How to Take Care of Your Bag

How to take care of your bag – Stella Soomlais studio
Our bags are made from vegetable tanned leather. It is a very strong and long lasting material but inevitably its lifetime and looks still largely depend on regular and proper care.

It is important to remember that different leather types behave differently and these instructions are meant specially for Stella Soomlais bags.
One of our main design principles is to design bags that are easy to care for, easy to repair and the material should be used to the maximum. All left-overs and material that has seen tougher days will be repurposed via recycling.
leather bag care instructions
Important care principles for vegetable tanned leather bag:

1. Avoid long term direct sunlight, as it may affect the colour of your bag. Lighter tones become darker. Bright colours become duller.
2. Natural leather that has not been heavily treated is vulnerable to high temperature. It alters the shape and structure of leather. Do not use hot water for cleaning and let your bag air dry at room temperature when wet. Avoid hot radiators.

Regular care

Normally your bag is fine with regular care routines and does not need thorough cleaning too often. Wipe your bag with damp cloth and apply leather cream for moisturising. Do this regularly and only use small amount of cream at a time. 

We recommend thorough cleaning and care once a year. It needs patience and proper tools, but you can easily do it at home. However, our crafters are glad to do it for you. 

If you wish to give your bag a thorough cleaning at home, read the guidelines below and always remember to follow the instructions that come with different products:
1. Wipe off any stains and light grease with a damp cloth.
2. You may also use a special leather soap or cleaning agent. For removing stains use a damp sponge with lukewarm water, avoid hot water. Use little water and squeeze out excess water and cleaning agent before washing, ideally just use the foam on the sponge. Move in circles and cover the whole surface, this avoids stains and changes in colour. Wipe the foam off with a dry cloth.
3. After cleaning use a sponge to apply the care cream suitable and eventually polish the surface with a clean cloth.
To make it easier for you to care for your bag at home, we have a variety of care products available in our studio and also online shop. Aftercare service – what is that exactly?

In addition to cleaning and applying moisturising and protective cream, we also replace any details that are worn out or broken and we have our special tricks to pamper the overall look of the bag.
We recommend to bring the bag for aftercare after 6-12 months of use. Depending on the state of the bag, we can then suggest how often to bring your bag back for care. Usually the interval is 6-24 months depending on the bag’s colour (lighter leather needs cleaning more often), how heavily it’s used and how many things it carries.

The first aftercare service is on us, the next ones are according to our price list.


leather bag well taken care of

Round 2

As we mentioned before, it is important for us to keep the material of our bags in use as long as possible. To make it easier for you to return the products you have used up (after long and loving care, of course), we offer credit your next purchase. Credit amount depends on the state of the bag. It pays to take good care of your bag. Literally :)


Photo: Halina Mugame

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