Care of Leather Goods

by Steven Ferry

Welcome to a new 15-part series on leather and its proper care. Butlers and household managers have been familiar with caring for leather shoes for centuries, but to the list can be added leather belts, gloves, clothes, wallets, bags, briefcases, toiletry kits, furniture, and even car seats, none of which are treated in exactly the same way as leather shoes. In fact, not even all leather shoes are treated the same.

The writer worked briefly in a tannery as a teenager to better understand leather, but one does not need to know the rather involved but time-proven way that leather is prepared, tanned, and finished in order to recognize and care for quality products.

As a minimum, it is worth knowing the different types of leather, from full grain to fake, which we will cover in the next issue.

The Institute is dedicated to raising service standards by broadly disseminating the mindset and superior service expertise of that time-honored, quintessential service provider, the British Butler, updated with modern people skills, and adapted to the needs of modern employers and guests in staffed homes, luxury hotels, resorts, spas, retirement communities, jets, yachts & cruise ships around the world.