The Long Steep – leather studies of Commercial Street, Springfield, Missouri

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

A September study. Volume I-C.

Commercial Street in Springfield, Missouri has been at it since 1870 – six brick blocks the railroad raised, and that the neighborhood keeps raising, lately a penny at a time. This is The Long Steep, a leather collection cut from that street: luggage tags and journals, with keychains and a tray alongside.

First, the street itself. We drew five brick storefronts shoulder to shoulder, tall arched windows under stepped cornices, and set COMMERCIAL STREET above the roofline with 1870 below. The row runs lengthwise along the luggage tags.

A black and white die plate of five Commercial Street storefronts with the year 1870, for The Long Steep leather collection of Commercial Street in Springfield, Missouri.

We pressed it in deep forest green and dusty lavender, and in a honeyed russet the shade of the street's own brick. Looks great when stamped onto the leather.

A deep green leather luggage tag stamped with five Commercial Street storefronts with the year 1870, from The Long Steep collection of Commercial Street in Springfield, Missouri.

A dusty lavender leather luggage tag stamped with five Commercial Street storefronts with the year 1870, from The Long Steep collection of Commercial Street in Springfield, Missouri.

A honeyed russet leather luggage tag stamped with five Commercial Street storefronts with the year 1870, from The Long Steep collection of Commercial Street in Springfield, Missouri.

Next, the Jefferson Avenue Footbridge, back in service this spring after schoolchildren spent years saving for it, a penny at a time. So we struck the bridge as a penny – the walkway and its stair towers clearing all thirteen tracks, A PENNY A DAY around the rim, 1902 at the base.

A black and white die plate of the Jefferson Avenue Footbridge penny design reading A PENNY A DAY, for The Long Steep leather collection of Commercial Street in Springfield, Missouri.

It looks genuinely beautiful on the keychains – one in a honeyed russet close to the coin itself, one in deep forest green.

A honeyed russet leather keychain stamped with the Jefferson Avenue Footbridge penny design reading A PENNY A DAY, from The Long Steep collection of Commercial Street in Springfield, Missouri.

A deep green leather keychain stamped with the Jefferson Avenue Footbridge penny design reading A PENNY A DAY, from The Long Steep collection of Commercial Street in Springfield, Missouri.

The same coin sits small in the corner of a dopp kit, honeyed russet over dark espresso.

A honeyed russet and dark espresso leather toiletry bag stack stamped with the Jefferson Avenue Footbridge penny design reading A PENNY A DAY, from The Long Steep collection of Commercial Street in Springfield, Missouri.

And finally, the design that named the collection. A cup, and one steam line with nowhere better to be – it loops and wanders on its way up, because LET IT STEEP is advice about more than tea.

A black and white die plate of a teacup and looping steam above LET IT STEEP, for The Long Steep leather collection of Commercial Street in Springfield, Missouri.

We put it on journals in pale greige and in dark espresso, the color a cup reaches when you actually wait. A journal is where a thought sits until it is ready.

A pale greige leather journal stamped with a teacup and looping steam above LET IT STEEP, from The Long Steep collection of Commercial Street in Springfield, Missouri.

A dark espresso leather journal stamped with a teacup and looping steam above LET IT STEEP, from The Long Steep collection of Commercial Street in Springfield, Missouri.

And we centered it on a golden tan catchall tray, for the counter where the kettle lives.

A golden tan leather catchall tray stamped with a teacup and looping steam above LET IT STEEP, from The Long Steep collection of Commercial Street in 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 you'd like any of these made real, or anything here changed – say hello through our contact page.

P.S.

A deep green leather luggage tag stamped with five Commercial Street storefronts with the year 1870, from The Long Steep collection of Commercial Street in Springfield, Missouri.

A dusty lavender leather luggage tag stamped with five Commercial Street storefronts with the year 1870, from The Long Steep collection of Commercial Street in Springfield, Missouri.

A honeyed russet leather luggage tag stamped with five Commercial Street storefronts with the year 1870, from The Long Steep collection of Commercial Street in Springfield, Missouri.