Leather Writing Pad & Work Surface

For a long time now I’ve been using a piece of 16″ x 20″ black card on my desk as a rest and writing surface. It had begun to look a little the worse for wear, with water stains, cat snot, ink spills, and whatever on it. Rather than spend another $5+ on more card, I thought I’d venture down to the wonderful leather emporium that is Springfield Leather and see if I could find an off-cut that might do the trick. After browsing for an hour I came away with this piece, 12″ x 24″ slightly discounted from $15 to just under $13 for two square feet.

Now to see how well it stands up to everyday use, that is, the spilled water, cat snot, ink, etc…

I’m going to make a new desktop at some point to match my new filing cabinet tops. When I do I will look at recessing this into the desk’s surface.

By-the-way. Yes, I do have a thing about Pilot Metropolitan fountain pens, and each one has an appropriately matching color ink.

[Update – After six months’ five years’ use] It’s holding up really well, in fact I’d say it’s getting better with time and use. I apply leather polish every once in a while. It’s got scratches and marks, but they just add to its character. My only regret remains, that I didn’t make one earlier.

Copyright © 2017 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.