FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Why Leather Furniture?

The decision to purchase leather furniture is a wise one. Leather will last five times longer than fabric upholstery. It is much more versatile than fabric in terms of cleanability and durability. You can feel comfortable in family room settings with high traffic areas and or a more formal setting with low traffic patterns. The sales of leather furniture have tripled nationally over the last ten years. Today, more and more families are making the decision to furnish their homes with leather furniture because of all of these advantages.  

How do you clean and care for your Leather Furniture?

The easiest way to clean leather is with a mild soap and a warm damp cloth. The most effective way to clean the stain or spill is to simply rub with a circular motion around the stain and then withdraw. Mild cleaning solutions and waxes are also acceptable to clean and condition the product. Ink marks are best extracted by an art gum eraser. Leather is a natural product with its own unique characteristics, style, comfort and durability. The leather industry is one of the oldest know to man and it’s methods have changed little over the years. Upholstering leather furniture is still the work of craftsmen. Every piece is hand finished to ensure your upholstery is individual in every way. During it’s life leather will have been subjected to many environments and will always bear natural marks and blemishes as a result of how and where the animal lived. These blemishes may appear as scars, growth lines, bush marks, crease’s or bites. In addition, each individual hide may exhibit surface grain variation which in turn may result in areas of your upholstery differing in grain appearance. These natural features are a hallmark of an authentic leather product and in no way detract from or weaken it’s wearing qualities. Leather upholstery can be permanently stained by continuous contact with non color fast clothing. As a result more advanced tanning and finishing processes, leather can be made softer and more supple, a quality maintained throughout the life of the furniture. Cushions and arms are normally softer than the rest of the sofa or chair, so wrinkles and creases will form in these areas during use. This is normal and should not be a cause for concern.

Is Leather Furniture hot in the summer and cold in the winter?

No! Leather is a natural article not a man made textile so the leather itself will breathe. Leather will adjust to the temperature of the body.

What is the difference between semi aniline dyed leather and fully aniline dyed leather?

Luke leather uses semi aniline dyed leathers. These leathers are by far the most versatile because they have a light coat of polyurethane protection sprayed on the surface of the leather itself. The solution referred to as aniline is used to color the raw leather itself. The term “semi” refers to color and protection and the term “fully” only refers to leathers that have no protection; only color.

Why does leather look different in color, shade and tone as well as surface look, sometimes even on the same piece?

Remember, leather is a natural article. The leather will behave much the same way our skin behaves. The color will adhere slightly differently the leather in different areas of the hide. It takes three hides to make one leather sofa. The surface of the leather will look different depending on the way the leather is processed. Some leathers are made to look “distressed”, others are made to look more “cloudy” etc. These characteristics are viewed as “normal” and within factory standards.

What are “corrected” and  “embossed” leathers?

These leathers are very inexpensive and considered to be base grade leathers. Luke Leather does not use these types of leathers in their collection. When these types of leathers are received the factory must “correct” or cosmetically repair the surface of the leather. They will have holes and range marks and many insect bites. Once the factory corrects these types of leathers then they must emboss them. This is a process that uses a metal stamping or engraving plate to put a natural “looking” grain pattern on the surface. Once again, we use none of these types of leathers in our collection.

Why are some leathers shiny?

The shine is determined by the amount of polyurethane sprayed on the surface. The more shiny, the more polyurethane; consequently, the more protection.

What is the number one buying decision from consumers today when shopping for leather furniture?

Two words “COMFORT & PITCH”. The Italians are the best in the world at manufacturing solid American comfort with a pitch that puts people in a very comfortable posture when sitting. This is an advantage that Luke Leather will have over anything coming out of China. Please make sure your customer sits in the product and aware of this huge advantage.

Why does Luke Leather make sense for your store in terms of delivery?

Your order will leave our distribution center most of the time within 5 days of receipt of your order. In most cases you will receive your order within 10 business days from the time it is picked up by the freight specialists. In some cases it could be as much as 15 business days. Please call your rep or our office for more accurate information if needed.

Why does Luke Leather make sense for your store in terms of style and look?

