Kept & Sent – a leather stamping study of things that go out and things that stay close

From the Practice Log – an ongoing series of stamping studies on real-world logos.

A September study – Volume I-C.

Kept & Sent is a small leather collection about the two directions a well-made object can take – out into the world, or close at hand. Five original stamps across luggage tags, keychains and the rest of the line, each built on a plain phrase doing honest work.

First, GOOD THINGS TRAVEL. We tied a small parcel with string and let one loose end run the whole length of the tag, rising and dipping like a route, out to a little arrow. The tags run lengthwise in warm red and pale sea-blue. The black tag carries the words in gold.

Black-and-white GOOD THINGS TRAVEL parcel-and-route die artwork for the Kept & Sent leather collection.

A black leather luggage tag stamped in gold with GOOD THINGS TRAVEL from the Kept & Sent collection.

A turquoise leather luggage tag blind-stamped with GOOD THINGS TRAVEL from the Kept & Sent collection.

A poppy-red leather luggage tag blind-stamped with GOOD THINGS TRAVEL from the Kept & Sent collection.

Next, the reminder knot. We tied a bow the way you would tie string around a finger, and ringed it with the words KEEP THIS CLOSE. It looks genuinely beautiful on the deep green fob, and again on the golden tan.

Black-and-white KEEP THIS CLOSE reminder-bow die artwork for the Kept & Sent leather collection.

A forest-green leather keychain blind-stamped with KEEP THIS CLOSE from the Kept & Sent collection.

An Arizona leather keychain blind-stamped with KEEP THIS CLOSE from the Kept & Sent collection.

Then READY TO GO. We ran a zipper across the top with the slider pulled almost home and set the words underneath, so the bag gets to say it about itself. Pressed small in the corner of a honeyed russet kit over dark espresso.

Black-and-white READY TO GO zipper die artwork for the Kept & Sent leather collection.

Indian Summer and Dark Espresso leather toiletry bags blind-stamped with READY TO GO from the Kept & Sent collection.

After that, one for the tray that catches the day's pockets. We set a crescent moon over IT CAN WAIT UNTIL MORNING inside a rim of two thin rings – whatever lands there is safe until breakfast.

Black-and-white IT CAN WAIT UNTIL MORNING crescent-moon die artwork for the Kept & Sent leather collection.

An Arizona leather catchall tray blind-stamped with IT CAN WAIT UNTIL MORNING from the Kept & Sent collection.

And finally, MAKE IT REAL. We drew MAKE IT in open outline letters and REAL beneath in solid black, so the phrase performs its own instruction. On the pale greige and dusty lavender journals it waits in the lower corner for whatever gets written inside to do the same.

Black-and-white MAKE IT REAL typographic die artwork for the Kept & Sent leather collection.

A Gray Sand leather journal blind-stamped with MAKE IT REAL from the Kept & Sent collection.

A Lilac leather journal blind-stamped with MAKE IT REAL from the Kept & Sent 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.