The hospital for handbags
When luxury goods have accidents, they're rushed to Momoko for surgery and soothing
OMG! Your favourite (and very expensive) Louis Vuitton handbag has a scratch on it! But resist the instinct to hit the panic button and instead just take the bag to Momoko. It’s a “spa” for posh bags and shoes, and it will have your pet Louis feeling much better in a few days.
Momoko’s form of spa pampering applies care and repair to metal, leather and other materials instead of human skin and muscle, and its “patients” don’t have to be wealthy. They’ll fix cheap bags, too.
Still, the place is a magnet for celebrities with beat-up accessories, and many premier brands have recruited Momoko for after-sale service. You might get a Momoko voucher when you buy something nice, for a one-time treatment or waterproofing or the like.
They’ll fix suede sneakers, canvas bags, wristwatches, bracelets, sunglasses – anything that’s been damaged. The prices range from Bt200 to have an item UV-protected to Bt10,000 to have it “repainted” a different colour.
Siratcha Patcharasopachai owns Momoko with her boyfriend, whose family runs a leather factory.
“I had a lot of luxury leather handbags and high-heel shoes and I always fretted when they got scuffed, but no one could help me!” says Siratcha.
“Then I asked a relative who’s run a leather factory for decades to fix them, and it was fantastic – they made my stuff look like new! So that was my inspiration for Momoko.”
Her first shop, opened in 2009, was in the Eight Thonglor Complex. She relocated to J-Avenue early last year, with a homey showroom with wood-panelled walls and comfortable chairs where you sit and quiz the technician about your bag’s chances of survival.
The basic treatment includes UV protection, which right away makes a bag look brighter and waterproofing to protect against stains. And of course they scrub away blemishes and discoloration.
The most popular treatment involves “reupholstering” purses. They’ll replace the lining and, in some cases, order genuine replacement parts from the brand’s stores.
Siratcha’s craftsmen spent six months in Italy learning how to change an item’s colour from experienced technicians. A scanner, also from Italy, is used to identify how the existing hues are mixed, and then a colour-mixing machine from France comes up with the desired new shade. The “paints” come from Britain.
Many people come in with items charred in a fire or burned by cigarettes, but lately there’s also been a lot of leather stiffened, mildewed and faded by the floodwaters.
For scratched suede and leather, Siratcha suggests saving money by simply staining over the damage rather than replacing the material.
“I got quite a surprise recently when a customer said her new Prada bag had been chewed up by termites. It was a case study for us – we spent many days looking for a solution. Ultimately we had to fill in all the tiny holes and re-colour the bag.”
Handling so many luxury goods from Hermes, Chanel, Coach and other famous brands, Siratcha uses special computer software to keep records, complete with photos of the bags and their serial numbers and before-and-after condition. Customers can thus be sure no additional damage is done while their gear is at Momoko.
Siratcha has also set aside some shelves where customers can leave second-hand goods for sale on consignment. And she plans to open a separate boutique too specifically to sell celebrities’ used bags and accessories.
DON’T CALL 191
>>> Momoko is in the J-Avenue mall on Thonglor Soi 15. It’s open daily from 11am to 9pm.
Call (02) 712 7672 or check out www.MomokoSite.com or the MomokoSite page on Facebook.
