Got the second batch of samples yesterday. They did end up sending me the Garfield Claret, which I think is stunning. I love the feel and he way you can see the natural hide markings in the leather, and prefer the smooth feel to the more pebbly leathers.

At this point, I think my two favorites from what I’ve seen are Kipling Whiskey and Garfield Claret.

I want to have the sofa in one color (was thinking red) and the chair/ottoman combo in another, and while I love both above-mentioned leathers on a stand-alone basis, I’m a bit concerned about how they would look on large pieces next to each other. What do you think? Any experiences pairing the Whiskey with a red color? Are there any other leathers that pair well with red sofas?

Also, on Kipling, I had another question: I noticed the Kipling Cognac sample I got has many more vein-like creases than the Whiskey sample – you can also see the creases on the back side in the form of lines of pure skin though the suede. Is this something specific to the Cognac version of Kipling, or could this just be due to them using an imperfect part of the hide for sample purposes?