The Township 45 Collection – a Ladue, Missouri leather stamping study

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

An August study.

Five original stamps for Ladue, Missouri, pressed into leather – luggage tags, a toiletry kit, keychains, a catchall tray and a pair of journals. Together they make the Township 45 Collection, named for what this place was called before it was Ladue.

First, the history lesson. In 1936 three villages – Ladue, Deer Creek and McKnight – agreed to become one town, so we drew it the way it happened: three winding roads braiding into a single one, with LADUE waiting at the end. The trio wears one leather per village – deep forest green, warm caramel and true black. The black tag carries the roads in gold.

Three roads merge into one in the Three Villages die art from The Township 45 Collection of Ladue, Missouri.

Three leather luggage tags carry the Three Villages design from The Township 45 Collection of Ladue, Missouri.

Next, the toiletry kits. Before it had a name at all, this land was Township 45 on a surveyor's map – a neat grid of farm lines – so we pressed the grid into the corner of each bag and let an oak branch grow across it, which is roughly what the last ninety years have done. The stack is dark espresso over sicilian brown.

An oak branch crosses a survey grid in the Township 45 die art from The Township 45 Collection of Ladue, Missouri.

Two leather toiletry bags carry the Township 45 design from The Township 45 Collection of Ladue, Missouri.

Then the keychains, which is where house keys live anyway. We put an old door key between two plain words – COME OVER – the neighborhood's standing invitation, small enough to hand to a friend. One fob comes in deep forest green. The black fob carries the key in gold.

Looks great when stamped onto the leather.

An old key rests between COME and OVER in die art from The Township 45 Collection of Ladue, Missouri.

Two leather keychains carry the Come Over design from The Township 45 Collection of Ladue, Missouri.

After that, the catchall tray in golden tan – the dish by the door where pockets get emptied at the end of the day. Around the base runs a garland of winter lights, the kind Ladue drives out to see every December, circling three words: HOME BY DARK.

It looks genuinely beautiful.

A ring of winter lights surrounds HOME BY DARK in die art from The Township 45 Collection of Ladue, Missouri.

An Arizona leather catchall tray carries the Winter Lights design from The Township 45 Collection of Ladue, Missouri.

And finally, the journals. The oldest store in town has been wrapping parcels in paper and string since 1928, so the cover corner carries a little string-tied parcel, its tag reading LADUE, above the promise every good parcel makes: SOMETHING GOOD INSIDE. On a journal, keeping that promise falls to whoever holds the pen. The duo comes in pale greige and warm caramel – the two shades of market paper.

A string-tied parcel promises SOMETHING GOOD INSIDE in die art from The Township 45 Collection of Ladue, Missouri.

Two leather journals carry the Something Good design from The Township 45 Collection of Ladue, Missouri.

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.