Brand New Classic Leather chair leather panel buckling

I purchased and had delivered a new Classic Leather Ludon chair, model 2231 from a local authorized retailer 2 days ago. Today I noticed the outside arm leather panel is buckling. The largest area that is buckling is 8 x 14 inches. The outside panels are a decorative, embossed leather. The chair is in an air conditioned house, not in the direct sun. Can this panel be repaired properly? What about the rest of the embossed leather panels? Advice? I contacted the retailer today and they will forward the pictures to Classic Leather. Attachment 8695Attachment 8694Attachment 8693Attachment 8692

That's perfectly normal, in fact the chair looks nicely made. You can only pull a panel (leather) so tight, in fact its one of the hardest jobs there is to do in upholstery - getting those panels tight and then stapled onto the frame. Your two closeups are in too close, I can't get a reference point on them. However, based on what I see I would not consider that to be defective. This is handmade furniture and it will have nuances. If it really bothers you, then wait for a bright sunny day and put the chair outside in the sun so the panel is facing the sun and let it sit out there for three or four hours. Sometimes that will tightened up the panel just a bit.

Thanks for your reply. The chair seems well made and I like the design choices they made. It was on display at the High Point market last month and I don't think Classic Leather would put a poorly made piece in their display. There was no buckling in the panel when the chair was at the retailer. It started a day and a half after delivery. The side that buckled is close to a window but gets zero direct sunlight and it isn't hot here yet in Orlando. I'm concerned about the long term outlook for the embossed leather. What could a leather tech do to repair the buckling?

Leather is not a surface area like a man-made item such as fabric, it's an animal skin and each piece varies in the stretch and the pull of the hide. Perfection is difficult to achieve in that sort of thing. No one coming out to your home (i.e., Leather Tech) can fix that, the chair would have to be returned to the factory, dis-assembled with all of that nail trim removed and a new panel fitted, as removing the nails will destroy the existing leather panel. And as I previously stated, I would not consider that to be poorly made or a fault based on the photos. I would expect a workmanship warranty claim to be denied, but i am not Classic Leather and cannot speak for them. That's my opinion in it and you will have to pursue it as you see fit.

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Originally Posted by drcollie

Leather is not a surface area like a man-made item such as fabric, it's an animal skin and each piece varies in the stretch and the pull of the hide. Perfection is difficult to achieve in that sort of thing. No one coming out to your home (i.e., Leather Tech) can fix that, the chair would have to be returned to the factory, dis-assembled with all of that nail trim removed and a new panel fitted, as removing the nails will destroy the existing leather panel. And as I previously stated, I would not consider that to be poorly made or a fault based on the photos. I would expect a workmanship warranty claim to be denied, but i am not Classic Leather and cannot speak for them. That's my opinion in it and you will have to pursue it as you see fit.

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Hats off to Classic Leather and my local furniture retailer. They picked up the chair at my house, sent the chair to a well regarded local upholster who disassembled the leather panels on the chair and nail trim, reassembled them and now the chair as it should. No more buckling in both side panels. The upholsterer said the chair was not originally assembled correctly. Now it looks great. Classic Leather and the local retailer split the cost of repair and pickup and delivery.