Home Show: Leather furniture 'very popular'

There is a trend in New Zealand towards the use of natural, waxed aniline leathers in furniture, says John Kloosterman.

Aniline leathers, he says, are "very popular" in the United States.

Mr Kloosterman and his wife Jo-ann set up Gascoigne Furniture in Auckland in 1993 and the firm specialises in leather furniture.

Gascoigne was originally English-based and it supplied chesterfield furniture to Buckingham Palace in 1981.

But it later shifted its base to Australia and Mrs Kloosterman was an executive with the Australian firm.

The Auckland firm markets Gascoigne products and other furniture.

As well as the traditional furniture that it specialises in, the firm will display some of the Softline range of European contemporary leather
furniture at the Home Show.

Mr Kloosterman says natural, waxed aniline leathers, show scars and blemishes that are disguised in top-coated leathers. "In fact these are what give the hide its individual characteristics," he says. While they are beautiful, natural leathers are not for everyone, he adds. They are not as resistant to sun fade and need more care and maintenance than the more common top-coated leathers.

"However, in the right place there are few pieces of upholstery that are as luxurious as a sofa covered in soft natural leather."