The Potting Bench – a leather collection for plant people

From the Practice Log – an ongoing series of stamping studies. Volume I-B.

A September study.

The Potting Bench is a small leather collection for plant people – the ones who root cuttings in jam jars and drive home slow with a new pot riding shotgun. We designed five stamps for them and pressed every one into leather.

First, the drive home. We buckled a seatbelt across a potted plant and set PRECIOUS CARGO underneath – anyone who has taken a corner at walking pace with one hand steadying the pot will understand.

Black-and-white PRECIOUS CARGO stamp artwork with a travel tag and small botanical leaf.

It rides upright on the luggage tags – first on deep forest green, then on a honeyed russet the color of a nursery pot. The third tag runs pale sea-blue, like a shelf of painted ceramics. Looks great when stamped onto the leather.

A Forest Green leather luggage tag blind-debossed with the PRECIOUS CARGO design.

An Indian Summer leather luggage tag blind-debossed with the PRECIOUS CARGO design.

A Turquoise leather luggage tag blind-debossed with the PRECIOUS CARGO design.

Next, the confession. A small pot stands over the words ONE MORE PLANT, and it goes on the keys – keys are what you are holding on the way in with the plant that was supposed to be the last one.

Black-and-white ONE MORE PLANT stamp artwork with a leafy plant in a handled tote.

One fob in deep forest green, one in poppy red – the red of a penstemon in full argument with the sun.

A Forest Green leather keychain blind-debossed with the ONE MORE PLANT design.

A Poppy Red leather keychain blind-debossed with the ONE MORE PLANT design.

Then, the wash-up. GOOD CLEAN DIRT with a hand trowel beneath it, stamped small in the lower corner of the toiletry bag – for scrubbing off the best kind of afternoon.

Black-and-white GOOD CLEAN DIRT stamp artwork with a small garden trowel.

The bags stack warm amber over dark espresso, dry topsoil over watered.

Indian Summer and Dark Espresso leather dopp kits blind-debossed with the GOOD CLEAN DIRT design.

After that, an agave drawn from straight above, its leaves nested in a slow spiral, ringed with the words THRIVES ON NEGLECT. A catchall tray forgives whatever gets dropped into it at the end of the day, and so does an agave.

Black-and-white circular THRIVES ON NEGLECT stamp artwork built around an agave rosette.

It sits at the center of the golden tan tray. Looks absolutely gorgeous when stamped onto the leather.

An Arizona leather catchall tray blind-debossed with the THRIVES ON NEGLECT agave design.

And finally, the one we liked the most. A single leaf whose veins run as ruled lines – a page that grew on a plant – with FIELD NOTES set beneath. It marks the corner of the journal where waterings and small victories get written down.

Black-and-white FIELD NOTES stamp artwork with a structured botanical leaf.

Bound in classic caramel and in deep forest green.

A Caramel leather journal blind-debossed with the FIELD NOTES design.

A Forest Green leather journal blind-debossed with the FIELD NOTES design.

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 these made real, or anything here changed – say hello through our contact page.