[CARPET KNIGHTS]

who's courses are the best? furniture clinic is cheaper by £50. Would love to get into the leather cleaning and repair market but it is a long way to go to either of these places for me and want to make the right choice!

Cheers Goron

[Gerry Styles]

Went to LTT Seminar in Cardiff last year. Very informative.

[carpet guy]

Goron

Why not go to Wolverhampton first, you will get plenty of " personal experienced " people there.

rob

[CARPET KNIGHTS]

Thought about that but decided that there would probably be too many people there to be able to get to see anything properly!

Also it says not for beginners! I have never cleaned a leather suite and wouldn't know where to start so i am a beginner!

Cheers Goron

[Ben Staerck]

Hi,

If you are a beginner and want to start with cleaning, getting training isn't crucial. As long as you correctly test the leather first you shouldn't really run into many problems. You can get information on leather types & cleaning procedures here - http://www.furnitureclinic-trade.co.uk/Guides.htm

Training makes you aware of the possible problems that can occur and teaches you how to fix them and/or avoid them. However, if you are selective in what you choose to clean, then this shouldn't matter.

I would definately advise training if you are wanting to start leather cleaning & repairs.

[lands]

Thought about that but decided that there would probably be too many people there to be able to get to see anything properly!

Also it says not for beginners! I have never cleaned a leather suite and wouldn't know where to start so i am a beginner!

Cheers Goron

Goron, there will be less than 20 people in the leather clean session as it's being covered twice. Why not go along and see if it's for you. Furniture clinic will have a trade stand there so you can discuss it further then. It's not that you won't be allowed in on session its just that it won't be covering testing and leather ID etc.

[mark_roberts]

Ive done the course for insurance reasons and it was very good and informative.

However i advertise leather cleaning and only clean about 1 suite a month if even.  Dont really see the potential in repairs unless its a very new suite.  If its worn out its worn out you can't fix wear.

Cleaning is easy and they have a good range of products.  A simple one day course would suffice for cleaning.  Theres really only type of leather that can be cleaned well anyway.

So unless you see a great potential ie. lots and lots of people are beating your door down for you to clean and repair their leather then IMO its not money well spent.

Mark

[lands]

Mark

I get the impression that a fair proportion of the public are unaware of this side of the industry. Think about the amount of times you have done a carpet and custy (who had been contemplating replacement) has been amazed at the result (love those, custy for life). I would guess that the awareness for leather repair and restoration is far lower generally.

The collective mktg vehicle that we all share in driving will have a bearing on this awareness. Just an idea so might be wrong but food for thought.

Pete

[LTT Leathercare]

Hi Goron

It is likely we will be doing a 1 day Leather Identification and cleaning course in the West Country later in the year.  Not sure of the date or cost at the moment but will let you have details as soon as I have them.

Andy will also be at the CCDO so you will have a representative from both companies on that day.

We do a starter pack for cleaners and can help with any information you need if you want to make a start but would always advise at least a Day 1 so that you are aware of the problems that can happen.
Cleaning leather is very straight forward if the correct products are used but you do have to have a little understanding of what can go wrong and why, mainly so that you can advise your customer correctly of the possible outcome and any problems that there may be.  Cleaning can sometimes throw up unexpected results.

Hope this helps.  Do not hesitate to contact us for advice.

[*paul_moss]

Any training in leather cleaning is a must. Just like carpet cleaning it is wise to do a course. As to which company ? then location usually dictates.

For the guys coming in April, it would be wise to have some knowledge of leather cleaning and repair first, for you to fully take it in.

As regards to getting work for leather, its the same as carpet cleaning,if you advertise it you will get it.
I normally get between 4 and 10 leather jobs a month.

[garyj]

Coming up to your place for your leather day is one thing I do wish I had done. Are you planning on doing another?

[Ian Gourlay]

I believe Alltec also do Leather Courses

half a day, one day and two days

[Mark Lane-Matthews]

The Alltec course is not really up to much

                                              Mark

[*paul_moss]

Mark alot of people will say that about any leather course,its very similar to carpet cleaning.It will only give you an understanding and a base knowledge in which to start off in the world of leather cleaning.Its when you start to experiment and find the little things that make the difference in,result,speed and cost etc, is when you really start to get ahead.

[Ian Gourlay]

Mark

Are you talking about the half day course, or the longer ones?

[carpet guy]

Mark

I'm a bit surprised when someone says they don't think the leather cleaning market amounts to much, as we have cleaned leather for 20 years and never pushed it,  but during this timeer suite have probably averaged one leather suite to five fabric. In the most recent 5 years this has changed considerably and it's close to 50/50 nowadays.

Although it's easy to clean leather, it's also easy to damage and a couple of days with Furniture Clinic, or LTT will enable you to avoid wrong choices.

rob

[Roger Koh]

Is Aniline Leather Stain Cleaning without Training Tantamount to Suicidal Absurdity?

Greetings from Canada!

Training sure is paramount, however often training comes too late when opportunity is already knocking at our door.

This thread you are about to see is an attempt to clean 200 dinning chairs, badly stain and 7yrs old.

Was told the original price for this chair was US $2000.00 to $3000.00 a piece.

Do your math what was the total value the original price?

Have discuss through the phone would be advice to propose a complete refinishing in the original aniline finish if possible. Suggested a one third price original if sample is acceptable.

Now do your math again, how much is one third of total value for the 200 chairs at original price?

What is the potential sales value?

The stake is high:
“I need to bid on the initial cleaning, and then put them on a maintenance program. So what would be a good price? I do not mind charging what the job is worth, but I also have a good chance to get the carpet contract and want to give them a deal if I can get both”.

What will he be doing as he has no leather training at all!

You’re welcome to join in.
http://mikeysboard.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12274 – leather chairs

Roger Koh
www.f.com