The Botanic-based firm made a name for itself repairing seats on Concorde
Ahmad Sharafeldin and Riya Muni during their visit to the Leather Repair Company.(Image: Leather Repair Company)
A family-run business which has a number of high profile restorations to its name is expanding with the help of franchisees. Richard and Carolynne Hutchins founded the Leather Repair Company in 2007 and went on to restore seats on Concorde and the recognisable all-white sofa that featured on the cover of singer George Michael’s album cover Patience.
Now the husband and wife team say they’ve parked their repair and restoration work to focus on passing on their expertise to others via a franchise model. Richard said: “At the moment our focus is purely on developing franchising, training and our leather care products because we’ve received so many enquiries and we need to sort through those and identify the best candidates in the various locations all over the UK.”
Cambridge couple Ahmad Sharafeldin and Riya Muni visited the Leather Repair Company’s Hull workshops for some tuition that will help them add news services to their furniture delivery and restoration business. They were recommended to the firm via Mantas Navickas, owner of the Cambridge Upholsterer, who trained with the Leather Repair Company two years ago.
Ahmad said: “From working with Mantas it became clear there’s a good market for leather repair and there are opportunities for us. It’s a job where you never stop learning because there are always new ideas, new products and new customers who didn’t realise that their favourite leather items can be repaired and restored. It gives old things another lease of life rather than throwing them away. It saves you money, it’s better for the environment and it makes you feel good when you know you can restore something you have had for a long time.”
The new franchise will cover the entire Cambridgeshire area, with Ahmad taking the lead on leather repair and restoration and Riya focusing on admin and customer service. Riya said: “Richard and Carolynne have helped us set up the business and get to know some of the other leather items we can work on. They’ve repaired upholstery in homes and hotels as well as planes and boats and they’ve also worked on clothing, bags and saddles.
“The work they did with Concorde and the sofa makes you think about all the famous people who must have used those seats, and the exciting opportunities which could arise for us. They’ve shown and explained things very clearly during our two weeks in Hull and we have turned into sponges while we’ve been here.
“One of the most important elements is learning how to deal with customers, managing their expectations, showing them how something will look after it has been restored and repaired and looking after them. All of that gives us the confidence that we have come to the right place and we can do a good job for our customers.”
Richard added: “Our portfolio shows you really can end up working on the most amazing projects because demand is increasing from people who want to recycle their own leather items, bringing new life to family heirlooms which might have been in the family for generations. We’ve got every confidence in our new franchisees because Ahmad has a great eye for perfection and detail, Riya is committed to providing a great service for customers and they both have incredible enthusiasm.”
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