McKinley Leather Furniture

A good friend of mine recently lamented her futile attempts to control her weight.  Her heart was in the right place – gym every morning at 5 a.m., but she just couldn’t pass up good food…or wine…  Her husband consoled her by saying, “But, Honey, round is a shape!”

So I ask you - brown IS a color - isn’t it?

Over the past twenty years, the leathers used for upholstered furniture have changed greatly.  The original dyes were pigments and offered smooth seamless coverage.  But then the world class tanners started using the more natural aniline dyes that penetrate into the hide.  In my last blog post (was it really that long ago???) I outlined several possible variations in leather, much of them due to this transition in dyestuffs.

So why do I go into it again?  I think our switch to more natural looks precipitated our current sea of brown.  The tones of brown – red brown, green brown, dark brown, rawhide and caramel – all lend themselves perfectly to the rich, lustrous patina of leather.  As a leather groupie, each new brown brought on fresh Oohs and Ahs, with thoughts of chocolate, freshly roasted coffee beans, newly turned earth. 

Unfortunately, enough became enough – it is hard for your eyes to adjust to the different hues when you look through a swatch set of 5″ x 7″ pieces, much less through a furniture showroom filled with brown.

Thankfully, those “world class tanners” got the picture and they started developing some colors on our leathers again.  Our new leather colors should be reaching sales floors over the next several months and you will be surprised (in a good way!!) by what you see – lemony creams, plum, aubergine, light blue and azure.  These colors are not the same “in your face” stark colors of the past – they are actually liveable – and warm – and salt of the earth stuff.

It’s tough out there in the real world, our homes are our safe haven.  They should allow us to escape the stress and create our own little piece of heaven.  Color accomplishes these things without us even knowing it; there are volumes of material about colors and the emotions they evoke.

Here is a list that I created from some of that material:

Blue - Calm & serenity – the ultimate escape color, blue skies, the ocean, need I say more??

Yellow - Sunshine & warmth – yellows attract the eye and get your attention – you don’t think they make “Caution” tape in yellow for no reason, do you?

Red – Strength, passion, sensuality – excites our senses

Orange – Joyful, stimulating, passion & adventurous

Green – Calming, refreshing, action, prosperity

Violet/Purple – Mystery, richness & refinement

White – Clean, purity, blank slate

Grey – Safe, balanced

Brown – Warm, secure & comfortable

So – yes, Brown is a color and it probably supports the nurturing we have needed over the past several years.  But it is time to grow up and sprout – let’s add some color to our world and show our zest for life!

“Virtue” by definition is a quality held to be of great moral value.  “Quality” is defined by Webster as grade, degree of excellence.  So do we, as consumers, hold high quality in high regard?  The answer is resoundingly “Yes!” . . . if the price is right.  Recent consumer surveys show that we found quality more important than “the right price” in 2008, but that price has overtaken quality as more important in 2009.

Do we, as craftsmen, deem high quality attainable?  Funny, how we tend to expect more of others than of ourselves.  When you tie a bow and don’t get it quite right, you just fluff it up and send it on.  If you pick up a package pre-wrapped and see a bow that is askew, then you comment on the poor workmanship.

Now try telling a craftsman that his quality is questionable – you may as well tell him his Mama is ugly.  To a craftsman, quality is close to integrity.  You aren’t as likely to lie, cheat, steal if you think you are going to get caught.  So then the burden of ensuring consistent high quality lies with top management.  They have to constantly be looking and correcting – kindly, gently.  It’s hard. . . and expensive.  Not just using higher grade materials, but fixing the mistakes and healing egos.

As for me?  I definitely think quality is important.   Here at McKinley Leather, we strive to meet the highest standards possible.  Yet, it is one of the hardest and most expensive things in production to control.  We start with quality components that are sold by dependable and reputable suppliers, but you have to keep a careful eye because there are always a small amount of rejects.  Thankfully, our suppliers work with us to help troubleshoot and resolve problems. 

We work at figuring out how to make the best possible products at the leanest price available.  We avoid the vantage point of trying to figure out what we can remove from our products to achieve a target price.

