Leather Care & Cleaning Tips

Over the weekend I had two dear travelers stay at my house (while I decamped safely to my parents’ house; thanks mom and dad!) on route from Brooklyn to Atlanta. With them was their friendly and vigorous small pup, Franks (plural name, singular dog). Concerns arose on their part about Franks getting on my sofa which is upholstered, of course, in Moore & Giles leather. How pleased was I to be able to wave away their concerns about intensive repair or permanent damage with the gospel of resilient, natural leather? Very.

The same rules for my leather sofa apply to your Moore & Giles briefcase, backpack, wash kit, or wallet. These items are an investment but they’re also designed to look good and perform well for decades. Maintaining your leather ensures your items have a long life; luckily, maintenance is pretty much effortless:

1. I know this sounds like a sales pitch but it’s true and I can explain: buying a Moore & Giles product is the easiest way to guarantee the durability and long-term good looks of your bag. The leather you’re buying, the leather that we’re so enthusiastic about, is tanned as naturally as possible. Since it’s not “corrected”—sanded, painted, stamped or otherwise given a superficial treatment to make it appear uniform—the natural surface can weather years of daily wear and tear, looking better and better with use. 

2. The waxes and oils used in the tanning process not only give the leather its look and feel but can also be used to clear up collections of scratches or scrapes. If your bag (or sofa!) is looking a bit worse for wear, I recommend leaving your bag in a hot (parked!) car for a few hours. Avoid keeping it in direct sun but the light, even heat will pull the oils and waxes to the surface of the leather, fading marks and giving the bag a more even look. In general, though, If your bag gets nicked, don’t panic. One of the best ways to get a blemish out is to keep using it; the more the leather gets worked, the more those same oils and waxes work their way to the surface, restoring the look of the your bag. 

3. The biggest threat to your leather good is it drying out. If you’ve been regularly using your bag or noticing that your desk blotter or club chair is looking a little ashy, working a few dabs of our No. 33 cream into the surface with the included cloth will restore luster and keep your goods properly moisturized. The 33 cream is a proprietary blend of beeswax and other emollients; think of it as a booster to the immune system your leather naturally has to keep it healthy.

In addition to my nice couch, I’m lucky to use a lot of our products every day (wear-testing is a job requirement!). With minimal effort on my part, everything Moore & Giles that I own continues to age beautifully and stand up to all the Franks (Frankses?) they encounter.

-Thomas Brennan, Director of Design