Blog

We are Moving our Office!!!!!

2012-02-02T08:02:00.000-08:00

New Changes for GREAT Goals in the New Year!!!!

2011-12-02T06:54:00.000-08:00

Carroll Leather, Inc. of Conover, NC announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire theleathercollection of Hickory, NC. Carroll Leather is a major supplier of upholstery leather to the furniture industry specializing in residential upholstery leather and is a leader in service, dependability and value driven leathers. The acquisition of theleathercollection, a high-end leather resource will enable Carroll Leather to supercharge its leather program.

Joe Franck, Vice President of Carroll Leather, Inc upholstery division said that “Combining our organizations will allow us to expand our leather offering to existing customers of both companies. We believe the combination of expertise from both companies will provide current and new customers with more value, service, versatility and satisfaction. ”

Carroll Leather, Inc intends to keep theleathercollection brand intact with a focus on the design, contract, hospitality, aviation and automotive aftermarket industries. They also intend to grow the leather offering and are committed to growing theleathercollection brand. Kym Bauguess, a principal of theleathercollection will join Carroll Leather and will be responsible for continuing the growth in these markets. “We are pleased to have Kym join the Carroll Leather team says Joe Franck. Her expertise in these design oriented markets is invaluable. Kym will have the freedom to do what she does best and that is selling!”

The combination of these companies will have a great impact on the leather industry. The two companies will consolidate into the Carroll Leather facility in Conover, NC. Updates will be posted on www.theleathercollection.blogspot.com as they break.

Raw Material ..... a Commodity!

2011-02-12T14:37:00.000-08:00

Being a business owner in the business climate today is a stretch for a seasoned professional, but for a "newbie" like me these past 2-years have been boot camp!! The new commodity increases in the manufacture sector of the US furniture industry has everyone at odds and just plan nasty. Commodity pricing is hard to predict. With every commodity you have unique and natural factors, which make them impossible to control. All manufactures would like consistent predicable pricing, but when you are buying any product that has a commodity based or is linked to a natural resource then you cannot predict or control the price. Price is at market value and the price will run as long as it last and when it changes then you change the price. It is like buying Lobster, market value daily. A great source to keep up with the daily trades and the forecast for commodities is www.futurestradingcharts.com. This site offers some good report to help you anticipate the coming increases or decreases in raw materials. All natural product rise over the course of time think about the historical data on the oil industry. It will never be what it was in the 30's.

Leather raw material prices have been increasing and the indicators show leather will continue to rise due to reduced beef consumption, natural disasters and increased demands from larger leather markets. Also fewer hides are available due to the stricter control by customs, which will rule certain countries out of raw hide business. The US furniture manufacture is faced with rising cost and many are insecure that the consumer will be able to afford the increase. The US manufacture has so many competitive disadvantages that this is just another level of frustration. Most of the increases that have been passed along happened in January and have not been felt by the consumer, so we are yet to see the effect at retail. How will it effect sales for the US manufacture? The US consumer will soon need to look at every item they buy to decide where to send their money. I say buy American made any chance you get. Another factor for the US manufacture is that the furniture industry as a whole is the smaller user of leather hides, yet expects the best quality and the lowest price. Volume and price are King to a tannery. Without large volume in the furniture industry then price will suffer to keep the flow of quality material. Another great report that will give you details on the raw material market is www.indexmundi.com. If you can subscribe to www.theSauerReport.com then you can stay in the daily loop on the business of raw hide trading and the price fluctuation.

In past years increases could be taken and business would continue as normal. With the business environment today it is a delicate balance. These extra increases are yet another road block for the the US manufacture. How we sell products and how we work together in a customer vendor relation will have to change. Even at the dealer level selling will have to change and be LEAN and direct. Cutting out steps and process will be the only way to keep the business flowing. US manufactures can no longer anticipate standard color sales. manufactures will rely on vendors to work with them as part of a purchasing team to create new ways of servicing the consumer. It is in these key relationships that you will see the driving change. Consumers are ready for this movement and all of them understand the need for the change. Not easy nor fast, but it will have to happen to keep the US manufacture competitive with the imports. A new wave of training and merchandising will have to take over in order to progress. Designers for many years took a back seat to the Retailers at the High Point Furniture Market in North Carolina and now it is the designers who are embracing the change and stepping up the furniture game. Designers are changing the furniture business and dealers will have to adopt at least some of their thought processes in order to continue to grow. Remember, if you are to big to change you will become a Dinosaur. It is a fact that when disaster strikes it is the creative people that drive the change to push forward to new and greater levels.

