How to care for your SKIN MACHINE Leather Goods

What we recommend & what we don't recommend?

SKIN MACHINE Leather Jewelry

In this time of social distance and spending much more time at your home, we are bringing you few tips how to care for your SKIN MACHINE leather goods. SKIN MACHINE products are extremely durable, yet as with all leather it is a natural material and is sensitive to excessive amounts of light, humidity, and water. To keep your SKIN MACHINE leather goods in perfect condition, you should follow this tips.

1. Detect your leather type

Full Grain Leather vs Finished Split Leather

Full grain leather comes from the top layer of the hide. It includes all the grain with it – hence the

Full Grain Leather vs Finished Split Leather

name full grain leather. This type of leather retains the inherent toughness, as well as the imperfections because there are no surface alterations or splitting & it is the highest quality leather.

On the other side, split leather is considerably weaker than grain leather and it is almost always used in low-stress applications. Split leather is a single layer of leather separated from the animal hide. Usually, the middle or lower section of the hide is used to produce split leather. When it is coated with a polymer and embossed to resemble natural leather-like look, it becomes finished split leather.

We at SKIN MACHINE use this both type of leather and there is few reasons for that. First approach is sustainability. We are completely grateful & respectful to our mother Nature and to all animals that had life circle on this planet. Taking just finest from finest and discarding the rest is not what we stand for. Each part have "use for" and we found their purpose.

Second reason is aesthetic. They can be very opposite and contrasting in texture. While full grain leather have organic & irregular texture, our split leather is smooth & homogenized.

Third reason is thickness. Although, we use booth type in different thicknesses, most of our full grain leather is 10oz / 4mm and split leather 5oz / 2mm.

2. Cleaning leather

Horsehair Shoe Shine Brush Set

We recommend avoiding any contact of your SKIN MACHINE leather goods with water. If you need to clean something really dirty, damp cloth will work but baby wipes are much better choice as they are soaked in a tenderly caring soft cream. Water affect your leather goods in destructive way and more often contact will fade your leather pigment. Be sure to promptly dry it with a smooth cloth if the product comes in contact with water. Blot away moisture and allow the leather to air-dry. Never place the product near a radiator or any other heat source while drying cause it will exsiccate your leather goods.

3. Applying care product

Bags, belts & jewelry generally need less treatment than shoes just because they aren’t subject to the same beating as footwear. From that point of view, your SKIN MACHINE goods don't need waxing. Still they need some love and conditioning every 6-12 months.

Best care from our experience that almost any household have is a hand cream. Tick & feat cream as Nivea Original all-purpose cream is perfect. Products that we also recommend are black or transparent leather/shoe cream or mink oil. They will moisturize your leather, enrich color and add shine.

Hand cream, black leather/shoe cream & mink oil.

If you have SKIN MACHINE product made out of split leather, we recommend treating just edges and maybe, depending on condition, bottom side. Nourished edges will refresh the look of your product while nourished bottom side will feed your leather and bring elasticity to it if it's dry. Face side of split leather don't need moisturizing, it want absorb product you apply on. If you do, It will leave stain on the surface. In that case we recommend you to apply small amount of alcohol on cotton pad, gently swipe just affected area & wipe immediately with soft cloth. Alcohol is also abrasive to leather pigment so be really careful with use of it. If you are in doubt with what to do with your SKIN MACHINE product & how to act, you can try it on a small surface or you can contact us and we'll be glad to help you with advice.

If you have SKIN MACHINE products made out of full grain leather, we recommend treating face side of leather and edges.

When applying leather care products use a clean, soft cloth, and another to wipe away excess after you have finished applying. If you are using black cream for nourishing your leather, you want make sure to wipe away really good any excess. You don't want your goods leave a black spot on your clothing. For finishing touch and shine you can use nylon socks and polish your leather products with it. Even a small piece of used nylon socks will last for a long time.

ThruSkin 2_Piercing Ring & Obtuse Earrings

When not in use, store your SKIN MACHINE leather product in a cool, dry place but not far from your view. Avoid leaving the product in direct sunlight, as prolonged exposure to sunlight can cause the color to fade.

5 Things to Do in Montreal

We visit Montreal for a month and we are bringing you 5 things you need to do when visiting!

First to say for those who doesn't know, Montreal is Canada’s second largest city and it's the metropolis of the Quebec province.

It is a major industrial center, commercial and financial metropolis, railway and maritime bridgehead, and one of the centers of francophone culture in North America. It is one of the world's great cities and enjoys international acclaim.

The city is placed on Island of Montreal at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers.

