NEW YORK — Katia Graytok, chief marketing officer at Margaret’s the Couture Cleaner, has completed the Handbag Authentication master program at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London.
The five-day program, held at the institute’s Bedford Square campus, covered the authentication of luxury handbags through analysis of craftsmanship and construction. Coursework examined designs from Hermès, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Dior, with instruction in leather grain identification, stitching techniques, hardware engravings, typography and date codes.
Although Margaret’s does not provide financial appraisals or commercial authentication services, the company says the training will inform how its artisans develop cleaning and restoration protocols, based on how individual houses construct their products.
“Preservation begins with understanding how an object was originally made,” Graytok says. “Our responsibility is to restore and clean luxury handbags without compromising the craftsmanship that makes them exceptional. This training provides another layer of knowledge that helps us preserve every stitch, embossment, finish and construction detail entrusted to our care.”
The company’s leather restoration department, led by a former Hermès artisan, handles precision cleaning, conditioning, color restoration, edge refinishing, hardware polishing, structural repairs and lining replacement.
Margaret’s operates an executive location in New York City and five boutiques in Southern California, and accepts shipped items nationally through its CleanByMail service.
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