Check out a great source of Design that has been pressing the industry to step up and I really don't think they will give us using cotton or any cool raw material. www.dwellstudio.com

leather care products

2010-02-05T16:13:00.000-08:00

It seems many people want to know the very best way to stretch every dollar and to keep their leather in mint condition. I spent some time researching the leather care & cleaning products and found many companies have a warranty program and less focus on the products. theleathercollection stocks all of leather care products that are shown on our website. We all want our expensive leathers to last a lifetime and in order for that to happen you have to know how to take care of your leather. theleathercollection is all about leather and we found a company to partner with that is all about leather care. It was important to theleathercollection that the leather care product work on all of the leathers in theleathercollection line. LCK is that company! They have premium leather care products that are straight forward and easy to use.

Check out the LCK website at http://www.lck-international.com/. You can also get to the LCK site via our website at http://www.theleathercollection.us.

Please take some time to learn more about taking care of your leathers and call theleathercollection to order your products at 828.256.9773.

Linen by theleathercollection.....Natural and Special

2009-12-08T13:03:00.000-08:00

Rafael..... New.. Natural and wow how beautiful. You have to see this material. We are stocking Rafale in Hickory NC so view the video.

If you are interested in the pattern give me a call at theleathercollection. (828)256-9773 or e-mail me at kbauguess@theleathercollection.us

Renaissance leather with new elegant embossed designs

2009-12-08T06:29:00.001-08:00

Renaissance is a German Aniline with a beautiful color line that we have stocked for the past 15 years and this Showtime in High Point, North Carolina we revealed two very distinctive designs embossed on the surface of Renaissance. Now you can have Renaissance in the original silky smooth solid leather or in the enhanced versions with he new embossing. The Hypnotic design, which is a scroll motif, or Equalitaral a geometric design, which is a series of squares and gives the Renaissance a slight contemporary flair. Since Renaissance is in a class all by it's self with these new embossing that create a new level of interest. The new embossing are available on the Renaissance in 1/2 hides form and great to create a dramatic effect on furniture, walls, bedding and all accessories. Our video is attached which will walk you through our new additions to RENAISSANCE.

theleathercollection...a look inside

2009-08-25T04:59:00.000-07:00

We have been working on a video that would take you through our process and our factory. I wanted to do something different and I think I have done just that. When you view the video know that it was filmed by a Boy Scout from Concordia Troop 383, Chandler Roffey. He is in the 6th grade at Concordia Lutheran School in Conover North Carolina and he has been filming and making movies for the past 3-4 years. He has his own website at http://www.roffeystudios.com where he post his videos and he is very interested in getting into this industry. I saw his site and his work and thought he may have a great spin on my company. More of a playful and youthful look. So I gave him the job. Please post your thoughts.

PETA article and the facts.... they chose to leave OUT!!