In the heart of Montreal it's placed Mount Royal, a large volcanic-related hill by which he was named. Huge green-space was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, designer behind New York's Central Park. So for sure Mount Royal is on top of every recommendation list especially because of view on city Montreal. But there is something much better...

Gabled kiosks designed by local firm Atelier Urban Face

This trio is situated to Beaver Lake on Mount Royal and each has a different purpose and leans at a different angle. Concept is obviously Wind but experiencing that wind in summer time makes that concept actually respectful. One kiosk host field trips, one is for tools and equipment for park services & a first-aid station and one is ticket office with storage space for equipment for skating ring in winter time when lake is frozen.

Place des Arts

Featuring an impressive program of music, theater, dance, opera, song, comedy, and musicals all year round, Place des Arts is amazing meeting point located in the cultural heart of the city. That placement and amount of cultural happenings that you can enjoy it clearly show why Montreal was referred as "Canada's Cultural Capital" by Monocle Magazine.

This Summer as a part of the Festival TransAmériques we were enjoying show called Innervision by Martin Messier. Sixty people was moving as one & Messier as choreograph dirigent, quite literally, transmitting instructions to dancer, telling them how to move theirs limbs, heads and bodies at different moments.

Fine Art Museum

Placed at cultural heart of the city it offer rich encyclopedic collection, distributed among five pavilions, includes international art, world cultures, decorative arts & design, and Quebec & Canadian art. The Museum also houses the Michel de la Chenelière International Atelier for Education and Art Therapy, the largest educational complex in a North American art museum.

Our favorite part of a show is 20ct art and we are bringing you some sneak peeks on Picasso's, Worhol's, Calder's, Basquiat's & Arp's artwork. You can find there and enjoy in many others grates artists world famous art.

Bagels & Poutine

In case you haven't heard, Montreal is gaga over food. The city oozes restaurants, unique culinary traditions, and foodies spoiled by an enviable selection of local produce. In recent years, TV chefs Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver both chose Montreal to anchor their first Canadian restaurant ventures.

Despite its unusual combination of fries, gravy, and cheese, poutine is recognized as being among the most iconic Québécois dishes. Its much more then fries, it's delicious. There are numerous chains that serve up this local fast food classic. La Banquise in the Plateau is among the most popular hot spot in the city. Since 1968, this snack bar has been serving over 30 kinds of poutine 24 hours a day.

Fairmont Bagels & St. Viateur bagels are the most popular and well known bagels. They have a worldwide reputation and everyone suggest their hot fresh out of the wood oven sesame bagel. But their is something better. You should try rosemary sea salt bagels at St. Viateur. OMG they are so good!

Montreal Fashion

Montreal is a city of style. Streets are packed with unique boutiques and creative neighborhoods full of independent ateliers. From cutting edge fashions to old school haute couture, Montreal's fashion industry is not only alive and well but aiming sky high. In 2006, Montreal was named as UNESCO City of Design. 48% of all Canadian production in the fashion industry are in Quebec and you can really notice fashion lifestyle on the streets of city.

We are bringing you our favorite brands from Montreal so check them out: Rudsak, Mackage, Elisa C-Rossow, ELAMA, M0851, Mercy House, Louve Montreal, Philo.

As a North American city, being at the confluence of the French and the English traditions, Montreal has developed a unique and distinguished cultural face in the world so you should definitely put it on your "must see" list because there is so much much more to say about that city!

Surround Yourself With Beauty

The most trivial things become luxuries if you add a bit of touch to it. Small things transfer your everyday life into special occasions.

An ordinary cup of coffee becomes a treat in a beautiful porcelain mug. Glass of water in high leg glass with a bit of mint or strawberry creates a vacation moment. A gougers plant and ambient light can transform the atmosphere of every space.

Your lifestyle does not have to be full of stuff nor your calendar full of events. Find joy in a simple lifestyle and find tranquility in your home that is free of clutter.

Buy some wooden hangers and ditch the nasty plastic and wire ones. They will last longer, look nicer and you will smile each time you open your closet.

Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance. Coco Chanel

Eliminate clothing you no longer wear and make a space for few new things you'll enjoy them. Eliminate everything which does not bring you joy and replace it with a few fine pieces which do.

The simple power of less is more, quality over quantity.

Simplicity is the process of surrounding yourself with only what brings you joy and beauty

So practice less is more by choosing wisely. Choosing carefully is an opportunity to clarify your style or create a signature. It’s a matter of making a decision that you can stand behind, a matter of putting thought into what visual cues you want to send.

What are you surrounding yourself with in?

#simplicity #leather #design #elegance