The Way Back × Stowe – a leather stamping study

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

An August study.

Waterfall Volume I-C.

The Way Back is a leather collection we designed for Stowe – five original stamps, one for each piece on the shelf, from the luggage tags down to the catchall tray. Every design is about leaving and coming home, which in this town has always been the same trip.

First, we counted bridges. The Recreation Path crosses the West Branch eleven times on little arched footbridges, so we drew all eleven over one running river and wrote ELEVEN BRIDGES HOME – a luggage tag ought to know where the bag ends up.

The black-and-white Eleven Bridges Home stamp artwork from The Way Back leather collection of Stowe, Vermont.

The black tag carries the gold; the deep green and the warm red press blind.

A black leather luggage tag stamped in gold with eleven bridges from The Way Back collection of Stowe, Vermont.

A forest-green leather luggage tag stamped with eleven bridges from The Way Back collection of Stowe, Vermont.

A warm-red leather luggage tag stamped with eleven bridges from The Way Back collection of Stowe, Vermont.

Next, the keychains. We laid a small fire inside a ring of hearthstones and arced KEEP THE FIRE over the flames – a keychain leaves the house every morning, and this one says what it expects to find on return.

The black-and-white Keep the Fire stamp artwork from The Way Back leather collection of Stowe, Vermont.

On the black fob the fire is pressed in gold.

A black leather keychain stamped in gold with Keep the Fire from The Way Back collection of Stowe, Vermont.

Looks great when stamped onto the golden tan as well.

A golden-tan leather keychain stamped with Keep the Fire from The Way Back collection of Stowe, Vermont.

Then, the toiletry bags. In 1964 the town strung banners across Main Street to welcome its Olympic medalist home, so we hung a small WELCOME HOME over a pair of crossed skis and pressed it into the lower corner. The stack is honeyed russet over dark espresso, the colors of an old lodge.

The black-and-white Welcome Home ski stamp artwork from The Way Back leather collection of Stowe, Vermont.

Honeyed-russet and dark-espresso leather toiletry bags stamped Welcome Home from The Way Back collection of Stowe, Vermont.

After that, the journals. A dashed trail climbs from a cabin to a lone pine and comes home down the same slope, with KNOW THE WAY BACK beneath – it is what the rescue crews on the mountain keep telling people, and it is also what a journal is for.

The black-and-white Know the Way Back trail stamp artwork from The Way Back leather collection of Stowe, Vermont.

A forest-green leather journal stamped Know the Way Back from The Way Back collection of Stowe, Vermont.

A warm-gray leather journal stamped Know the Way Back from The Way Back collection of Stowe, Vermont.

And finally, the one we liked the most. Seen from the valley floor, Mount Mansfield lies on its back, and the ridge draws a face with every feature named on the maps, from the Forehead to the Chin. We pressed the whole profile into the catchall tray, labels and all, so the dish that gathers your keys at night holds the mountain that watched you home.

It looks genuinely beautiful.

The black-and-white Mount Mansfield profile stamp artwork from The Way Back leather collection of Stowe, Vermont.

A golden-tan leather catchall tray stamped with Mount Mansfield from The Way Back collection of Stowe, Vermont.

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 this Stowe collection made real, or anything here changed – say hello through our contact page.

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