SLOW WATER – a leather collection from Pittsford, New York

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

A September study. Volume I-D.

SLOW WATER is a leather collection rooted in Pittsford, New York, where the Erie Canal teaches everything to move at walking pace. The luggage tags and journals in it carry that patience pressed into leather.

First, the old canal warning – low bridge, everybody down. We set the words around a low truss bridge drawn in profile, its diagonal lattice riding just above two long lines of water, and ran the whole span lengthwise along the luggage tags.

Low bridge die from the Slow Water leather collection inspired by Pittsford, New York.

The black tag carries the gold.

Low bridge luggage tags black from the Slow Water leather collection inspired by Pittsford, New York.

Low bridge luggage tags forest green from the Slow Water leather collection inspired by Pittsford, New York.

On the pale sea-blue tag the water lines turn almost literal.

Low bridge luggage tags turquoise from the Slow Water leather collection inspired by Pittsford, New York.

Next, we drew the Little House – four porch columns under the gable, the green door at the center – and set STORIES KEPT HERE beneath it. Hung on a keychain, it makes a housewarming out of a first set of keys; the forest-green fob borrows its color from the door itself.

Stories kept die from the Slow Water leather collection inspired by Pittsford, New York.

Stories kept keychains forest green from the Slow Water leather collection inspired by Pittsford, New York.

Stories kept keychains caramel from the Slow Water leather collection inspired by Pittsford, New York.

On the journals the same words speak for the pages. Pale gray sand presses like the clapboard; dark espresso keeps the evening version.

Stories kept leather journals gray sand from the Slow Water leather collection inspired by Pittsford, New York.

Stories kept leather journals dark espresso from the Slow Water leather collection inspired by Pittsford, New York.

Then, for the toiletry bags, a packet boat under tow – the line runs clean off the edge of the stamp, the mule somewhere beyond it – over the words FOUR MILES AN HOUR, which was once the canal's entire speed limit. The stamp sits small in the lower right corner, blind debossed on a navy bag and a chestnut one.

Four miles die from the Slow Water leather collection inspired by Pittsford, New York.

Four miles dopp kits blueberry from the Slow Water leather collection inspired by Pittsford, New York.

Four miles dopp kits sicilian brown from the Slow Water leather collection inspired by Pittsford, New York.

And finally, the namesake. A catchall tray is where the keys land at the end of the day, so we set SLOW WATER at the point of impact and let four rings ripple out toward the rim of the golden tan tray.

It looks genuinely beautiful.

Slow water die from the Slow Water leather collection inspired by Pittsford, New York.

Slow water catchall trays arizona from the Slow Water leather collection inspired by Pittsford, New York.

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 anything here made real, or anything changed – say hello through our contact page.

P.S.

An alternate pale turquoise luggage tag with the Low Bridge design from Slow Water, a Pittsford, New York leather collection.