Steep & Whistle × Leatherius Woodman – a leather stamping study for Historic C-Street, Springfield

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

Volume I-A. A September study.

Six brick blocks in Springfield, Missouri, where the shops still share the street with the rails. We made a small leather collection for Historic C-Street and named it Steep & Whistle.

First, we set a locomotive and a kettle on one ruled line, one at each end, and braided their steam together overhead – on C-Street the rails run close enough that the kettle can answer the train. We ran it lengthwise along the luggage tags, in deep forest green and in honeyed russet.

The black tag carries it in gold.

It looks genuinely beautiful.

Black-and-white die artwork of a locomotive and tea kettle sharing braided steam for the Steep and Whistle leather collection of Historic C-Street, Springfield, Missouri.

A leather luggage tag stamped with a locomotive and tea kettle sharing braided steam from the Steep and Whistle collection of Historic C-Street, Springfield, Missouri.

A leather luggage tag stamped with a locomotive and tea kettle sharing braided steam from the Steep and Whistle collection of Historic C-Street, Springfield, Missouri.

A leather luggage tag stamped with a locomotive and tea kettle sharing braided steam from the Steep and Whistle collection of Historic C-Street, Springfield, Missouri.

Next, we drew an hourglass that keeps time in tea leaves – three minutes, measured properly. It went onto the keychains in golden tan and in deep forest green, and onto the catchall tray, because the tray is where the keys wait while it steeps.

Black-and-white die artwork of a tea-leaf hourglass with While It Steeps lettering for the Steep and Whistle leather collection of Historic C-Street, Springfield, Missouri.

A leather keychain stamped with a tea-leaf hourglass with While It Steeps lettering from the Steep and Whistle collection of Historic C-Street, Springfield, Missouri.

A leather keychain stamped with a tea-leaf hourglass with While It Steeps lettering from the Steep and Whistle collection of Historic C-Street, Springfield, Missouri.

A leather catchall tray stamped with a tea-leaf hourglass with While It Steeps lettering from the Steep and Whistle collection of Historic C-Street, Springfield, Missouri.

Then, the bottom of the cup seen from straight above, the leaves settled where they chose. A journal is where what the leaves said gets written down – the stamp sits small in the lower right corner, in deep forest green and in pale warm greige.

Looks great when stamped onto the leather.

Black-and-white die artwork of a top-view tea cup with What the Leaves Said lettering for the Steep and Whistle leather collection of Historic C-Street, Springfield, Missouri.

A leather journal stamped with a top-view tea cup with What the Leaves Said lettering from the Steep and Whistle collection of Historic C-Street, Springfield, Missouri.

A leather journal stamped with a top-view tea cup with What the Leaves Said lettering from the Steep and Whistle collection of Historic C-Street, Springfield, Missouri.

And finally, the footbridge that has stepped over the tracks since 1902 – all thirteen of them, and we drew every one. It went into the corner of the toiletry bags, honeyed russet over dark espresso, brick over rail tie.

Black-and-white die artwork of a footbridge above thirteen rail profiles for the Steep and Whistle leather collection of Historic C-Street, Springfield, Missouri.

A leather toiletry bag stack stamped with a footbridge with Thirteen Tracks lettering from the Steep and Whistle collection of Historic C-Street, Springfield, Missouri.

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 anything here catches your eye and you would like it made real, or changed – say hello through our contact page.

P.S.

A leather luggage tag stamped with a locomotive and tea kettle sharing braided steam from the Steep and Whistle collection of Historic C-Street, Springfield, Missouri.

A leather luggage tag stamped with a locomotive and tea kettle sharing braided steam from the Steep and Whistle collection of Historic C-Street, Springfield, Missouri.

A leather luggage tag stamped with a locomotive and tea kettle sharing braided steam from the Steep and Whistle collection of Historic C-Street, Springfield, Missouri.