Here's another "destroyed" handbag brought back to life at Arrow Leathercare Services. The nasty stains are GONE!! Don't throw your stained or damaged handbag away - put new years of service into your favorite bag.

SPLASH DOWN!! When you hit the mud, you can count on Arrow to save the garment. Here are photos of the "After ATV Mishap" and the "After Arrow" versions.

Amazing, huh??!! This isn't an unusual case at Arrow. We get all the hard jobs no one else in the US will tackle. If you have a special challenge or just a routine cleaning, send your leather to Arrow.

Arrow receives many complimentary letters, emails and phone calls...Following are some of the most recent ones. We're proud of our work and cherish the reputation we have earned over the years.

This rough and tumble Robert Comstock Wild Austrian Chamois jacket was damaged by a substance that created a chemical burn. It was a write-off until the owner was directed to Arrow. Arrow took charge and was able to acquire a new replacement skin that we finished to a perfect match. The customer was delighted with the results.

Wild Austrian Chamois is a unique leather that designer Robert Comstock uses for this limited edition ultra-fashionable rugged jacket. Comstock, an Idahoan (Sun Valley), specializes in some of the most unique suedes and leather for outerwear that is both durable and comfortable to wear in any conditions.

Arrow always loves a difficult (or impossible) challenge and most often meets and exceeds customer expectations. Here's what the owner said in an email note to us:

One of America's premiere luxury specialty retailers sends Arrow hundreds of handbags for cleaning and restoration each year. But last week we received the ultimate evidence of this client's confidence and satisfaction - a handbag valued at nearly 50 thousand dollars...the most expensive bag trusted to Arrow to date.

The bag was in need of color restoration on parts of the surfaces due to some mishandling.

Was Arrow intimidated? Certainly not.

The client got the same prompt and professional services as all our customers who trust their bags to Arrow for care. The result of our work is shown in these "before" and "after" photos.

(Three generation of Gershons: Joseph Gershon (top) ran the business from 1914 to the 1950s, when his son Bob Gershon (left) from took over. Grandson, Bruce Gershon (right) assumed the job in 1988.)

Bruce Gershon's grandfather, Joseph, started Gershon Tailor Shop in Kansas City, Mo., in 1914. Through nearly 100 years and three generations of ownership and a gradual shift in focus to more wholesale and specialty cleaning work, the family business - then known as Arrow Cleaners & Dyers, Inc .- has prided itself on quality.

Joseph Gershon's middle son, Mel, worked in the business on-and-off when not pursuing his first callings, chemical, and mechanical engineering and inventing. Mel's tinkering produced a patent on the first foam rubber press pad, as well as other innovations that were adopted without fanfare by major manufacturers, according to family legend. After serving in World War II, Joseph's youngest son, Bob Gershon, joined the business, and became an early Kirk's Suede-Life licensee in the mid-1950s, when Arrow began to hone its leather-cleaning skills. After his father died in an automobile accident in 1963, Bob became sole owner.
Arrow's business was largely retail and focused on high-end dry cleaning until Bob's son, Bruce Gershon joined the business in the early 1970s. "I started doing more with the wholesale arena," Bruce Gershon says. "I started with servicing local cleaners, and then leather manufacturers and soliciting them to recommend Arrow. We wanted to let them know that there was someone who could clean leather."
At one point, a manufacturer sent Arrow several black-and-yellow lambskin jackets as a test. "They thought they would send us something impossible," Gershon says. After sending them back without any color bleed, "he started putting our label in them" - as did many stylish brands of the era, including Ralph Edwards Sportswear, In Transit, and Begedor Italia. "Our growth was accelerating, and part of it was national growth," he says. "We were right in the middle of the country, which was good for servicing mail order. Once manufacturers understood what we had to offer, they would recommend us to stores, and they, in turn, would recommend us to their customers."
Another big breakthrough happened in 1993 after Bruce Gershon had visited the New York office of Ralph Lauren. The all-American clothing company was looking to capitalize on a growing trend for vintage apparel, and one of the people in the meeting later called Gershon. "He said, 'This is going to sound crazy, but I want to come and work with you for a couple of weeks,'" Gershon recalls. “‘We’re going to make a vintage clothing line, and I want to replicate these leathers and make them look old.'"
Antiquing leather garments turned into a year-long project, with Arrow inventing techniques on-the-spot. "They turned out incredible," Gershon says. 'We found a rock that's indigenous to Missouri, and took old laundry tumblers and filled them with these rocks to tumble the leathers. Then we had to have new baskets made, because the rocks were too heavy for the tumblers. Necessity was the mother of invention."
Arrow ultimately produced 12 styles of vintage leather garments and more than 20,000 individual items. The company moved on to jeans, inventing additional processes to produce more than 450,000 pairs of stone-washed and antiqued jeans. "The year after we ended our project, manufacturing went to China and they tried to replicate the things we were doing," Gershon says. "They could never figure some things out, including our patented denim antiquing, but a patent means nothing over there."
Arrow still operates its retail business and routes out of its main 26,000-sq.-ft. plant, and also performs fire restoration, reweaving, and luxury French laundry service. The company recently bought out a drapery cleaner, getting all of its equipment and added a new facility with 22,000 more square feet of space. But its commitment to a range of quality cleaning services and customers large and small has never been stronger.

This is an example of how Arrow can make an old, damaged, faded or scratched piece of furniture look almost new. ARROW specializes in the restoration of original beauty and condition of leather chairs and couches. All work is done by hand and can be performed in our plant or on location and your home or office. During cleaning natural oils are restored to the leather to prevent the leather from further drying and cracking. Colors are re-tinted for a new appearance. The color finishes that are used allow the leather to breathe and to retain its soft, pliable texture. A clear finish is applied to protect against soiling and to protect the surface dye.

This is a good example of how Arrow's Leather Furniture technicians can take a faded and damaged chair that was destined for the scrap heap and bring it back to it's former glory and rightful place in your home.
Most cleaning and restoration work is donein-plant, although we may be able to restore some items onsite. Call 816-931-2452 to set up appointment for an in-home estimate.

Coming soon to www.ehow.com... In this picture owner, Bruce Gershon, preps for his video shoot with ehow.com. Bruce will be featured in a series of Leather and Fabric care "how to" videos on ehow.com beginning in April of 2012.

Bruce was contacted by ehow.com through one of their producers who had used Arrow's services before. Her husband was going to throw away one of his old leather coats, and she did not want to get rid of it. She did a Google search on leather restoration, and came to the conclusion that Arrow was the best place to send this special coat. She shipped the coat to Arrow through our special online shipping program, and when they received the coat back they were more than thrilled with the results.

Being recognized as one of the premiere leather cleaners in the country ehow.com asked Bruce to do a Leather and Fabric Care “how to” video series. 17 helpful videos were filmed and will be posted on ehow.com starting in April.