Worn In – Volume II, a leather stamping study of well-handled objects

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

A September study – Volume II.

Worn In is a small collection about what handling does to a good object. Leather keeps a record of its owner – it darkens where the thumb rests and takes a shine where the pocket rubs – and these five designs put that record into words.

First, the luggage tags. We ran tally marks down the length of the tag – four strokes and a strike to close each gate of five, the newest gate still one stroke open – with STILL COUNTING beneath. A tag that keeps count of its journeys.

Black-and-white STILL COUNTING stamp artwork with five closed tally groups and one open group for the Worn In leather collection.

The black tag carries the count in gold. Golden tan and navy take the blind press.

A black leather luggage tag gold-stamped with the STILL COUNTING journey tally from the Worn In collection.

An Arizona leather luggage tag blind-debossed with the STILL COUNTING journey tally from the Worn In collection.

A Blueberry leather luggage tag blind-debossed with the STILL COUNTING journey tally from the Worn In collection.

Next, the keychains. We drew a thumbprint, ridge by ridge, over NO TWO ALIKE – true of the print, and just as true of the leather it presses into, which never wears in twice the same way.

Black-and-white NO TWO ALIKE thumbprint stamp artwork for the Worn In leather collection.

It looks genuinely beautiful pressed small – once in warm tan, once in chestnut with visible character.

A Caramel leather keychain blind-debossed with a thumbprint and NO TWO ALIKE from the Worn In collection.

A Sicilian Brown leather keychain blind-debossed with a thumbprint and NO TWO ALIKE from the Worn In collection.

Then, the toiletry bags. Leather's oldest morning job is the strop, the strap that hands a razor back its edge one pass at a time. We hung one from its hook, laid the razor mid-pass, and wrote KEEPS ITS EDGE underneath.

Black-and-white KEEPS ITS EDGE stamp artwork with a hanging razor strop and straight razor for the Worn In leather collection.

It presses into the lower corner of each bag of the stack – once in honeyed russet, once in chestnut.

One Indian Summer leather toiletry bag blind-debossed with a razor strop, straight razor, and KEEPS ITS EDGE from the Worn In collection.

One Sicilian Brown leather toiletry bag blind-debossed with a razor strop, straight razor, and KEEPS ITS EDGE from the Worn In collection.

After that, the catchall tray. Archaeologists have a shelf name for the little objects a dig gives back – keys, coins and so on – they call them small finds. We laid tomorrow's dig out on a specimen card, a key beside a coin, a ring beside a button, and gave the tray its label.

Black-and-white SMALL FINDS specimen-card stamp artwork with a key, coin, ring, and button for the Worn In leather collection.

Looks great when stamped onto the leather.

An Arizona leather catchall tray blind-debossed with a SMALL FINDS specimen card from the Worn In collection.

And finally, the journals, and the one we like most. A flower pressed between pages is the oldest way a book keeps a day. We drew one the way pressing leaves it – flat, a little bent at the stem – over the words PRESSED AND KEPT, which is also precisely what our stamp does to the cover.

Black-and-white PRESSED AND KEPT stamp artwork with a flattened five-petal flower for the Worn In leather collection.

Looks absolutely gorgeous when stamped onto the leather – once in deep green, once in dusty lavender.

A Forest Green leather journal blind-debossed with a pressed flower and PRESSED AND KEPT from the Worn In collection.

A Lilac leather journal blind-debossed with a pressed flower and PRESSED AND KEPT from the Worn In collection.

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 these made real, or anything here changed – say hello through our contact page.