Salt Water – a Hyannis leather collection

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

An August study.

Salt Water is a small collection for Hyannis, pressed into leather. On Cape Cod the phrase cuts both ways – it is the sea off Lewis Bay, and it is the taffy.

First, the design that named the collection. We set SALT WATER in heavy capitals and ran one continuous ribbon of pulled taffy beneath the words, rising at mid-line into a breaking wave – here the candy and the ocean have always shared a name. The trio of tags runs from taffy pink through pale sea-blue to candy-shop red.

It looks genuinely beautiful.

The Salt Water taffy-wave artwork for the Salt Water leather collection of Hyannis, Massachusetts.

Three leather luggage tags stamped with the Salt Water taffy-wave design from the Salt Water collection of Hyannis, Massachusetts.

Next, directions the way locals give them. The Cape's bent arm in solid black, one small dot on the south shore where Hyannis sits, and DOWN CAPE beneath – on Cape, that is the whole address. One fob in navy, one in a deep cranberry wine.

The Down Cape map artwork for the Salt Water leather collection of Hyannis, Massachusetts.

Two leather keychains stamped with the Down Cape map design from the Salt Water collection of Hyannis, Massachusetts.

Then we wrapped the town. One piece of taffy drawn side-on, twist ends and ruffles intact, with HYANNIS across the wrapper – freshly wrapped, still warm. It sits in the corner of toiletry bags stacked caramel over deep espresso brown, the candy counter's own colors.

The wrapped Hyannis taffy artwork for the Salt Water leather collection of Hyannis, Massachusetts.

Two leather toiletry bags stamped with wrapped Hyannis taffy from the Salt Water collection of Hyannis, Massachusetts.

Oysters worked the harbor end of Pleasant Street long before the ferries did, and an open shell was the first catchall anyone kept by the door. So the golden-tan tray carries one, pearl included, with HYANNIS HARBOR beneath.

Looks great when stamped onto the leather.

The Hyannis Harbor oyster artwork for the Salt Water leather collection of Hyannis, Massachusetts.

A golden tan leather catchall tray stamped with a Hyannis Harbor oyster from the Salt Water collection of Hyannis, Massachusetts.

And finally, the one we liked the most. The Walkway to the Sea leads from Main Street down to the water, so we drew the walk into the journal's corner – gable roofs first, then the paving, then open water and one small sail. A journal moves the same way, one page at a time. One cover in gray sand, one in pale sea-blue.

The Walkway to the Sea artwork for the Salt Water leather collection of Hyannis, Massachusetts.

Two leather journals stamped with the Walkway to the Sea design from the Salt Water collection of Hyannis, Massachusetts.

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.