What the River Carried – a Bryan, Texas leather collection

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

A September study – Volume I-A.

Bryan, Texas grew up east of the Brazos, the river that named the whole valley. What the River Carried is our September collection of leather goods from that world – luggage tags and journals, keychains and a catchall tray, each pressed with a design the river handed us.

First, the river itself, run lengthwise along the luggage tags – broad water over a low rippling ledge and bare winter trees on the far bank, with BRAZOS letterspaced across the sky. The old Spanish name reads Los Brazos de Dios, the arms of God; a river like that can carry a big word. The tags travel in deep navy and golden tan, with a third in deep pine green.

Black-and-white stamp artwork of the Brazos river and BRAZOS lettering for the What the River Carried leather collection of Bryan, Texas.

Navy leather luggage tags stamped with the Brazos river and BRAZOS lettering, from the What the River Carried collection of Bryan, Texas.

Golden tan leather luggage tags stamped with the Brazos river and BRAZOS lettering, from the What the River Carried collection of Bryan, Texas.

Deep green leather luggage tags stamped with the Brazos river and BRAZOS lettering, from the What the River Carried collection of Bryan, Texas.

Next, the Columbian mammoth – whole skulls of them have come out of this very ground – walking over the words LOCAL SINCE THE ICE AGE. We pressed it on keychains in bone-pale greige and mottled chestnut.

Keychains with the mammoth stamp look just awesome.

Black-and-white stamp artwork of a mammoth above LOCAL SINCE THE ICE AGE for the What the River Carried leather collection of Bryan, Texas.

Pale greige leather keychains stamped with a mammoth above LOCAL SINCE THE ICE AGE, from the What the River Carried collection of Bryan, Texas.

Chestnut leather keychains stamped with a mammoth above LOCAL SINCE THE ICE AGE, from the What the River Carried collection of Bryan, Texas.

The same mammoth stands at generous size in the golden tan catchall tray, where the day's keys land.

Golden tan leather catchall trays stamped with a mammoth above LOCAL SINCE THE ICE AGE, from the What the River Carried collection of Bryan, Texas.

Then Mary. After the December 1913 flood, a 22-foot cypress skiff was built for the rescues to come, and she is still here to prove it. We drew her long open hull with her name at the bow, over the line BUILT FOR THE NEXT FLOOD, and pressed it low in the corner of a deep navy toiletry bag. A bag packed in a hurry felt like the right home for a boat built ahead of trouble.

Black-and-white stamp artwork of the skiff Mary above BUILT FOR THE NEXT FLOOD for the What the River Carried leather collection of Bryan, Texas.

Navy leather dopp kits stamped with the skiff Mary above BUILT FOR THE NEXT FLOOD, from the What the River Carried collection of Bryan, Texas.

And finally, the journals. A river writes in cursive – meanders that loop like a signature and trail off mid-thought – so the cover carries that line above WHAT THE RIVER WROTE. One journal in pale sea-blue, the other in dark espresso.

Looks absolutely gorgeous when stamped onto the leather.

Black-and-white stamp artwork of a meandering line above WHAT THE RIVER WROTE for the What the River Carried leather collection of Bryan, Texas.

Pale sea-blue leather leather journals stamped with a meandering line above WHAT THE RIVER WROTE, from the What the River Carried collection of Bryan, Texas.

Dark brown leather leather journals stamped with a meandering line above WHAT THE RIVER WROTE, from the What the River Carried collection of Bryan, Texas.

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.

Deep green leather luggage tags stamped with the Brazos river and BRAZOS lettering, from the What the River Carried collection of Bryan, Texas.