2009-07-23T10:13:00.000-07:00

Talk about feeling like you have just been ran over by a train. This article printed in the Furniture Today on Elizabeth Edwards Not to Sell Leather was so poorly researched and was printed without any regard to any of US leather companies or the leather furniture manufacture's. Thanks for caring about the environment Furniture Today! We all have businesses to run and the fact is the leather is a by product of the beef industry. WE DO NOT KILL COWS FOR THEIR SOFAS, CHAIRS, BELTS ETC.... Cows are raised for CONSUMPTION and if the person writing this article would have been fair they would have told both sides of the issue. If all of the retailers decided not be buy leather then we really would have an environmental issue with decomposing cow carcuses everywhere. Not to mention the financial ruin for many companies. No Leather is not the answer that will service the world. The fact is we consume so much beef in the US and the hide market is a commodity traded based on beef consumption. How many of us eat no type of beef? If you eat any you are contributing. So, I hope this retailer is a vegan. Death of any animal is sad, but we americans like to eat BEEF so I don't think it is going to stop. The furniture manufacture's and leather manufacture's do not kill the cows we only put the waste, which is the hide, to good use. As for the broad unsubatantiated statements about all of the sickness, if you buy product from any 3rd world country you risk environmental compromise. Different standards can be set by every company in any industry and the same is true in the leather industry. Some companies have higher standards than other and choose to produce product using the environmentally friendly processes. It is up to the buyer or the consumer to buy better poroducts and not the cheapest product available. We have leathers manufactured in German and Italy and everything is produced using state of the art environmentally friendly tanning processes. We ad hear to standards that the EPA sets and guidelines to keep the process safe. We do not use PCP or formaldehyde n our process that could cause sickness. We recycle all of our water on site and do not have have a huge waste issue. We constantly work on improving our standards in our factories. Safety is key in any process. Think about the petroleum used to create a non leather material as the article recommended. Think about the natural resources that you cannot replace that is being used. Petroleum! I guess that part is not important to PETA. It is just mother earth. So, the NON leather is not GREEN either. Whichever direction you go you will not be free of some blame to the demise of the environment. Well as you can see this really got under my skin. It is not like we are out hunting a Zebra and dragging it back to use the hide only and dumping the meat. I am just very surprised that Furniture Today would print this when it is an opinion and not fact and no research was done. I guess we can all write about whatever we want regarding furniture and send it to Furniture Today and they will print it... Oh ! Wait that's a blog.

Tom Cruise on Gaucholin leather!!!

2009-07-15T12:45:00.000-07:00

I ran across this picture when I was doing a google image search and remember that the leather in this photo is theleathercollections Gaucholin. We Sold the Gaucholin 8410 to Dakota Jackson the furniture manufacture who made the leather furniture for the Oprah TV show. Yes!! That is Tom Cruise on the sofa doing the famous "I love Katie" jump. This just tells you how great the Gaucholin leather truly is when it comes to wear and durability. It can stand up to the abuse of a love sick man. We stock Gaucholin in Hickory, NC and it has an amazing color line. Check out our website at http://www.theleathercollection.us

Funny how things happen!!!

Bonded Leather Better than Leather??? Not even close!!!

2009-06-23T05:18:00.000-07:00

As you all know I am a major leather FAN. I love leather and I am always looking a new items and new products and I love to see any articles on leather. Well today I read and article on bonded leather that I have to say made me crazy. It was an article about bonded leather being a great product for upholstery. First I have to say that bonded leather is perfect for the book binding market. It works well for this type of manufacturing and is perfect for the consumers that buy leather bound Bibles etc... but not for upholstery. Over the past few years I have visited so many retail floors and seen the bonded leather furniture and when I pointed out the fact it was bonded and not true cow hide the sales person on the floor had no idea what I was talking about or how to respond. Retails have been selling the bonded leather and now they have been caught or they figured it out. Not sure which. If consumers are buying leather they want true 100% genuine cowhide leather, not and imitation crushed up glued together material called leather. Most retails are taking bonded leather off the floor and deciding NOT TO SELL bonded leather for upholstery. That is the right approach. It just does not have the same stretch and give as real leather and it is stiff and will never feel like real leather. It will never wear or perform the same for long term performance. The fact is it is NOT Real LEATHER. If we do not tell consumers the difference then Bonded leather performance will give our 100% leather upholstery a bad name due to lack of performance. The only great thing about the bonded leather is the fact that the manufacture can get great yield because it comes on a roll like fabric.

I applaud the retails who have decided that quality will rule and the consumers deserve the truth on products.

ITMA Showtime Girls Gone Wyld!!!!!

