Just curious...

[CMBAUR]

@aaron- Actually it's from a European tannery could be SA hide for all I know but the stuff isn't cheap over $2.50 a ft.... Goes to show you anyone can screw up even the best (by that I mean Italian tanners).

BY and Hancock and Moore I'm sure overlap resources for leathers. So buying from Hancock and Moore or any leather manufacturer for that matter could not guarantee this would not happen there's bad batches of leather from time to time it's not widgets : ) ..... IMO a step was skipped possibly a final top-coat to "seal" the previous applications.

[drcollie]

Bradington Young does not warranty their leathers, nor do any of the companies that I have in my store - Its pretty rare to find anyone that does. Rather they have an unwritten policy of recognizing that sometimes defects can occur in a leather and handle that on a case by case basis as do most companies. Series 9384 is a FINISHED leather that is topcoated, and I'd have to pull the swatch and study this hide in detail (which I have not done). Let's say you think it is defective, then the steps you would want to take are:

1) Be sure you haven't used unapproved cleaners / sprays / chemicals on the leather. if you have, game over. They will run tests to see if you have done so,

2) Contact your selling dealer.

3) If you purchased locally, request the BY area rep come to your home to inspect it together with the dealer rep. If you purchased long distance, the rep will not come unless your selling dealer is in their territory.

4) If local, and they agree something is wrong, the dealer will pickup the piece and return it to the factory for evaluation.

5) If a distance buy, you have the option to ship it back to Bradington Young AT YOUR EXPENSE and if B-Y agrees the leather is defective they will replace the leather and ship it back to your selling dealer and possibly pay for the full return ship to you, though their official policy is to pay return ship to the selling dealer only.

6) If they deny the claim and say that its not defective - or that you put something on the sofa to cause that, it will come back to you 'as is' and you will have to pay for the return shipping as well.

That can happen with H&M just as easily as BY or Leathercraft or any other brand.

[drcollie]

OK, I pulled the 9384 swatch today and inspected it fairly closely - that leather should not be flaking or losing color provided you have no put any chemicals or unapproved product on the hide. Contact your dealer and follow the steps outlined above. Good luck.

[yooper829]

Thanks Duane! I honestly didn't think that this leather should be doing what it's doing. I've only cleaned the chair once with warm water, since it is only 5 months old. No other products have been applied. They are wanting to see if someone in my area can come out to "restore" the arms of the chair. Now youve seen the swatch, do you think this is even possible? And even if the color/pattern could be matched, if the original leather did not hold in 5 months will a repair be any better?

[drcollie]

That's a fairly mottled finish on that leather, doubtful a repair tech could do that finish. That's a painted leather, so any repair would also be paint. Its very hard to say from the photos alone, as they need to be taken outside in sunlight with hi-res to really see what you have going on there. From what I can determine, I'd be on the phone with my BY rep if you were my local customer and we'd come to the house to inspect, not send a repairman. If you were a distant customer I'd be sending your photos to BY for evaluation.

[yooper829]

Thanks for the advice! I don't have the equipment for a really good high quality photo...just the results from my small canon camera that I have here. Any chance that this leather choice is just a bad one for wear and tear being a painted leather? Not that there's much I can do about that now. Its just so hard to get out of the chair without touching it somewhere!

[drcollie]

Contact your selling dealer is the best bet at this point. You don't mention if you bought it local or long distance, but if local it will be much easier to pursue. Good luck.