Rounded Corners – an Art Moderne leather collection

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

A September study.

Volume I-A.

Rounded Corners is a small collection after Art Moderne – the streamlined architecture of the late thirties that smoothed its buildings at the corners and hung curved canopies over its doors. Good leather gets rounded at the corners too, which is how the collection found its name. We drew four designs in that spirit and pressed each one deep into the hide.

First, the emblem for the luggage tags. Art Moderne borrowed openly from the ocean liners of its day, so we let a building admit it – a rounded prow up front, a flagpole for a mast – above the words DEPARTURES DAILY.

The Departures Daily Art Moderne stamp plate for the Rounded Corners leather collection.

It looks genuinely beautiful. The black tag carries the design in gold; the navy and the pale greige tags carry it as a deep blind stamp.

A black leather luggage tag stamped in gold with the Departures Daily Art Moderne design.

A blueberry leather luggage tag blind-stamped with the Departures Daily Art Moderne design.

A gray-sand leather luggage tag blind-stamped with the Departures Daily Art Moderne design.

Next, for the keychains – the oldest appointment in retail, meeting under the clock. Ours hangs from its bracket with the hands at five to twelve: you are early, and they are on their way.

The Meet Me Under the Clock stamp plate for the Rounded Corners leather collection.

On the black fob the clock is struck in gold, the brass it always was. The warm red fob is the one your hand finds first at the bottom of a bag.

A black leather keychain stamped in gold with the Meet Me Under the Clock design.

A poppy-red leather keychain blind-stamped with the Meet Me Under the Clock design.

Then, a facade in elevation – slender window bands above a dark ground floor, a curved canopy over the door. Beneath it stands the promise architecture shares with good leather: BUILT TO LAST. We stamp it low in the right corner, the way a maker signs a piece.

The Built to Last architectural stamp plate for the Rounded Corners leather collection.

The toiletry bags repeat the facade's own logic – a warm gray body over a deep espresso base.

A country-gray leather toiletry bag blind-stamped with the Built to Last design.

A dark-espresso leather toiletry bag blind-stamped with the Built to Last design.

On the journals the same signature waits in navy and in pale greige for whatever gets built inside. Looks great when stamped onto the leather.

A blueberry leather journal blind-stamped with the Built to Last design.

A gray-sand leather journal blind-stamped with the Built to Last design.

And finally, the catchall tray in golden tan. We built an arcade of arched display niches, the kind vintage shopfronts kept for their finest things, and stocked it with the evening's cargo – a key in one, a pocket watch in another – under the words A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING.

The A Place for Everything arcade stamp plate for the Rounded Corners leather collection.

Looks absolutely gorgeous when stamped onto the leather.

An Arizona tan leather catchall tray blind-stamped with the A Place for Everything design.

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.