2009-06-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

theleathercollection June 2009 showtime had some POP and PIZAZZ. Michelle Stephenson (right) and Keri Scott (left)from ITMA are styling in our cool cowboy hat made of recycled paper. These hats where our give-a-way for any of our showtime customers this market. We wanted to do something fun that focused on recycling. We are a partner with Catawba County Utilities and Engineering Department, Amanda Kain at amandak@catawbacountync.gov on recycling.We wanted a way to add focus to the recycling efforts in Catawba County and the ITMA girls sure made our hats a hit. They wore them with pride and not to mention they make the hats look hot. The hats brought in lots of customers this market. Thanks for all of the efforts from our ITMA showtime partners. To learn more about ITMA Showtime visit them at http://www.ITMAShowtime.com

Watch our video below to see the skit the girls did.

Quality Wisdom.... do we sell value or price????

2009-06-14T17:47:00.000-07:00

When times are tough everyone tries to find business and they find different ways to create business. Being cheaper is number one. Price has become the new selling point and it will probably continue until we realize that the pie of business we all share is not as large as it once was. With all of the layoffs and companies going out of business the fact is it impacts the amount of furniture, boats, house and anything else sold in the US. What should we do? Quality Counts and we have to get back to what is important. American consumers will have less money to spend and when they spend it they want the best products for the best price. So, when times are tough cutting corners will not help you compete in the long run. The US is known for quality products,but how are we supposed to sell quality in this economy? That's the challenge manufacturers face: persuading discount seeking buyers to pay a premium for top-of-the-line goods. It's not so easy. But giving up quality to compete is the same as going out of business. We have to bring better values with the best price. People aren't generally afraid to spend. It's just the amount they spend and what they spend it on that changes. Recession narrows the market, that makes quality more important, not less. I am hopeful that the manufactures in the US for any industry will bring the Made In the US label back with Quality and value. We once had this and we now have to rebuild our manufacturing base in the US. We took two of our Germany leathers (Bison and Masquerade)and brought the price down in order to offer a higher-end leather at an aggressive price to compete with products that are of lesser value in the market. It is my hope that our customer will see that this is a value and they will start to sell the value and quality when they present product this fall.

Get back to talking about quality and craftsmanship. The Art of building products with quality and care seems to be a forgotten story. Getting focused on selling furniture from quality and craftsmanship will help sell more furniture. Companies like Stickley and Hickory Chair have not lost focus on selling the craftsmanship through training and education. Product reputation is key to their success. Let's think about the Quality of all of the items we buy or make. It will help us change the world.

Hit program from Showtime ....Cut Pillow Fronts... Selection an Style

2009-06-10T10:26:00.000-07:00

Showtime is over and I have to say we had a real hit with a new cut pillow front program. The ALL Exotic and Decorative leather cut pillow fronts program offers 3 cut pillow front sizes in 4 grades of leather with over 70 leathers to choose from. You select the leather and the size (18.5 x 18.5 or 22.5 x 22.5 or 14.5 x 22.5) next we cut the leather and ship to you where you add the rest of the elements to make a custom pillow. With these Pillow fronts you can use your favorite fabrics and trims and make a custom leather pillow. Every pillow or combination can be as creative and special as you like. You have flex ability to mix and match the leather patterns and create custom looks with ease. It was a run-a-way success for us. The greatest advantage is that you can Mix and match the decorative leathers buying 2,5,10 or even 20 pillow fronts at a time and never have to worry about buying the hide or the yield of the leather. You can be as creative as you wish without the extra worry. Exotic and decorative leathers tend to dress up a solid leathers or fabric, but to often you cannot afford to buy one hide to make two pillows. With this program you can have what you want. It will not cost you a sofa and a chair to do custom pillows any longer. With our designer pricing the program is so affordable you will fall in love with pillows all over again. If you manufacture furniture this is a great way to add a pouch to a sold leather sofa or chair without major cost. How Wyld will you be able to go with Our custom pillow program? Such a simple program that can offer fabulous results and outrageous selections. What a great way to add character to a room or any design. Lets make the world a better place and cover it with EXOTIC and DECORATIVE leather. The video below shows you the program but please call sales service to get better details and the price list. (828)312-1799 or email at kbauguess@theleathercollection.us

