Status of Thedi Leathers?

Brandrea33 said:

Certainly not giving Thedi a pass on the customer service provided in this instance, but I think you could pretty much insert any of the custom makers names here. At some point, they’ve pretty much all been written about.

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ton312 said:

I can only imagine the agony makers must feel having to make custom jackets for people who don't know how to size themselves. I almost think there should be some kind of qualification exam to place a custom order. No offense to the OP but it seems you weren't able to get it right in two attempts? If I were Thedi or any other maker I wouldn't prioritize your request. I completely understand being frustrated with a lack of comms but man....at a certain point, I think you should've just left it alone or tried harder to source the alteration elsewhere.

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newtojackets said:

Don’t think this is fair to OP. He acknowledged it was his mistake and just wanted alterations. He said he doesn’t expect anything for free and is willing to pay for it.

It is not unreasonable to expect an update within 8 months, regardless of how many remakes (especially as op said he would pay for any alterations)

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ton312 said:

At a certain point, the alterations are up to customer and not the responsibility of the maker. That’s why I feel he should’ve pursed them elsewhere. The hobby is littered with customers brow beating makers with 100 emails, requests for tweaks, etc. It slows the process down for everyone. It’s mainly folks new to the hobby who haven’t taken the time and effort to answer their own questions.

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newtojackets said:

I agree that alterations are up to the customer. However, Thedi voluntarily agreed to doing it, after which a maker should have responsibility for communication. Had the company just turned down the alteration, I would have not blamed then

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ton312 said:

I agree and if the attitude is “I’ll get to it when I get to it” then the OP doesn’t really have anyone to blame for the slow process. An email to that effect may have pushed him to look for the alterations elsewhere or not at all. I’m not defending poor communication but I can see where this would get thrown on an “at some point” pile.

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Sionnach said:

Hi everyone. I lurk here and read all the excellent info and advice on leather. This is my first post so I ask for forgiveness if I break any rules. I don't think I have.

I wanted to ask if anyone has had any contact with Theodoros of Thedi Leathers lately, and if they are still in business? I cannot get anyone to respond to me despite multiple mails.

I purchased a jacket from Thedi in Feb 2022. When it arrived I could not raise my arms forward more than 45° from arms at side. That jacket didn't fit, so went back to Thedi. 4 or 5 months later in Oct 2023 I got a new jacket, and chest and arms were fine but body was very boxy. I thought the jacket would work if I wore it with layers. I told Theodoros it was fine.

Fast forward to Feb of this year (2023) and I decided I would get the body taken in so the fit would be perfect. Local tailors all understood how to do the alterations but I could not find anyone with a machine that could go through the horse hide. Nobody could do the work and the jacket would have to be sent abroad for alteration.

So instead I decided to contact Theodoros and arranged to return the jacket to him. I offered to pay for the alterations at whatever fee he wanted. I paid to ship the jacket back to Greece. He received it at end of Feb 2023. I was expecting just an alteration on the body, and I took more photos and sent measurements to show what was too big and what I was wanting done. Theodoros said the job was simple in principle but it would be easier to make a new jacket, which he would do because he felt he must. I was appreciative of his commitment but didn't / don't expect anything for free.

Anyway, fast forward to end Sept/Oct and I reached out to him asking for an update. I hadn't heard anything since he received the jacket in Feb. I've written four mails since then, about one a week, asking for an update on the status of the jacket. And I cannot get any reply. Even to tell me it isn't ready. So I was concerned something may have happened to the company, or that the order had been forgotten. I know Thedi is a busy vendor and things take time, but it's nearly been 8 months.

Hence I thought I would ask if anyone has any info they can share or has been in contact with Theodoros. At this point I would like to conclude our business, either with a jacket or with a refund. But this will require some communication first. Hoping someone can help with that.

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Sionnach said:

OP here. It's kind of amazing. I thought this thread was dead back in Oct 2023. When everyone was telling me not to worry, everything was okay. Because the maker is great and honest and surely would make good on it soon. So I did not see any of the subsequent discussions up to now.

The TL;DR of this story is that I still do not have a jacket. I had one email from Theodoros in Nov promising to do the work, with pictures of the actions he would take, then nothing. It is 2 years now since I placed the first order (Feb 2022). And it is 1 year since the jacket was returned to Thedi, at his agreement and at my expense. He now has both my jacket and my money.

@ton312 Respectfully, you jumped to the conclusion that I just cannot measure myself. Then built an entire rationalisation about how because of that, I deserve to wait, what is I guess, an indefinite amount of time. This is unjustified. I actually can measure myself--I've ordered 2 jackets from Five Star since then, both of which fit. Jackets that were ordered largely with advice I gleamed from listening to what others said in this forum. In both of those cases I had no problem either with communications or with getting a product that met the requirements of my measurements.

