The Last Flat Place – a Golden, Colorado leather collection

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

A September study. Waterfall Volume I-C.

Golden, Colorado sits where Clear Creek comes out of the foothills, on the last flat ground before the Rockies. We spent September pressing that geography into leather – luggage tags, journals and the rest of a small collection we named The Last Flat Place.

First, we redrew the arch over Washington Avenue – HOWDY FOLKS carried on the span, the street running beneath it toward the foothill where it really does end.

A black-and-white HOWDY FOLKS arch stamp drawing for The Last Flat Place leather collection of Golden, Colorado.

It sits well on the caramel tag, the same warm brown as the old brick behind the real arch.

A caramel leather luggage tag blind-debossed with the HOWDY FOLKS arch design from The Last Flat Place collection of Golden, Colorado.

Next, the view that made the town: the two Table Mountains with their flat stone caps, and Clear Creek finding its way down between them.

A black-and-white Clear Creek and Table Mountains stamp drawing for The Last Flat Place leather collection of Golden, Colorado.

We stamped it onto a pale sea-blue luggage tag, close to the color of the creek in July.

A pale sea-blue leather luggage tag blind-debossed with Clear Creek for The Last Flat Place collection of Golden, Colorado.

And at a more generous size on the golden tan catchall tray, so the valley can hold keys and change.

A golden tan leather catchall tray blind-debossed with Clear Creek for The Last Flat Place collection of Golden, Colorado.

Then the boats. Every spring, engineering students race hand-built cardboard boats down the cold creek, so we drew two helmeted paddlers in a hull of folded cardboard and gave the tradition its verdict underneath – IT FLOATED.

A black-and-white IT FLOATED cardboard boat stamp drawing for The Last Flat Place leather collection of Golden, Colorado.

On keychains it earns its keep. One in warm poppy red, one in navy the color of snowmelt.

A poppy-red leather keychain blind-debossed with the IT FLOATED boat design from The Last Flat Place collection of Golden, Colorado.

A navy leather keychain blind-debossed with the IT FLOATED boat design from The Last Flat Place collection of Golden, Colorado.

And finally, the one that named the collection. To everyone headed west in 1859, Golden was the last flat place before the Rockies – so we set the words on one level line and let the line break into mountains right after the last letter.

A black-and-white namesake mountain-line stamp drawing for The Last Flat Place leather collection of Golden, Colorado.

The black tag carries the gold. It looks genuinely beautiful.

A black leather luggage tag gold-stamped with The Last Flat Place design of Golden, Colorado.

Blind-debossed across the toiletry bags, golden tan over chestnut, it reads like a brand on saddle leather.

Golden tan and chestnut leather toiletry bags blind-debossed with The Last Flat Place design of Golden, Colorado.

And on the journals – deep creek green and wine-dark burgundy – the level line waits in the corner of the cover, with the whole climb still ahead of the first page.

A forest-green leather journal blind-debossed with The Last Flat Place design of Golden, Colorado.

A burgundy leather journal blind-debossed with The Last Flat Place design of Golden, Colorado.

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 here changed – say hello through our contact page.