Opinion Needed: Hancock and Moore Reupholster

My Hancock and Moore sofa’s leather is cracking. There is one crack on a seat cushion that is approximately 2” long. The leather seems to be drying out as there are thousands of small surface fissures and the feel of the surface is very rough. The sofa is about 23 years old.
My question is whether it is worth trying to find a person to reupholster with new top quality leather? What do I need to consider? I live in Potomac, MD; does anyone have recommendations on upholsterers in the area, leather/materials, or how to go about the process or experiences to share? Should I just buy a new sofa and avoid the process? The frame is in good shape. The only other problem is that some of the hooks that keep the seat cushions in place are missing and these cushions always seem to move around more than I like even when all the hooks were in place.

I'm sorry to take so long to reply. We're all learning the ins and outs of this new forum, and I've just learned how to find the unanswered posts!

This is a good one for Duane. If you haven't spoken with him yet, give him a call, his store is The Keeping Room in Alexandria, VA.

Most likely the leather has cracked from lack of a cleaning regimen (making an assumption here). Leather has to be cleaned periodically to remove the oils and dirt from use, otherwise the tannins are attacked and the leather degrades.

23 years is a good life span, however. Some get more, some less. A lot depends on lifestyle and usage. I'd not attempt to have it recovered locally in leather as the cost to do so will probably be more than the price of a new unit.

Hancock and Moore may recover and rebuild the sofa for you. Do you have a model name or number? If not, I would need a digital photo of the piece to try to identify it. It would have to be shipped to H&M (I use Valley Transport as the least expensive service from the Wash DC area to the Carolinas) and then back to you, estimated at about $ 400 on the freight alone. I'm guessing (and its just a guess!) to re-leather would run another $ 1,500 or so in a Grade 1 or 2 hide. You'd probably have $ 2K into in at a minimum.

If the sofa is still presentable, you may be better off selling on Craigslist for $ 300 to $ 400 and then buying new.

I had to speak with H&M today on another issue, and asked them about the feasibility of re-leathering your 23-year-old sofa. As I suspected the response was a big "thumbs down". The costs associated with doing so would be far higher than buying a new one I was told and its just not worth it. Better to select a new one and donate that one to charity or sell it for what you can get from it.

If you'd like a new Hancock and Moore, I'm 30 minutes away from you and would be glad to price any out or show you the current offerings, etc.