 The end result?  Not the most extravagant products on the market.  But hopefully some of the best values out there.  (Value, by the way, increased in importance during 2009!)

I keep hearing it again and again – it’s a buyer’s market. . . We have been encouraged to contribute weekly to a 401K, an IRA, any available savings vehicle, but now we are afraid to open these same monthly statements. Some have lost up to 50% of their portfolio. As the April 15th tax-deferred contribution deadline nears, we ask “Who can we trust? Where can we grow or even just preserve our assets?”

I recently had a candid conversation with my banker and we HAD THE SAME CONCERNS. We both decided that we were going to spend that money. Not on frivolous things, but on updating our homes, buying investment worthy furniture, replacing windows with a more energy-efficient version, replacing our carpet – FINALLY!

If you have the cash, then now is the time to buy. Our leather suppliers have excess inventory, McKinley Leather and most other furniture manufacturers have excess production capability and most stores have excess inventory. The end result is the best pricing in a decade. At least you can enjoy the benefits of that investment – every time you come home from a stressful day of trying to make ends meet.

Why does the leather on your sofa look different than the swatch at my retail store?  This is one of the most common concerns but the most obvious outcome on a natural product like leather.  The inherent beauty in leather lies in that each hide is unique, from head-to-heel. 

There are three major areas to expect variations - one is completely natural and the other two are a combination of  natural and chemical processes.

First, the surface grain will vary.  Our hides come from cows, that have been slaughtered for food.  Unless the original cell structure has been altered, there will be areas of tight, smooth grain and areas of looser, more pebbly grain.   Each hide carries unique range markings, like healed scars, sores, bug and tick bites; it is affected by its surrounding climate and its own size and body structure.   Our samples are a snapshot of only one portion.  Our “Leather Descriptions” document within our “Leathers” subsection shows the intended overall effect of each of our leather patterns as it should appear on your leather furniture, once upholstered.  This information should help you when making a leather selection.  On the other hand, you should expect the unexpected, leather variations guarantee its authenticity.

You will also find variations in color.  Leather is dyed by either using top-coating pigment dyes or penetrating aniline dyes.  Individual pigment dyes can vary as they are mixed, but tanners and leather finishers also try to achieve more natural effects by combining and/or layering two to three contrasting colorations.  Similar to a faux painting treatment, the artisan rubbing the color will get a slightly different color each time.  With the penetrating aniline dyes, the color absorption will be affected by each hide’s cell structure.  The center of a hide is its backbone; it has been subjected to the most sun, wind and temperature changes which make it thicker and tougher – it will not absorb as much color.   The outer perimeter comes from the belly of the cow; it tends to be thinner, softer and stretchier which allows it to absorb more color.  McKinley Leather’s craftspeople try to balance the color variations throughout your furniture for the most visually pleasing final effect.

The amount of sheen on your leather’s surface is the final variable.  Sheen levels can vary due to the many processes that hides undergo to achieve the final intended fashion look but also due to their individual cell structure.  A small viscosity variation from the chemical supplier can be greatly magnified by a heavier application.  Further, a heavier surface grain will allow more of the lacquer to hang up on the surface and to reflect back the shine.  You will also notice that a leather’s sheen changes (the shine usually dulls out) when you pull a leather swatch taut.  This change is greatly pronounced when the leather is upholstered.  If a leather swatch has been handled a lot at a retail store, then your leather furniture will appear more shiny and pristine.  Keep in mind that over the years your leather furniture will soften and change, building up a rich patina that can only be achieved with use.

So, how are you supposed to pick a leather from a swatch that is only 5″ x 7″ – especially with so many possible variations?  First, we recommend that you read our “Leather Descriptions” posted within the “Leathers” tab.  This document can also be found within our Catalog Binder, at your local retailer’s showroom.  We also recommend that you request a current cutting for approval.   We will gladly hand select hides for your furniture, put it on reserve for 15 days, and send you a cutting of this leather for your approval prior to beginning production.  Since all of McKinley Leather’s furniture is produced right here in North Carolina, our lead times are a quick two to three weeks from your confirmed purchase order.