Sol&Luna explains how to maintain and clean the leather

Pampering your leather goods

It all started in 2002, when the owners of Sol&Luna were presented with an opportunity to invest in a cattle ranch in the jungle of the remote Paraguayan Chaco. After several visits it became clear that over generations, the people of this region had become agile craftsman in leather and the opportunity to share their wonderful work became a passion.
Focused on using leather from the Chaco region to form a product line of sustainable goods combined with an unparalleled standard of excellence; Sol&luna starts to produce leather objects and realizes the enormous possibilities and versatility of this material.

20 years later we can tell you many curiosities about how we treat the leather and, more practically, how to maintain and clean it.

Great care is taken during the tanning process to retain the natural characteristics of the leather. Examination of the finished product will reveal some variations of coulour, graining and briar marks from scratches sustained during the life time of the animal. All of wich garantee that each piece is unique

(Variations of the leather color)

Sol & Luna leather is handcrafted and the tanning process is ecological, 100% vegetable leather, 100% cowhide

We would like to explain briefly the process of the leather, from the moment it comes out of the animal until any Sol&luna leather object is handmade.

The first step is to scrape off the animal’s hair completely and remove all the fat that remains under the skin with a large pressure wash.

Secondly, we use a machine to give the leather the right thickness.

If we want natural, undyed leather, the leather is stretched out like a sheet for about two days to dry completely. The result is what we call “sun-dyed leather” or “natural leather”.

(Leather sun drying in the sun)

For the dyed leather, the hides are put in fulons (like barrels that go round and round) for 3/4 hours, adding vegetable dyes and aniline. 100% natural components. In this way, we obtain the other four colours in which we cover all our Sol&luna leather objects

(Fulón where the hides are dyed )

They are then taken out and ironed and stretched with a piece of wood. Finally, they are laid out to dry.

Before the lining process begins, the leather is beaten several times to soften it…

Our craftsmen have the ability to cover any type of leather product with both concave and convex shapes. Their technique consists of wetting the leather before lining any surface. …. This gives no idea of the capacity of this material to withstand humidity.

Then they cut the piece according to the pattern and finally, they glue it with cobbler’s glue to the surface they want to cover. The two pieces are joined together with the characteristic handmade cross-stitch. First they use an awl to mark each small hole and then they use the waxed thread through the holes.

(Craftsmen sewing leather )

After having described the whole process of our leather, we really hope that we have taken away your “fear” about the resistance of this material. Contrary to what it may seem, the more it is used, the better and more beautiful the leather looks.

You will find the best tips for the maintenance and cleaning of leather, in the set of products that we sell in our store.

Keep the upholstered furniture or leather object at least 70 cm away from any heat source. Prolonged exposure of this material to heat sources will cause the fibre to shrink and the leather, which may cause lose of elasticity and softness.
Avoid exposing upholstered furniture or leather objects to direct sunlight. This exposure will cause the leather to gradually lose its colour.
Every leather item needs moisturising. Use petroleum jelly or the cream from our set.

If we now talk about the cleaning process, there are a few important aspects to consider:

Rub with dry chamois once a week.
Sporadically, use the sponge moistened in water and neutral soap, well wrung out. In our set you will find a neutral gel.
Use the “eraser” from our set for specific pen stains, coffee stains, etc
No aggressive chemicals or cleaning agents should be used on the leather (this includes products from the so-called “multi-purpose” range).

Come to our Sol&Luna shop and turn these good tips into a great gift with our maintenance set in a wonderful leather box.