Tied by Hand – a fly-tying leather collection – Waterfall Volume II

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

A September study.

Every fly is fished in an afternoon and built the winter before. Tied by Hand follows one dry fly from the vise to the water – five original designs pressed into leather.

First, the luggage tags. We built the fly in five stages along the tag's long axis, from bare hook to finished wing, with TIED BY HAND running beneath – the whole making, read left to right.

The black tag carries the words in gold.

Black-and-white die artwork showing five stages of tying one dry fly above TIED BY HAND for a Waterfall Volume II leather collection.

Looks absolutely gorgeous when stamped onto the leather.

A black leather luggage tag gold-stamped with five dry-fly tying stages and TIED BY HAND for Waterfall Volume II.

A forest-green leather luggage tag blind-stamped with five dry-fly tying stages and TIED BY HAND for Waterfall Volume II.

A caramel leather luggage tag blind-stamped with five dry-fly tying stages and TIED BY HAND for Waterfall Volume II.

Next, the keychains, one in navy and one in warm tan. We drew a tying vise mid-job, the bobbin hanging on its thread, and set WINTER WORK beneath – tying season is the season the fish are safe.

Black-and-white die artwork of a fly-tying vise, half-tied fly, thread, and bobbin above WINTER WORK for Waterfall Volume II.

A blueberry navy leather keychain blind-stamped with a tying vise and WINTER WORK for Waterfall Volume II.

A caramel leather keychain blind-stamped with a tying vise and WINTER WORK for Waterfall Volume II.

Then the toiletry bags, warm tan over chestnut, for the trip the winter was about. The finished fly hangs a breath above the water it was built for, and BENCH TO RIVER says the distance it has come. Pressed into the corner of both bags.

Black-and-white die artwork of a dry fly meeting the water above BENCH TO RIVER for Waterfall Volume II.

Caramel and Sicilian-brown leather toiletry bags blind-stamped with a dry fly and BENCH TO RIVER for Waterfall Volume II.

For the catchall tray, we drew the fly the way the bench sees it – an exploded diagram, every part floating above the bare hook it will join – under the words SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED. The golden tan tray is where the small parts land anyway.

It looks genuinely beautiful.

Black-and-white exploded dry-fly assembly diagram above SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED for Waterfall Volume II.

An Arizona golden-tan leather catchall tray blind-stamped with an exploded dry-fly diagram and SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED for Waterfall Volume II.

And finally, the journals, one in deep espresso and one in dusty rose. A finished fly stands above the words PATTERN BOOK – every fly worth repeating was written down first, and the recipe outlives the fly.

Black-and-white finished dry-fly die artwork above PATTERN BOOK for Waterfall Volume II.

A dark-espresso leather journal blind-stamped with a finished dry fly and PATTERN BOOK for Waterfall Volume II.

A Parisian-blossom leather journal blind-stamped with a finished dry fly and PATTERN BOOK for Waterfall 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.