[LTT Leathercare]

Thanks Steve

The 2 day LTT course covers all the items covered in the 3 day course at Furniture Clinic so it now appears that having put his course up by 50% he is more expensive. 3 days out of work, 2 night accomadation etc. 

At LTT all the individual subjects covered are done in depth and hands on, They are taught by a qualified instructor with 20+ years experience in the industry using products that have been tested and developed with many years experience.

Leather cleaning is very easy and does not take long to demonstrate but what is important is to understand leather identification and what can and cannot be repaired or 'cleaned'.  If you do not cover these things on a course for cleaners then they will make many mistakes and will not be able to correctly advise the customer on what can be done.  Cleaning leather throws up all sorts of other potential problems and it is imperative that the cleaning technician understands the theories of repair and restoration even if he does not practice it himself.  Therefore, in our opinion it is much better to combine all the elements in one course so that the technician/cleaner has the full picture

In addition we also teach colour mixing which is a very important part of repair work.  I know you can always get colour mixed for you but it is useful to know how to adjust colours for repair.

I think the £1000 quoted by Steve also includes the price of a repair kit and this would be the same at Furniture Clinic unless he is still giving them away.

The difference in the courses is how they are taught and the experience of the tutors involved.  LTT have been training in the UK for 5 years now and have trained over 1000 technicians and Andy Alcock was a leather repair instructor in the States before that.  He was also a troubleshooter in the States for one of the biggest Warranty companies in the world (at that time) so his background knowledge of leather repair and restoration is second to none.  All our technical staff are IICRC and LTT trained and therefore offer the highest standard of technical support that is available.

You pays your money and you takes your choice.

Regards
Judy

[Mike Halliday]

Phil did Dave ring you about my offer, might useful  to you regarding leather cleaning.

Mike

[Ben Staerck]

Hi, Ben from Furniture Clinic! 

To clarify a few things. All a carpet and upholstery cleaner needs to learn is covered on the 2 day course. The cost for this is £250 + VAT.

The reason I increased the price was because I am only allowing 3 people on the repair courses. This is so I can offer a better level of tuition and guidance. I had 6 on the last course, and although I have had great feedback, I would rather reduce the numbers so that when people leave the course, they will be more confident to go out and actually start making repairs.

The restoration course looks into resotring complete items of upholstery. We repair and re-antique a leather sofa. Change the colour of some small upholstery and do touch up work and fix problems by restoirng the colour on other items of upholstery. This course is more suited for an upholsterer or someone who has their own workshop.

--> So if you book the leather cleaning and repair courses you will learn everything you need to know to go out and clean and repair leather.

[Phil Marlor]

So,

A 2 day course at the Furniture clinc teaching you everything you need to know is £250.00
A 2 day course at LLT with everything you need to know is £350.00
What is different about the LLT Workshop at £400 for 4 people.

I know nothing about Leather so would I be better off going on the 2 day courses?

Phil

[Ben Staerck]

Hi,

I do not know whats on the other £400 course at LTT.

What I do know, that for a carpet & upholstery cleaner. Especially one who is just starting to add leather clenaing. That it is best to attend just the leather clenaing course or do a 2 day course.

If you are travelling from luton aswell, your probably best doing the 2 day course to save having to travel back up north again! On the repair course we provide you with the technical info and knowledge to make the repairs, show you how its done and let you practice..........we then give you some upholstery to take away so you can perfect your skills.

[LTT Leathercare]

The workshop days for £400.00 are generally run for technicians who have had some experience in the field (Leather Technicians who have worked for other companies etc) and/or have had some degree of training previously. (IICRC, LTT etc.) They then come to spend a day in the workshop.  It covers whatever is required by the delegates and the agenda is agreed and discussed beforehand.

This usually tends to be a corporate day for businesses with multiple technicians/cleaners which gives them the chance to test and practice things under supervision in our fully equipped workshops, however there are often individuals who just want a days workshop experience and we can put people together when required.  We have one running on the 28th February with a couple of places that can be filled.  If 4 delegates share these days it only costs £100 + VAT per delegate.

If you are just starting out the best way is to attend one of our free courses on leather cleaning which will enable you to make a start and decide whether the further courses are worth you investment. The 2 day course is then the best one to do.

We also do corporate technical courses for companies with multiple technicians which are the same as the 2 day course in content and package.  These are done at a cost of £750.00 + VAT per day for a maximum of 8 delegates, this then works out cheaper for them than sending individual technicians on the monthly courses.  These can be done on any days to suit requirements and we generally do about 2 or 3 per month.

Hope this clarifies things

Judy

[Ben Staerck]

To help differentiate between our courses please red this. It should make things more clear.

We run three training courses.

1. Leather Cleaning Course
2. Leather Repair Course
3. Leather Restoration Course

Each gets more advanced as it goes down the list 1-3.

Leather Cleaning Course - This course teaches the newcomer everything they need to know about leather, how its made, why we use it and how to clean and care for it. It also looks at ink and stain removal and re-finishing, with both leather colours and lacquers. This course is ideal for carpet and upholstery cleaners as it teaches you everything you need to professionally clean and maintain leather, not only that, but it also teaches you how to rectify any damages you may cause to the leather. Things like a peeling finish (common on cheap leather) and colour loss, which may happen when removing stains.

