Help with cleaning leather bag!

Hello all,
I have been an on–and–off reader of this newsgroup for a long time and
used to post a little under an old dejanews account, but that was many
ages ago. I've found this group to be very knowledgeable, so I hope
that some of you can help me!
About a month ago I purchased a beautiful, beautiful Mulberry Tooled
Bayswater handbag in apple green leather. It is quite likely the most
expensive article of fashion I've ever bought in my life, but I
completely fell in love with it when I was travelling in Europe and it
was a couple hundred dollars less expensive there than in the US.
When I purchased it, the saleswoman in the store treated the leather
with a water resistant spray. I bought it home, unpacked, set the bag
on a chair and then proceeded to hang up some clothes from my suitcase
and spray them with Downy wrinkle reducer. I thought the bag was at a
safe distance, but one stray droplet landed right in the front and
center of the bag. It was just a teeny droplet, but it left a dark
spot after it dried.
I decided to see if I could clean it, so I first used a slightly damp
cloth to rub on it, but it only made things worse. Then, in a panic,
I stupidly tried to use more water and then Coach leather cleaner on
it. To my credit, I did test it on the bottom first and it seemed
fine when it dried – however, when I used it on the front panel, it
left things slightly discolored after drying. I think perhaps that
when the woman at the shop applied the water protectant spray, she may
have missed part of the front, so that it was more absorbent.
So now my bag is rather badly discolored – it is supposed to be a soft
fresh apple green color, and now the front is almost an olive tone.
:( I am quite heartbroken over this and don't know what to do. The
bag is made of vegetable tanned leather and is unfinished, so that it
soaks up anything liquid that is applied to it. Mulberry does not
offer much help, except to say that it is a special leather that is
meant to "age" quickly and to protect it with a water–resistant spray.
Does anyone have any ideas on how to treat this kind of leather? An
acquaintance of mine said that a suede/nubuck cleaner with dry
cleaning agents might work without staining the bag, since unfinished
pebbled leather has many similar properties to nubuck, but I am afraid
to try it.
I would like to take it to a professional leather specialist but I do
not know how to find a reputable one. I asked for a recommendation at
Nordstrom and they named a nearby shoe shop, but I don't know whether
they usually handle this sort of thing and if I can entrust such an
expensive handbag to them. It also seemed to me that this was a place
meant more for leather repairs rather than cleaning. I will likely
take it there once I have exhausted all other ideas.
Since the leather is meant to age quickly, then perhaps I can just
resign myself to the idea that this is just going to be part of the
natural "patina," only that I sped it up by a lot...however, whenever
I look at the bag right now it just looks awful to me and makes me
feel really sad. I know that in the bigger picture this is really not
such a terrible tragedy, but I hope some of you will understand. It's
just an awful feeling to fall in love with something that beautiful
and expensive and ruin it when it is almost brand new! I am also just
really upset because the original spot was just a tiny dot and I made
it so much worse with my stupid panicked attempts to remove it.
So if you have any ideas or experience with this kind of thing, I
would greatly appreciate it if you could respond. Also please let me
know if you know of any reputable leather cleaning specialists in the
Bay Area, or ideas for how to find one.
Thank you!
Alice

Hello all,
I have been an on–and–off reader of this newsgroup for a long time and
used to post a little under an old dejanews account, but that was many
ages ago. I've found this group to be very knowledgeable, so I hope
that some of you can help me!
About a month ago I purchased a beautiful, beautiful Mulberry Tooled
Bayswater handbag in apple green leather. It is quite likely the most
expensive article of fashion I've ever bought in my life, but I
completely fell in love with it when I was travelling in Europe and it
was a couple hundred dollars less expensive there than in the US.
When I purchased it, the saleswoman in the store treated the leather
with a water resistant spray. I bought it home, unpacked, set the bag
on a chair and then proceeded to hang up some clothes from my suitcase
and spray them with Downy wrinkle reducer. I thought the bag was at a
safe distance, but one stray droplet landed right in the front and
center of the bag. It was just a teeny droplet, but it left a dark
spot after it dried.
I decided to see if I could clean it, so I first used a slightly damp
cloth to rub on it, but it only made things worse. Then, in a panic,
I stupidly tried to use more water and then Coach leather cleaner on
it. To my credit, I did test it on the bottom first and it seemed
fine when it dried – however, when I used it on the front panel, it
left things slightly discolored after drying. I think perhaps that
when the woman at the shop applied the water protectant spray, she may
have missed part of the front, so that it was more absorbent.
So now my bag is rather badly discolored – it is supposed to be a soft
fresh apple green color, and now the front is almost an olive tone.
:( I am quite heartbroken over this and don't know what to do. The
bag is made of vegetable tanned leather and is unfinished, so that it
soaks up anything liquid that is applied to it. Mulberry does not
offer much help, except to say that it is a special leather that is
meant to "age" quickly and to protect it with a water–resistant spray.
Does anyone have any ideas on how to treat this kind of leather? An
acquaintance of mine said that a suede/nubuck cleaner with dry
cleaning agents might work without staining the bag, since unfinished
pebbled leather has many similar properties to nubuck, but I am afraid
to try it.
I would like to take it to a professional leather specialist but I do
not know how to find a reputable one. I asked for a recommendation at
Nordstrom and they named a nearby shoe shop, but I don't know whether
they usually handle this sort of thing and if I can entrust such an
expensive handbag to them. It also seemed to me that this was a place
meant more for leather repairs rather than cleaning. I will likely
take it there once I have exhausted all other ideas.
Since the leather is meant to age quickly, then perhaps I can just
resign myself to the idea that this is just going to be part of the
natural "patina," only that I sped it up by a lot...however, whenever
I look at the bag right now it just looks awful to me and makes me
feel really sad. I know that in the bigger picture this is really not
such a terrible tragedy, but I hope some of you will understand. It's
just an awful feeling to fall in love with something that beautiful
and expensive and ruin it when it is almost brand new! I am also just
really upset because the original spot was just a tiny dot and I made
it so much worse with my stupid panicked attempts to remove it.
So if you have any ideas or experience with this kind of thing, I
would greatly appreciate it if you could respond. Also please let me
know if you know of any reputable leather cleaning specialists in the
Bay Area, or ideas for how to find one.
Thank you!
Alice