Further, I did take the jacket to local sources for alteration before going back to Thedi. We have a master tailor who listened to me and told me the problem I described with the first jacket, about not being able to raise my arms above 45deg to the front was because the front wasn't long enough. He looked at the jacket, showed me exactly where to take it in, and remeasured me. Ultimately he couldn't take the jacket because he doesn't have a machine capable to work on that horsehide. That was my ultimate problem--no resources I could find in my entire country who could alter a jacket.

It's also why I offered to pay Theodoros whatever he asked to do the job--because who better to perform an alteration than the original maker.

Which makes all the things stated about the pain of the makers a moot point. Theodoros didn't have to take the jacket back--as was rightfully pointed out. And he volunteered to do the work. Which I gratefully appreciated.

I would also like to remark that I am not a Karen customer. I do not bombard with emails, do not make demands, and do not take a disrespectful tone. Back in Oct/Nov, I would write 1 email a week. Polite, understanding, tone. Not making any demand for when the jacket should be done, but just asking (begging tbh) for communications with me. And after Nov, when Thedi did reply, I stopped writing and waited. In 2024, I've written 2 emails, to both Thedi addresses, and received no further reply. I see on Insta (which I don't have but can check), that Theodoros is travelling and premiering new jackets. I know he is working.

For everyone else--at this point I'm not sure I even want a jacket. This has been one of the worst retail experiences of my life. He has both my money and jacket and I have no idea if I'll ever get anything back. If Thedi offered a refund I'd take it.

But I don't necessarily want for this to end with a confrontation or a defeat. I am willing to explore other options with him. The original jacket was a Cossack flying jacket. I took a chance on it--usually I prefer motorcycle jackets. If, for example, Theodoros wanted to work on a traditional d-pocket jacket with me instead of remaking another Cossack, I would be fine to do that, even if it required more time or money.

I know that might seem weird given my experience--but I'm well past the point now where getting another Cossack would come with any sense of joy. I would just be relieved that the saga was over. And that's not what I want for a custom piece in my closet. Conversely, I don't want Theodoros to feel he lost, or to make something he would (and seemingly is) loathe to do. If another option would create a win-win, that would be good.

I just honestly want something to happen. Something I can trust, to close this out.

Finally, sorry for a wall of text--I've just been sitting with this for months and I'm just catching up to all the back and forth that continued after I thought the thread dead.

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Sionnach said:

OP ici. C'est plutôt incroyable. Je pensais que ce fil était mort en octobre 2023. Quand tout le monde me disait de ne pas m'inquiéter, tout allait bien. Parce que le créateur est formidable et honnête et qu’il s’en sortirait sûrement bientôt. Je n’ai donc vu aucune des discussions ultérieures jusqu’à présent.

Le TL;DR de cette histoire est que je n’ai toujours pas de veste. J'ai reçu un e-mail de Theodoros en novembre promettant de faire le travail, avec des photos des actions qu'il entreprendrait, puis rien. Cela fait maintenant 2 ans que j'ai passé la première commande (février 2022). Et cela fait 1 an que la veste a été restituée à Thedi, avec son accord et à mes frais. Il a maintenant ma veste et mon argent.

@ton312 Respectueusement, vous avez conclu hâtivement que je ne peux tout simplement pas me mesurer. Ensuite, j'ai construit toute une rationalisation sur le fait qu'à cause de cela, je méritais d'attendre, ce qui est, je suppose, une durée indéfinie. C'est injustifié. En fait, je peux me mesurer - j'ai depuis commandé 2 vestes chez Five Star, qui me vont toutes les deux. Des vestes qui ont été commandées en grande partie grâce aux conseils que j'ai tirés en écoutant ce que d'autres ont dit sur ce forum. Dans ces deux cas, je n'ai eu aucun problème ni avec les communications ni avec l'obtention d'un produit répondant aux exigences de mes mesures.

De plus, j'ai apporté la veste à des sources locales pour la modifier avant de retourner chez Thedi. Nous avons un maître tailleur qui m'a écouté et m'a expliqué que le problème que j'avais décrit avec la première veste, à savoir que je ne pouvais pas lever les bras au-dessus de 45 degrés vers l'avant, était dû au fait que le devant n'était pas assez long. Il a regardé la veste, m'a montré exactement où la mettre et m'a remesuré. Finalement, il n'a pas pu prendre la veste car il n'a pas de machine capable de travailler ce cuir de cheval. C’était mon problème ultime : je ne trouvais aucune ressource dans tout mon pays pour modifier une veste.

C'est aussi la raison pour laquelle j'ai proposé de payer à Theodoros tout ce qu'il demandait pour faire le travail - car qui de mieux que le créateur d'origine pour effectuer une modification.

