Leather Care
The art of handmade is more rare and each style may require a little extra love and care from its new owner
Here are some handy tips to read before making your purchase:
Know your leather/suede types!
Cow Leather - this is a durable and thick leather and it is the only type of leather that can be used for hand-tooled designs. The texture is stronger and less flexible.
Cow Suede - this is a durable and thicker suede. Heavier yet soft to touch.
Milling Cow Leather & Milling Goat Leather - Milling as a finishing process involves tumbling the hide in a rotating drum and spraying it with a combination of heat and a misting of water. The milling process will soften the leather and intensify the natural fine lines.
Napa Leather - is typically a full-grain, unsplit leather made from lamb, kid, or sheepskin. Soft and thin to touch.
Suede - is a type of leather made from the underside of the animal skin, giving it a soft surface. Suede is softer thinner, and not as strong as full-grain, traditional leather.
These are real leather comes from animals. Naturally, the animals can develop scratches, bite marks, branding, stretch marks and blemishes over their lifetime. Hence, these 'imperfections' are not deemed as defects.
- We provide a dust bag for every single piece at Jodi Lee and advise you keep it in this bag when not in use for extra protection
- Hand-painted pieces are already protected and any unknown chemicals may strip the paint from the leather, this includes waterproofing
- Scraping the leather will also scratch the paint
- If you have purchased a suede/cow suede piece we advise using a suede protector as all suede can mark easily when coming into contact with dirt/products/food/liquids/grease and oil. Patch test a suede protector on the inside of the bag to ensure it doesn't mark the suede
- A professional suede protector will also prevent dark colours (eg black) from bleeding....
- Light dirty marks on suede/cow suede can be carefully lifted with a brand new soft bristle toothbrush and I always keep one handy for emergencies! Darker marks can leave stubborn stains
- Do not ever rub dirty marks on suede/cow suede…it will only make it worse. Lifting the dirt is the best solution
- Keep away from grease and oil… suede/cow suede will permanently stain
- Do not wear dark denim jeans with lighter suede/cow suede. I learned the hard way and even though the jeans had been washed many times this formula for an outfit is now a no go zone. If this accident does occur you can use a clean eraser on the mark. It may not remove it completely if the stain is bad but will reduce it drastically
- Do not wash any Jodi Lee pieces
- Keep in a cool dry room and away from constant direct sunlight
- If your piece has a gemstone be mindful of it coming into contact with hard surfaces. We don’t want any cracks!
- When you are out and about hang your bag on the back of your chair and don't put on the ground! You want to keep your wearable art piece in mint condition and not look worn and dirty
- If you receive a bag with fringe and it has been packed to ship to you, hang it up and gently massage to straighten the fringe. Do not pull on the suede or leather
- If leather (not suede) is exposed to mould an everyday (inexpensive) moisturiser can be used to rub it out. This only works on napa leather and milling goat leather so please check before trying. NOTE: Moisturisers will mark and ruin ALL types of suede
- Don't overload your bag. Heavy items put pressure on these hand-sewn pieces and they must be handled with care
- If you want to use your bag everyday you can still keep it looking new by following these points
- Remember each piece is carefully handmade like a work of art, and just like wearing your favourite piece of jewellery you can protect and take care with all this newfound knowledge!