Out and Back – a leather stamping collection about leaving and coming home

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

A September study. Volume II.

Out and Back is a small collection about leaving and coming home. Every design in it makes the round trip – some in an afternoon, one of them a year at a time.

First, the trail the collection is named for. A single line sets out from the trailhead post and rounds the one tree worth the walk, then comes home directly beneath its own outbound stretch. It runs lengthwise on the tags, in deep green and in warm gray.

Black-and-white Out and Back trail stamp artwork with two directional paths between a trailhead and a pine.

It looks genuinely beautiful.

A forest-green leather luggage tag blind-stamped with the Out and Back trail design.

A warm gray leather luggage tag blind-stamped with the Out and Back trail design.

The black tag carries the trail in gold.

A black leather luggage tag gold-stamped with the Out and Back trail design.

Next, the keychains, and the rule everyone grew up on. We drew a house with one window lit and the first star already out, then set HOME BY DARK beneath it – the keys carry their own curfew now.

Black-and-white Home by Dark stamp artwork with a pine, a lit house and the first evening star.

On navy the fob wears its own dusk; the golden tan one keeps the porchlight on. Looks great when stamped onto the leather.

A navy leather keychain blind-stamped with the Home by Dark house and pine design.

A golden tan leather keychain blind-stamped with the Home by Dark house and pine design.

Then the toiletry bags. An old philosopher observed that nobody steps in the same river twice; the water moves on, and so does the one stepping. We pressed the river low in the corner where it reports every morning – NEVER THE SAME RIVER TWICE, on warm tan stacked over chestnut.

Black-and-white Never the Same River Twice stamp artwork with three river lines parting around a stone.

Caramel and chestnut leather toiletry bags blind-stamped Never the Same River Twice.

After that, the catchall tray. We arched PROOF OF A GOOD DAY over a little evidence board – pinecone and feather, flat stone and acorn cap, each find pinned above its own label line. At day's end the golden tan tray receives the real exhibits.

Black-and-white Proof of a Good Day evidence-board stamp artwork with six found objects.

It looks absolutely gorgeous when stamped onto the leather.

A golden tan leather catchall tray blind-stamped with the Proof of a Good Day evidence board.

And finally, the one we liked the most. A tree keeps its own journal, one ring a year, and it has never missed an entry. We pressed the cross-section into the cover's corner with WRITTEN IN RINGS beneath – good company for anyone keeping the faster kind. On deep wine and on pale greige.

Black-and-white Written in Rings stamp artwork with a tree cross-section and seven growth rings.

The rings look just awesome pressed into the deep wine.

A deep wine leather journal blind-stamped with the Written in Rings tree cross-section.

A pale greige leather journal blind-stamped with the Written in Rings tree cross-section.

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.