Leather Repair Course - This course teaches you everything you need to know to make simple cosmetic repairs to leather.

- scuffs & scratches
- rips, tears, burns & holes
- surface wear, rough areas and abrasion
- colour loss due to chemical spills and worn areas
- topuching up antique finishes
- aniline/pull up restoration
- cat scratches on full grain leather and on finished splits
- grain copying
- colour matching with water based colourants and also repair compounds
- airbrush work

So if you want to offer the complete service as a leather repair technician this is the course you need. It teaches you everything you need to know to go into someones house or in your own work area and make any type of repair to leather. Not only that but we only allow a maximum of three people on the course so it is very indepth with a high level of tuition. Very hands on and we work only with real upholstery after teahcing you the basic skills.

Leather Restoration Course - This course again, is a step up from the leather repair course. Where the repair course looks at making small and simple repairs to the surface of leather. This course looks at restoring complete items of upholstery to a new condition.

- re-antiquing
- restoring the colour to old and very worn furniture
- changing the colour of leather

This course also looks into the applications prior to re-colouring leather. For example, smoothing over the surface and filling in cracks and badly worn areas.

This course is more suited to someone like an upholsterer or someone with workshop space.

[Ben Staerck]

The 2 day LTT course covers all the items covered in the 3 day course at Furniture Clinic so it now appears that having put his course up by 50% he is more expensive. 3 days out of work, 2 night accomadation etc. 

NOT TRUE.

No where does it say on your website that you re-antique a whole arm chair or change the colour of leather. That is what our leather restoration course is about.

It appears Judy, that my course for 2 days is £250. Thats £100 cheaper than yours. Not only that but it covers all the same topics. There is also only 3 people maximum allowed on the course so each student will have a higher level of tuition, rather than if there were 6+ students to one teacher.

Judy, I do not like the way you b*tch about my company, it is totally unprofessional and I suggest you stop doing it.

[LTT Leathercare]

Everything is covered on our 2 day course including re-antiquing and a demonstration of pigment restoration, with hands on if required (corporate courses would cover this in detail).  Re-antiquing is a standard part of our course as it is such a common problem to come across.  Cleaners need to know about this as some of the finishes today will wash off just with water.  Pigment Restoration is demonstrated to show technicians what can be done.  As we do a lot of recolouring work in our workshop for the insurance industry there is always samples to show this.

Our facilities and teaching methods adequatley cover the training of up to 8 delegates and all delegates are given practice on all elements.  We have a fully equipped workshop and separate training room which enables us to cover practical and theory work to a high degree.  Andy has professional teaching qualifications in a practical subject so teaching this number has never been an issue

All we are aiming to do is give people a clear indication of the courses available. 

As we have now outlined Andys qualifications and extensive experince in the work we do maybe you could let us know what qualifications/experience you have as a teacher/trainer and what experience you have had carrying out technical work in the field which enables you to train to the level you do.  This way people will be able to judge for themselves which way they want to go and have a true picture of both lots of courses.

The website is currently being re-vamped and will include many more features than it does at present.  Anyone booking our course is fully aware of the contents.

I have always treated posts in a professional manner as with the entire running of our business and have only stated facts about our own business and any information that has been posted.  We are here to support the technicians in the industry.

I feel that it is others that have caused the problems between us and am sorry if you feel this way.

You are (and always have been) more than welcome at LTT if you want to see our set up.

Regards
Judy

[Ben Staerck]

As we have now outlined Andys qualifications and extensive experince in the work we do maybe you could let us know what qualifications/experience you have as a teacher/trainer and what experience you have had carrying out technical work in the field which enables you to train to the level you do.  This way people will be able to judge for themselves which way they want to go and have a true picture of both lots of courses.

Well, everyone of my products has been designed and made based upon previous experience working at earnshaws and head of production at Clariant. For anyone who doesn't know.........those companies made/make the finishes that are used on leather, the pigments and the lacquers and the dyes. Not just for a short while either, we have over 15 years experience in making and designing those finishes.

So, who better to make the care and repair products for leather, than the people who designed the finishes on the leathers???

In addition to that, we have been retailing and manufacturing cleaning and care products for over 10 years now, and developed the repair side of things over the last 2/3 years.

We have no training in this field, as everything we do and make has been designed by us. So who could actually train us? Everything has been developed by us, and is constantly under development.

Andy has professional teaching qualifications in a practical subject so teaching this number has never been an issue.

Regardless, the smaller the group the easier it is to teach, the more your customers learn.

Pigment Restoration is demonstrated to show technicians what can be done.

So it is not the same. We teach it and let people have a go. Not just demonstrate. That is the difference...........so the courses are not the same.

I feel that it is others that have caused the problems between us and am sorry if you feel this way. You are (and always have been) more than welcome at LTT if you want to see our set up.

Thats fine Judy, I hope we can get along in the future. It may be best for you to not respond about what other people say then, especially when that response comes negatively towards my company.