Would you ever buy a bag that needed repair?
- Thread starter Robyn Loraine
- Start date
I think you need to pester Barbara. I sent several emails and texted her. She got back to me with a quote today. Not sure how much longer the actual work will take.
Okay, I will! I spoke with Barbara earlier, but someone else entirely emailed me to tell me they had my bag. I've been emailing them. I'll pester Barbara instead, lol! Was the quote what you expected?
I just always go through Barbara. That other person emailed me too to tell me they had my bag but also never responded to me when i emailed them back.
It's a little less than i was expecting because Barbara advised against full color restore. She said the bag isn't faded enough to make doing the restoration necessary because the leather is really good and the restoration might change it. So they'll be doing corners, edge work, cracked piping restore, handles, and a popped stitch.
I learned my lesson after getting my 2005 Olive. No more dark handles for me- ever.
Even if they can be fixed by LMB, I'm still paying an extra few hundred to clean up a used bag, and it's just not worth it to me.
Even if they can be fixed by LMB, I'm still paying an extra few hundred to clean up a used bag, and it's just not worth it to me.
Be thankful. I had a very soft bag re dyed there and it was so still after- it felt like paint. The bag was nowhere near the same!
I brought my '05 Olive in to Artbag in NYC and was told there was no way to clean the handles.
They just couldn't do it.
This place has been around for 75 years, and they're known for their leather repair and cleaning.
So wondering how LMB gets out the oils?
Artbag said it was impossible unless it was dyed.
They just couldn't do it.
This place has been around for 75 years, and they're known for their leather repair and cleaning.
So wondering how LMB gets out the oils?
Artbag said it was impossible unless it was dyed.
Nope, I'll never do darkened handles again. No matter how good of a deal it is.
It's my deal breaker.
Especially since everyone I've spoken with says there's no way to get the oil out, you can only dye it.
I've seen quite a few handles that LMB has cleaned and they look amazing! They aren't painted either.
As far as I understand they extract the oils with a cleaning process, perhaps a more leather specialized version of TKO, and then retouch color where the handles need it. I know most of the ladies on this forum have been happy with the job LMB does on handles. I don't think handles really need to be soft anyway, so repainting doesn't seem so bad there. But for the whole body of the bag it would probably make the bag really stiff for a while. I have also heard from Conni that some of the older bags, especially the bordeaux colors, just had dark handles because of the way the dyes reacted to the leather, so getting them repainted fixes that issue.
I've seen a lot of negative reviews on Artbag but have never worked with them. I asked around a lot of shops before sending my bag to LMB and no one seemed to know how to work with Balenciaga other than them. But I don't think I will buy another bag that needs repair after this, because you're right that it is a lot of money and, especially for me, just too much time. Unless it was an absolute HG and there was no other way around it, I don't think I'd do it again. But it's nice to know there's an option for when my bags I already own need tlc.
No, it was never the same. I had to buy a new one, so it ended up being a total waste of money. Lmb is not cheap either.
Purple, but I think that whenever dye is fixed it will stiffen the leather no matter the color. I had a black bag fixed by modern leather goods as well and that one came back stiffer as well. It will soften over time, but will not be the same.