The Second Reader – an original leather collection for the books we give and read aloud

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

A September study – Volume II.

The Second Reader is a small leather collection about the second person in every good book – the child it is read aloud to, or the name inked inside the cover. Five original stamps about books as things that pass between hands.

First, we drew a book in mid-handover – one hand still giving, the other already open beneath it – and set PASS IT ON below. A finished book's best verdict is its next reader. The design runs lengthwise along the tag.

The PASS IT ON book-handover design for leather stamping, shown as black die art on white.

The black tag carries the design in gold.

A black leather luggage tag gold-stamped with two hands passing a book and PASS IT ON.

It presses blind into a deep wine and a pale warm greige close to the color of paper.

A wine-red leather luggage tag blind-stamped with two hands passing a book and PASS IT ON.

A pale warm greige leather luggage tag blind-stamped with two hands passing a book and PASS IT ON.

Next, the keychains – story hour seen from across the room. One big open book hides the couch completely, and beneath it the only evidence of who is reading: four socked feet, two big and two small. READ TO ME runs underneath.

The READ TO ME open-book and two-pairs-of-feet design for leather stamping, shown as black die art on white.

Looks great when stamped onto the leather, in warm red and in navy.

A warm red leather keychain blind-stamped with an open book, two pairs of feet and READ TO ME.

A navy leather keychain blind-stamped with an open book, two pairs of feet and READ TO ME.

Then the toiletry bag, stamped small in the corner – a lent book tied with a ribbon, the bow still on. BRING IT BACK READ is the entire loan agreement between friends. Pressed blind into a caramel kit over deep espresso brown.

The BRING IT BACK READ ribbon-tied book design for leather stamping, shown as black die art on white.

Caramel and dark espresso leather toiletry bags blind-stamped with a ribbon-tied book and BRING IT BACK READ.

Then the catchall tray – a book club seen straight from above, eight chairs turned toward the one open book at the center, SAME PAGE beneath.

The SAME PAGE book-club circle design for leather stamping, shown as black die art on white.

Looks absolutely gorgeous when stamped generously onto the golden tan.

A golden tan leather catchall tray blind-stamped with eight chairs around an open book and SAME PAGE.

And finally, the one we liked the most. Every given book begins on the same page, so we put that page on the cover – TO and FROM over their empty rules, a short date line waiting below. Two names and a year, and a blank journal starts becoming a keepsake.

The FLYLEAF gift-inscription page design for leather stamping, shown as black die art on white.

It looks genuinely beautiful – in midnight navy and in honeyed russet.

A navy leather journal blind-stamped with the FLYLEAF gift-inscription page design.

A honeyed russet leather journal blind-stamped with the FLYLEAF gift-inscription page 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.

P.S.

An alternate black leather luggage tag gold-stamped with the PASS IT ON book handover.

An alternate wine-red leather luggage tag blind-stamped with the PASS IT ON book handover.

An alternate pale warm greige leather luggage tag blind-stamped with the PASS IT ON book handover.