A little quick post as its a busy day here, and now off to check on a horse...
I hope you all have a pleasant Friday!

 

 

Dry Rot Leather what does it mean and what to look out for when selecting a vintage Hermes bag project

Hello again,

Today we had some strange stuff falling from the skies on the ranch around lunch time. I thought it was hail but upon closer inspection it was in fact a strange popcorn like snow? The skies were blue with some fluffy dark grey clouds... wild western weather...

Lately, I've had questions regarding restoring some bags which are in fact too far gone
What is too far gone?
Well for instance some bags have a condition called dry rot it means the leather has lost in elasticity  and oils and become so dry the fibers break down  easily with stress, this sort situation means the leather tears easily very much like cardboard or thick paper, it no longer can flex and spring back as healthy leather does. Sometimes you will notice cracking surface texture as well. These are extreme examples but as you can imagine not lotion or potion will bring leather I this condition together again.  So when you are looking for a vintage Hermes Kelly bag say in box calf for instance  you will want to check it very carefully look at its surface is it smooth or kind of crackled? Are there small tears along the bend points? Its very important to look at the handle bases, check them for small tears. Don't get to thinking that the leather is in good shape just because its shiny.  Anyhow more on this  subject in future.





Well its a busy day  so I'll sign off for now...Im  working on filling up the website www.docridesluxuryagain.com and the ebay store http://stores.ebay.com/Docrides-Luxury-Again?_trksid=p2047675.l2563  also sorting out how to add video feeds so I can teach and demonstrate how to restore and upkeep luxury hand bags.  Its all very exciting and Im sure glad you stopped by.

Heading to the Luxury Again workshop after lunch

 

Hello there ,

Just heading back to the workshop after a bit of lunch

 Im going share a bit of docride wisdom

 

"Your bag should be viewed from 3 feet away  not under loupe ! "

                                                             

 

 

 

Enjoy your bags ... let them be what they have been for thousands of years "women's tools".

Let them carry for you, what you need for your journey.

May they be an extension of your style rather than a mark of style upon you.

Let their use marks be credits to the brave and beautiful journey of the elegant woman you are.

Never let them be the sign of mal treatment in your eyes or a judgment upon you as unworthy of nice things...

Carry your bag like the cat who has swallowed the canary ... with an inner knowingness

...you will arrive exactly where you should be; ever prepared with exactly what you need.

 And no small scratch could ever blur that unique fabulous style that you are!

 Sincerely,

             Docride

 

Simplifying Bag care and Art bags when you remake what has been destroyed

I've been detailing, spa-ing, restoring and customizing authentic Hermes bags for over a decade and a half now. During that time I have also helped others in caring for their bags by teaching step by step care techniques. 

Because so many have harmed their beautiful bags accidentally with the best intentions by using the incorrect products and techniques on their bags, I have developed  the Luxury Again line of  handy handbag  care kits which can be used with confidence by even the most novice and or nervous luxury handbag owner.


 But lets face it sometimes a bag is beyond restoring back to original, lets say for instance hair dye gets dumped all over a light colored bag while at the hair dresser or a bag gets tossed in to a swimming pool , run over by a car , slashed repeatedly and by a knife or falls off the side of a boat in to an ocean .. yes these things actually happened!   you bring the bag for servicing and repair and  Hermes might refuse to  fix your bag... its simply too far gone so what can be done?  Well I say sometimes a remaking or transforming such a bag is the way to go.

 I have made "Art"  Bags for clients and myself over the years many of the bags were in fact bags which needed to be transformed due to stains and accidents,  I'd like to share some photos of some of these bags. I hope I don't shock you too much.
When a ruined bag gets transformed in to an  art bag it can add new life, joy, hope  and purpose to an otherwise destroyed bag.
Here are some photos of  "Docride" Art bags

 

Spring Meadow Camo.^^^

                                                

                                       

                                                                     Safari Kelly^^^

 

Lucky Girl ^^^^

 

 

 

                                                               Circa 1970's ^^^^

                                     

 

 

Moon Child ^^^

 

 

Wild Garden Beautiful Chaos ^^^

5:59 am MST Good Morning its a chilly morning here so, I'm going to put some wood on the fire and get some coffee so we can visit a bit before I head up to the workshop. I'm thinking about  a couple  bags of which are so far gone there is really not much I can do for them... such a shame.. they have been coated with heavy plastic / paint like over sprayed coatings (probably because someone thought this would protect them from every looking worn, so that the bag wouldn't gets stains or water spots but instead the poor bags got ruined. I'll show you some examples later.  For now I'll just say that this and other disasters is one of the reasons I felt compelled to help people learn proper care, up keep and rescue of their beautiful bags.

 

 

The workshop  a few more benches needed still

 

Welcome to my blog!
   I look forward to sharing with you my methods and answering your questions about the care, selection, upkeep, restoration and customization of authentic Hermes bags.( I will also include some other High End Designer Hand Bags)
I've been answering questions from my over  million wonderful readers for about 7 years now on The Purse Forum in a Thread I created there called
Hermes Vintage Bag Nightmares and Hermes Leather Care Info.
I'd like to carry on here and answer your questions and demonstrate restorations and care techniques and  sundry adjunct  commentary.   I do hope I'll be able to sort  out keeping this blog up. For now I'll say all the best ,and thank you for stopping by. Sincerely, Docride