The Welcome, Volume II – a leather stamping study of the lines a good host says

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

A September study – Volume II.

We call this collection The Welcome. A good host says the same few lines at the door, so we pressed them into leather – one line per object, each thing on this page speaking its own part of the greeting.

First, YOU MADE IT. We gave a doormat the words it has been meaning to say and ran it lengthwise along the luggage tags – where, at the baggage carousel, the mat says it about the bag as well.

Black-and-white die artwork of a fringed doormat reading YOU MADE IT for The Welcome leather collection, Volume II.

The black tag carries the mat in gold – the late arrival, with the porch light on.

A black leather luggage tag gold-stamped with the YOU MADE IT doormat from The Welcome, Volume II.

A poppy-red leather luggage tag blind-stamped with the YOU MADE IT doormat from The Welcome, Volume II.

A gray-sand leather luggage tag blind-stamped with the YOU MADE IT doormat from The Welcome, Volume II.

Next, COME IN. We drew a door already half open, the inside light showing through the gap, and set the two words beneath – the keychain holds the one object that makes them possible.

Black-and-white die artwork of an open door above COME IN for The Welcome leather collection, Volume II.

On the black fob the open gap and the letters carry the gold – warm light in a dark doorway.

A black leather keychain gold-stamped with an open door and COME IN from The Welcome, Volume II.

A caramel leather keychain blind-stamped with an open door and COME IN from The Welcome, Volume II.

Then the toiletry bags. We lit the candle that once walked a guest down the hall to their room – a chamberstick with its little ring handle – and set STAY THE NIGHT beneath the flame. Navy over deep espresso brown: the house after lights-out.

Black-and-white die artwork of a candle in a chamberstick above STAY THE NIGHT for The Welcome, Volume II.

Blueberry and dark-espresso leather toiletry bags blind-stamped with STAY THE NIGHT from The Welcome, Volume II.

Then the catchall tray, which delivers the host's next line. We laid a pair of folded reading glasses at its center and wrote SET YOUR THINGS DOWN beneath them – the first instruction a guest is glad to obey.

Black-and-white die artwork of folded eyeglasses above SET YOUR THINGS DOWN for The Welcome, Volume II.

It looks genuinely beautiful on the golden tan leather.

An Arizona tan leather catchall tray blind-stamped with folded eyeglasses and SET YOUR THINGS DOWN from The Welcome, Volume II.

And finally, the one we liked the most. A journal kept by the door is a guest book waiting to happen – so we set a fountain pen's nib in the corner of the cover, mid-signature, above SAY YOU WERE HERE.

Black-and-white die artwork of a fountain pen nib above SAY YOU WERE HERE for The Welcome, Volume II.

Looks absolutely gorgeous when stamped onto the leather.

A forest-green leather journal blind-stamped with a fountain pen nib and SAY YOU WERE HERE from The Welcome, Volume II.

A sangria leather journal blind-stamped with a fountain pen nib and SAY YOU WERE HERE from The Welcome, Volume II.

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.