Hancock and Morre unprotected leather

[xuzst1]

Hi Duane,

I'm in the market for a sofa and have narrowed down choices to three models from Hancock and Morre (5848-3 Alpina, 4111 Garden, and 1279 Parisian), one from Bradington Young (Diego 609-95) and one from Stickley (Orchard from Mission collection). I'm leaning toward the H&M sofas but would appreciate your comments on how B&Y and Stickley compare to H&M, frame and leather quality wise.

I've learned so much from your posts in the Leather forum and have decided to go with a "unprotected" leather. I'm interested in several grade 2 and 3 colors - are they all aniline? You mentioned that you'd recommend "protected" leather for a recliner, which I'm also considering once I've decided on the style of the sofa. Is it because the motion of the recliner that a "protected" leather is recommended?

In addition, the living room where I'll put the sofa and recliner is a north-facing room with big windows. What would you suggest in term of minimizing fading? Is the sun-protection ingredient in the care kit effective if applied every 6 months?

I'll call your store to request a price quote for the above mentioned three H&M sofas in grade 2 and 3.

Thank you for providing a wealth of information that is clear and easy to understand. Reading your forums makes me feel a lot more confident in making an educated decision for a high quality leather sofa.

[drcollie]

Here's an older thread on H&M vs B-Y you can read through.

http://www.myfurnitureforum.com/show...red+bradington

I carry both lines in my store because not everyone wants to pay the price for an A-tier line such as Hancock and Moore, and Bradington Young is a solid B-tier maker. You will pay more for H&M but you also get more in the build, tailoring and also the style. That being said, you will not necessarily get a piece that lasts longer with H&M, its just that it makes the ownership experience nicer in virtually every respect. Think Volkswagen vs Mercedes as an example. The VW will give you solid, reliable service at an excellent price point. The Mercedes gives you luxury and many more bells and whistles, but doesn't necessarily last any longer. You will pay more for the Mercedes than the VW, and you have to decide if that's worth it for you. As to Stickley - well, they are one of Hancock and Moore's largest accounts. They sell H&M in their retail stores. Common sense would tell you that they wouldn't be doing that if they built to the H&M level, however I haven't looked at their leather furniture in many years so really can't address it bit by bit.

Yes, 'Unprotected' leather is always an Aniline. "Protected" is always a Finished, or Painted leather.

If you have UV coating on your windows (most newer homes do) then that helps a lot. In my home, I had a solar film company come out and do all my windows of my house, except on the north side, and that helps tremendously. The SPF 80 Sunblock spray from Leather Magic is designed especially to mitigate the fading on leather as well.

Hope that helps!

[needstuff]

Baker also sells H&M in their retail stores. They sell some Stickley pieces too. As well as furniture of a number of other makers.
I'd assumed that Baker did this to offer customers more variety in their retail stores, of quality they were willing to repesent there, beyond just their own lines. I did *not* infer that this meant other makers' stuff they sell there was necessarily all "better quality" than Baker. I guess I have no "Common Sense".

It gets more complicated still though. Stickley also sells Baker in their retail stores. And Baker retail stores sell Stickley, as I said.

So by extrapolation from post #2, should one's "Common Sense" infer that Stickley is better quality than Baker? Or that Baker is better quality than Stickley? Or that they are each better quality than each other?

Or could it possibly be that having *some* of these other makers' products in their stores does NOT obviously connote, by common sense, that one is necessarily "better quality" than the other? But rather, just different?

I'll let the other readers decide for themselves.

Disclaimer: I'm no furniture expert.

[drcollie]

Perhaps "common sense" is the wrong term to use, it seems to have caused some irritation. My apologies if that is the case. Certain topics, such as this one, are sensitive in nature and it's better to not go into too much detail on the workings of inter-company business relationships.

[sarends]

Very intelligent and concise response!

Perhaps "common sense" is the wrong term to use, it seems to have caused some irritation. My apologies if that is the case. Certain topics, such as this one, are sensitive in nature and it's better to not go into too much detail on the workings of inter-company business relationships.

[needstuff]

Ignoring the phrase "common sense", does the fact that Baker sells H&M in its retail stores connote to you that Baker wouldn't be doing that if they built to the H&M level ??

[drcollie]

That I'm not going to comment further out of respect for those business relationships, sorry.

[cuse69]

I have toured both H&M and Stickley factories. Framing/joining techniques, materials and execution are equivalent in my opinion. Both companies have the same 8 way tied spring design. I can not compare cushions but their web sites may give more information. After that, the differences if any would be visible to most astute customers. The quality of the " fit and finish" in automotive terms, the style and design, the execution in the leather work, the ability to customize if desired, leather quality and appearance, warrantee, price, customer service from manufacturer and distributor are all factors that impact the performance of the brand and the buyers decision. For many years Stickley had no real focus on manufacturing leather goods. Their expertise was in case goods (desks, tables, cabinets, etc.). My first ever leather purchase was a H&M office chair and a Classic Leather sofa from the Stickley main store adjacent to their factory in Manlius, N.Y. At that time they did not even make any soft goods.

Bottom line, who is number 1 or 2 or 3 is not really all that important except to the brand manager. Going back to the automotive analogy that was referenced previously, is Mercedes better than BMW or Porsche? And what constituted better? That's your call. And certainly VW has it's place in the market, just ask their buyers.

[cuse69]

.

[wisejd]

Looking back at the original post ...I would say "asked" and "answered". The H&M will undoubtedly cost more and there is a good reason. If cost is not among the highest priorities in your furniture decision and the style you want is available from H&M ...Go for it! With regard to your "recliner" leather choice, I am not sure that has actually been addressed. To me, the constant opening and closing of the recliner mechanism does make protected leather a better choice ...perhaps also all the potato chips and pretzel pieces that tend to sift through my recliner have had little or no effect on my protected leather. The weight I've gained is an entirely different matter.