The Valley Line – leather studies of Merced, California
From the Practice Log – an ongoing series of original leather stamping studies. Volume I-A.
A September study.
Merced is where the San Joaquin Valley starts leaning toward the mountains – fruit and nut country on the flat, Yosemite a morning's drive east up Highway 140. We pressed that geography into leather, a traveling kit that runs from luggage tags to passport covers. We call the collection The Valley Line.
First, we drew the drive. Orchard rows on the valley floor, the road bending east into the foothills. The sun comes up behind the far peak, and EAST ON 140 stands written across the sky. The mountains are drawn freely, our own idea of the range.
On the black tag the design goes down in gold foil; the deep green and the golden tan take a blind deboss.
Next, one peach on the branch and FIRST PICK beneath it – the orchard's oldest compliment. The one you take first is the one you wanted all along.
It looks genuinely beautiful. Black carries the gold again; the other two tags press blind.
Then the keychains. A burrowing owl from the Merced wildlife refuge stands watch at its own front door, with GROUND FLOOR set beneath the ground line – the valley's smallest landlord.
The keychains with the owl stamp look just awesome – one in chestnut, one in gray sand.
After the keychains, the cranes. Every September the lesser sandhill cranes come home to the Merced wetlands and stay for the winter, so we drew two of them coming in over the water, with BACK EVERY SEPTEMBER beneath – the valley's most loyal travelers.
We pressed it into the corner of a navy journal and a honeyed russet one, then let it land again on the golden tan catchall tray and the toiletry bag. It looks absolutely gorgeous when stamped onto the leather.
And finally, the passport covers. From 1907 the Yosemite Valley Railroad ran from Merced to El Portal, and El Portal means the gateway – which is what a passport is. We set the two station names around the track, pressed blind on black and on deep wine.
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.
