Precious Cargo – leather studies of Old Town Alexandria, Virginia
From the Practice Log – an ongoing series of stamping studies on real-world logos.
A September study – Volume I-D.
Old Town Alexandria, Virginia stands on made land – when the port wanted more waterfront, it buried old merchant ships and built streets over their hulls. We spent September pressing that town into leather, a collection we call Precious Cargo, across luggage tags and journals, keychains and a catchall tray.
First, the namesake. We cut a gemstone in profile and hung it in a knotted rope sling gathered to a single hoisting hook, the way dockhands once swung cargo ashore here, with PRECIOUS CARGO arched around it. The phrase fits a shipment exactly as well as it fits a person.
The black luggage tag and the black keychain carry it in gold.
On the golden tan catchall tray the same die becomes the place where rings spend the night, and on the navy toiletry bag it sits quietly in the corner. It looks genuinely beautiful.
Next, the blue house on Queen Street that measures seven feet across – built, the story goes, out of spite, to close an alley. We drew its skinny facade true to the photograph, shuttered window over shuttered window, and stacked SEVEN FEET WIDE beneath it. The narrowest house in town, pressed on the narrowest leather we make: a navy tag the color of the house, and a pale greige keychain the color of its trim.
Then, the fact under everyone's feet. Beneath a row of rooflines we drew the street as a single rule, and beneath the street, the ribbed hull of a sleeping merchant ship – BUILT ON SHIPS. We pressed it on a warm tan journal, since a journal works the same way: the good part is under the surface.
And finally, evening on Captains Row, the cobbled block of Prince Street. We drew one of its wrought-iron gas lanterns on its scrolled bracket, flame cut solid, floating over a fan of cobblestones, with CAPTAINS ROW beneath. A deep green tag for the tree canopy, a deep brown journal for the lamp iron.
Looks absolutely gorgeous when stamped onto the leather.
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 any of these made real, or anything here changed – say hello through our contact page.
P.S.
