The Drift Collection – a leather stamping study for Lead, South Dakota

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

A September study. Volume I-D.

Lead, South Dakota grew up around the people who worked underneath it. We drew a small collection for that town – the Drift Collection, five designs deep – and pressed every one into leather.

First, the ore car. We drew the little riveted workhorse heaped past its rim and rolling on narrow rails, with LEAD, SOUTH DAKOTA set beneath – the plainest way to say where a bag has been.

The ore car design on black-and-white artwork for leather stamping from The Drift Collection of Lead, South Dakota.

The black tag carries the car in gold. The other two are pressed blind, one into golden tan and one into deep green.

The ore car design on luggage tags from The Drift Collection of Lead, South Dakota leather goods.

The ore car design on luggage tags from The Drift Collection of Lead, South Dakota leather goods.

The ore car design on luggage tags from The Drift Collection of Lead, South Dakota leather goods.

Next, a miner's cap lamp with the beam thrown wide, and CARRY YOUR OWN LIGHT arched over it – a good thing to hold while feeling for a keyhole in the dark. On the black fob the lamp goes down in gold; the chestnut one is pressed blind.

The cap lamp design on black-and-white artwork for leather stamping from The Drift Collection of Lead, South Dakota.

The cap lamp design on keychains from The Drift Collection of Lead, South Dakota leather goods.

The cap lamp design on keychains from The Drift Collection of Lead, South Dakota leather goods.

Then the toiletry kit. We crossed a broad D-grip shovel with a long drift hammer and set AFTER THE SHIFT over the crossing, because that is exactly when a washup kit earns its keep. We pressed it small into the corner of a honeyed russet kit stacked over deep espresso.

The after the shift design on black-and-white artwork for leather stamping from The Drift Collection of Lead, South Dakota.

The after the shift design on dopp kits from The Drift Collection of Lead, South Dakota leather goods.

For the catchall tray, a gold pan mid-swirl – gravel riding the rim, a few heavy flecks settled at the center – ringed with WHAT REMAINS IS GOLD. A catchall works on the same principle: everything lands in it, and the good stuff stays.

It looks genuinely beautiful stamped into the golden tan.

The gold pan design on black-and-white artwork for leather stamping from The Drift Collection of Lead, South Dakota.

The gold pan design on catchall tray from The Drift Collection of Lead, South Dakota leather goods.

And finally, the journals. The ruled lines of a page double as the levels of a mine; down the right edge a small cage descends its shaft, and DEEPER EVERY DAY holds the bottom line. A daily page works its claim the same way, one level at a time. One journal is navy, like the workwear underground; the other deep espresso.

The deeper every day design on black-and-white artwork for leather stamping from The Drift Collection of Lead, South Dakota.

The deeper every day design on leather journals from The Drift Collection of Lead, South Dakota leather goods.

The deeper every day design on leather journals from The Drift Collection of Lead, South Dakota leather goods.

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