We are continually analyzing market trends, new styling and cutting edge fashion. We design different looks depending on today’s design needs. We then dress our collections with leathers that are fashion forward for today’s marketplace. You can feel confident that if we make a decision to stock the style; it will sell.

Why does Luke Leather make sense for your store in terms of value?

We have positioned our collection to be right in the middle of where the majority of leather is being purchased. We also know that we are selling our product to comparable direct container pricing when you compare apples to apples. This gives our customers huge advantages. We have no middle man. Our product is direct from our exclusive factories in Italy and Europe. You do not have to purchase containers from China to get the value that we have. We give you tremendous flexibility in ordering. We have no minimum orders and your only investment is in the floor samples and any small amount of inventory you wish to carry. The factory that Luke Leather utilizes has given us an exclusive for the entire United States. We are their only customer in the U.S. and they value our relationship!

Will leather crack and peel over time?

No. Leather will not crack and peel under normal household conditions. What can happen is the color finish that has been applied may crack or peel. This can usually be repaired. The same can be said for paint on a wall.

What if the leather has cracks or blemishes on the surface?

It is normal for leather to have scars, insect bites, wrinkles and veining. These are “natural characteristics” of genuine leather. The greater the finish on the surface, the less characteristics will be shown. Our leathers at Luke will have some of these characteristics because we use a medium to high quality leather on all of our collections.

Are animals bred for the specific use of their hides?

No. Leather is a byproduct of the beef industry.

Will pets damage the surface of the leather?

It is very unlikely because we use only leathers that have a protective finish on the surface of the leather. If we did not have a polyurethane finish on the surface it would be easier to damage.

Are there different qualities of leather?

Yes. The main determining factor is the quality of leather is determined by the origin of the leather. Hides from the southern hemisphere (hotter climate) are much more abundant and tend to show more blemishes and defects and consequently have to be cosmetically altered or repaired. They are less supple and soft. Hides from the northern hemisphere (cooler climate) are less abundant and typically are higher in quality due to the climate in which these animals live. Luke Leather uses hides from the northern hemisphere.

Terminology

Split: All hides must be split because every hide is too thick to upholster of use in any type of manufacturing. The hide goes into a machine where a blade “filets” the hide into 2 hides. The bottom hide is known as the split layer. This hide can be used on the bottom rails and outside sides and backs. This layer is still 100% leather it is just the second layer. This layer has all of the same finishing elements as the top grain layer. Luke Leather uses the split layer on all sides and backs.

Top Grain: Same process as above except the top most portion of the hide. This layer is used in the areas that receive more wear and use on the furniture because the fibers of the top grain are more compact. Luke Leather uses all Top Grain on the seats arms and back cushions (everywhere that you touch).

Full Grain: This is the top grain layer that is not corrected or cosmetically altered in any way only colored. These leathers are some of the most expensive leathers available today. Luke leather does not use any “full” grain leather.

Corrected: This is top grain leather that has been sanded down or cosmetically altered to reduce the visual imperfections of the leather. Then the surface of the leather is mechanically stamped (embossed) with an engraving plate to give it a “natural “ look. These are some  of the least expensive leathers on the market today. They are extremely hard to the touch. Luke leather uses no “corrected” grain leathers.

Grades: Simply determined from the origin of the hide itself. We use hides mainly from the northern hemisphere so if we published grades, our grades of leather would be between 6-8 on a scale of 1-10.

Pull up: This is color dyed leather that has been waxed or oiled. When the leather is pulled, the oil and wax separates causing the color to lighten. Luke leather uses pull up leather on  the Solomon Collection.

Pure aniline: This means that the leather has been colored through and through the entire thickness of the hide using the chemical called aniline (coloring agent only). These are generally the softest most expensive leathers available and have no protective polyurethane surface protection.. Luke leather uses no “pure” aniline leathers in our collections.

Semi aniline: This means that the leather has been colored through and through the entire thickness of the hide using the chemical called aniline, however ; the surface of the leather has also beed prayed with a light to heavy layer of polyurethane for protection on the surface. Luke Leather uses only semi (both color and protection) aniline dyed leathers in the entire collection.