD, from In the Making, Volume II.

A gray-sand leather luggage tag blind-stamped lengthwise with a spool, thread, needle and FOLLOW THE THREAD, from In the Making, Volume II.

Next, the toiletry bags. A needle climbs out of a short run of stitches with the thread still on it, A STITCH IN TIME beneath – the proverb every morning kit quietly keeps. Warm gray over deep espresso brown.

Black-and-white die artwork of a threaded needle rising from stitches above A STITCH IN TIME for the In the Making leather collection, Volume II.

Country-gray and dark-espresso leather toiletry bags blind-stamped with a threaded needle, stitches and A STITCH IN TIME, from In the Making, Volume II.

Then the keychains. A dovetail joint half slid home above MADE TO FIT – the promise a key makes to its door. One fob in warm caramel tan and one in deep espresso brown, the light and the dark timber of the same joint.

Black-and-white die artwork of a half-seated dovetail joint above MADE TO FIT for the In the Making leather collection, Volume II.

Looks great when stamped onto the leather.

A caramel leather keychain blind-stamped with a half-seated dovetail joint and MADE TO FIT, from In the Making, Volume II.

A dark-espresso leather keychain blind-stamped with a half-seated dovetail joint and MADE TO FIT, from In the Making, Volume II.

Then the catchall tray in golden tan. A puzzle paused mid-solve – the corner assembled, one piece waiting beside its gap – with TO BE CONTINUED underneath. The tray is where the day's loose pieces spend the night.

Black-and-white die artwork of a paused puzzle with one waiting piece above TO BE CONTINUED for the In the Making leather collection, Volume II.

It looks genuinely beautiful.

An Arizona golden-tan leather catchall tray blind-stamped with a paused puzzle and TO BE CONTINUED, from In the Making, Volume II.

And finally, the journals. A nine-patch quilt block with its last square just being set in place, PIECE BY PIECE beneath – how quilts get made, and how journals get filled. Once in warm red and once in navy, the two classic quilt cottons.

Black-and-white die artwork of an unfinished nine-patch quilt block above PIECE BY PIECE for the In the Making leather collection, Volume II.

Looks absolutely gorgeous when stamped onto the leather.

A poppy-red leather journal blind-stamped with an unfinished nine-patch quilt block and PIECE BY PIECE, from In the Making, Volume II.

A blueberry leather journal blind-stamped with an unfinished nine-patch quilt block and PIECE BY PIECE, from In the Making, Volume II.

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.