The Confluence Collection – a Sacramento leather study, Volume I-D

From the Practice Log – an ongoing series of stamping studies on real-world logos.

An August study.

Volume I-D.

The Confluence Collection – original stamps rooted in the old heart of Sacramento, where the American River joins the Sacramento and the streets run shaded under elms. We pressed them into small leather goods, luggage tags and journals among them, made to be handed on.

First, the mark the collection takes its name from. We drew the two rivers wandering in from the west, set a single dot where they meet – the dot is the city – and let the joined water carry SACRAMENTO out with it.

Black-and-white Confluence stamp artwork for The Confluence Collection of Sacramento.

Looks great when stamped onto the leather – a navy luggage tag, and the golden tan catchall tray.

A navy leather luggage tag stamped with the Confluence design from The Confluence Collection of Sacramento.

A golden tan leather catchall tray stamped with the Confluence design from The Confluence Collection of Sacramento.

Next, the nickname locals never surrendered. We ran a street straight into the distance and let the elms close over it into one dark vault, with CITY OF TREES beneath.

Black-and-white City of Trees stamp artwork for The Confluence Collection of Sacramento.

Forest green was the only color that could hold it, so it got both a luggage tag and a journal.

A forest-green leather luggage tag stamped with the City of Trees design from The Confluence Collection of Sacramento.

A forest-green leather journal stamped with the City of Trees design from The Confluence Collection of Sacramento.

Then we drew a long skeleton key, ornate bow and all, above the words STILL OPENS – the quiet boast of every old thing that outlived its door.

Black-and-white Still Opens skeleton-key stamp artwork for The Confluence Collection of Sacramento.

The black tag and the black fob carry the key in gold. The caramel fob takes it blind, pressed plainly into the warm tan.

A black leather luggage tag gold-stamped with the Still Opens design from The Confluence Collection of Sacramento.

A black leather keychain gold-stamped with the Still Opens design from The Confluence Collection of Sacramento.

A caramel leather keychain blind-stamped with the Still Opens design from The Confluence Collection of Sacramento.

We cut a dovetail next – two boards meshed along one seam, MADE TO HOLD beneath. It is the joint every honest drawer swears by, and a fair promise for a bag that travels.

Black-and-white Made to Hold dovetail stamp artwork for The Confluence Collection of Sacramento.

It sits in the corner of a toiletry bag stack, honeyed russet over dark espresso – old varnish colors.

Honeyed russet and dark espresso leather toiletry bags stamped with the Made to Hold design from The Confluence Collection of Sacramento.

And finally, the one we liked the most. An old stock tag on its string, FROM and TO left blank – a good object is always mid-journey between hands, and a journal is where the journey gets written down.

Black-and-white Provenance stock-tag stamp artwork for The Confluence Collection of Sacramento.

It looks absolutely gorgeous when stamped onto the leather.

A dark espresso leather journal stamped with the Provenance design from The Confluence Collection of Sacramento.

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.