blogg... blogg... blogg what little did I know

2009-05-30T18:09:00.000-07:00

I am a vastly Passionate Proud Southern Woman who believes, even in thought economic times, we can build great business and support each other to have a successful business. My company theleathercollection is my media for seeing the world and for sharing my vision. Leather is my life and has been my passion for so years. I recently started to blogg and found that I love sharing my ideas, thoughts and activities with others that have the same type of passion for what they do. I have to say it is so amazing to find people all over the United States taking passion to a new level. No more Same Ole- Same Ole market junk and basis business 101. No more just gettin' by everyday. The world of blogging allows us to be in charge of what gets published about us and our companies. It lets you live the passion out on paper where the world can be part of every move and mistake.

When I am having a thought day and my creativity is low I just get on line and visit a few of my favorite bloggs like http://www.habituallychic.blogspot.com or http://www.lifeinaventicup.com and they always have something to show or say that clears my mind and restores my creativity. If you are new to the blogging world and you are in furniture, fashion or really any business I highly recommend you visit these bloggs to catch the fever. (PASSION, PASSION, PASSION!)

Now, is the time when all of the furniture companies are panning their new market introductions (furniture market April 2010, High Point, NC) and everyone is looking to find the next greatest selling item. Yet it seems to me we all need to take a step back and realize the customer base has changed. Retailers are not the same and yet we address them the same. It is just hard to realize that when you repeat the same behavior you get the same outcome? I guess it is hard to find a new path... Huh.... ? Why don't we work together? Go back to what made the USA great...., the mother of invention, exactly what USA is known for in the rest of the world. Our economy is shaken and we have little to no production in the USA to maintain our existence. We rely on every other country for all of our needs. We have to press change and we have to press it now. Change is not easy, but the current situation is not easy either. If we wish to be here we can not sit back and watch this happen to us.

Everyone, I talk to in the furniture business, that is still making furniture in the USA, hates the cheap imports and yet I never see any of them team up to defeat this invasion. We all go at it alone. I think an army is better than a one man show in this global war.? Don't you? We have to find a way to help each other survive and grow and that may mean that we first have to tackle and goal together. Face it !!!! , there are not that many of us left. Just think about the supplier base that dwindling and that will continue if we do not figure out how to get American back to work. We need to get the US consumer to buy the products we make here first.

Who will be the first to take the right step? I pray that someone does soon.

Make it a great day!

Torrington Distributors .... a Great Company

2009-05-20T21:02:00.000-07:00

At the RAA show in Utah we met with Torrington Distributors and they where showing Great cut and sew Leather covers. Torrngton has used our Nighthawk leather and really made the leather standout. We wish them the Best and look forward to working with them on Future projects!! Your friends at theleathercollection.

Go See them at the show through Thursday May 21 till 1:30. You can also go to their website to learn more about them at http://www.torringtondistributors.com or call at 860-482-4464 and ask for Keith Whitehill or Nancy Beck.

theleathercollection at RAA

2009-05-19T20:20:00.000-07:00

Opening day of RAA was busy and our expectations are high for the rest of the show!!!Check out our booth at space 744. See you in UTAH!!

New looks at theleathercollection.....

2009-05-19T16:16:00.000-07:00

Bernard!!!! No it's not the elf off of Santa Clause. NEW for our showtime introduction... And it is amazing!!!! You will love it!! Visit us at Showtime in High Point NC, June 7th through 10th.

FYI Market Square has a great space dedicated to designers where they have a ton of different products at great prices. If you are in NC you need to visit. Visit the website to see more at http://www.itma.com/.

New Product for June Showtime

2009-05-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

Ever Seen Leather on a roll? Our newest looks will be ROLLED out at Showtime June 7 through 10 2010. We have some very unique leathers coming out at this time and it is a perfect opportunity for you to see leather up close.

http://www.theleathercollection.us/I read this morning Laura Holland's blog http://hccuniversity.blogspot.com/ about the passion that everyone at Hickory Chair has. Laura is right Passion is FREE and we should all take as much as we can into our work. My passion for leather probably boarders obsessive but it makes theleathercollection products unique in the world of leather.