Ce qui fait de tout ce qui est dit sur la douleur des créateurs un point discutable. Theodoros n’a pas eu à reprendre la veste, comme cela a été souligné à juste titre. Et il s'est porté volontaire pour faire le travail. Ce que j'ai apprécié avec gratitude.

Je voudrais également souligner que je ne suis pas un client Karen. Je ne bombarde pas d’e-mails, je ne fais pas d’exigences et je ne prends pas un ton irrespectueux. En octobre/novembre, j’écrivais 1 e-mail par semaine. Poli, compréhensif, ton. Je ne demande pas quand la veste doit être terminée, mais je demande simplement (en suppliant) de communiquer avec moi. Et après novembre, quand Thedi a répondu, j'ai arrêté d'écrire et j'ai attendu. En 2024, j'ai écrit 2 emails, aux deux adresses Thedi, et je n'ai reçu aucune autre réponse. Je vois sur Insta (que je n'ai pas mais que je peux vérifier) que Theodoros voyage et présente de nouvelles vestes. Je sais qu'il travaille.

Pour tout le monde – à ce stade, je ne suis même pas sûr de vouloir une veste. Cela a été l’une des pires expériences de vente au détail de ma vie. Il a mon argent et ma veste et je ne sais pas si je pourrai un jour récupérer quoi que ce soit. Si Thedi proposait un remboursement, je l'accepterais.

Mais je ne veux pas nécessairement que cela se termine par une confrontation ou une défaite. Je suis prêt à explorer d'autres options avec lui. La veste originale était une veste volante cosaque. J'ai tenté ma chance - en général, je préfère les vestes de moto. Si, par exemple, Theodoros voulait travailler avec moi sur une veste traditionnelle à poche en D au lieu de refaire un autre Cosaque, je serais d'accord pour le faire, même si cela demandait plus de temps ou d'argent.

Je sais que cela peut sembler étrange compte tenu de mon expérience, mais j'ai désormais largement dépassé le point où obtenir un autre Cosaque apporterait un sentiment de joie. Je serais juste soulagé que la saga soit terminée. Et ce n’est pas ce que je souhaite pour une pièce personnalisée dans mon placard. À l’inverse, je ne veux pas que Theodoros se sente perdu ou qu’il fasse quelque chose qu’il détesterait (et semble être) faire. Si une autre option pouvait créer une situation gagnant-gagnant, ce serait bien.

Honnêtement, je veux juste que quelque chose se passe. Quelque chose en qui je peux avoir confiance, pour clore ça.

Enfin, désolé pour un mur de texte - je suis assis avec ça depuis des mois et je suis juste en train de rattraper tous les allers-retours qui ont continué après que j'ai pensé que le fil était mort.

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noir désir said:

Some news since ?

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Sionnach said:

Hé. Toujours aucun contact ni réponse à aucun de mes mails. Et pas de veste.

Thedi a lancé une veste D-pocket en février, et alors que j'écrivais la dernière mise à jour ici, je lui avais proposé une option selon laquelle nous pourrions laisser le Cosaque derrière nous et faire cette veste à la place. Je pensais que cela rendrait peut-être plus facile la participation et plus satisfaisant pour nous deux.

J'ai envoyé un autre courrier le 22 avril pour lui rappeler à nouveau, proposer à nouveau l'idée et lui demander de s'engager. Pas de réponse.

Je ne veux vraiment pas rechercher une résolution par le conflit, mais je commence à craindre de n'avoir pas d'alternative.

Merci pour l'attention. Je l'apprécie.

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noir désir said:

Sorry to read that nothing is improuving for you, courage !

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TelemarkTumalo said:

I appreciate you posting your story here. I can appreciate your frustrations as I had a somewhat similar experience with a pair of MTO boots. Long story and I won't steal your thread here.

I'm new to the higher end leather jacket world. Thedi seems to be one of those small custom shops where one guy is doing it all. This is both the beauty of a solo business, but also the curse. I'm also one of those who appreciates communication and find it frustrating when businesses fail to respond to inquiries. Especially if they already have my money. Perhaps because of my work in medicine, but every patient phone call and portal message has to be answered before I go home for the day. Customer service is king!

The OP has had a frustrating experience, only a part of which involves his jacket not fitting properly. Obviously, if Thedi was told to take some time off by his physician, then he should do so. Posting a message on his website or an answering machine message, would let customers know what to expect in terms of his time recuperating and maybe an idea of when he might be up and running again.

IMO, I would ask for my jacket to be sent back as is. Then, decide if it can still be worn with the limitations, or sell it and move on.

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Sionnach said:

OP here. It's kind of amazing. I thought this thread was dead back in Oct 2023. When everyone was telling me not to worry, everything was okay. Because the maker is great and honest and surely would make good on it soon. So I did not see any of the subsequent discussions up to now.

The TL;DR of this story is that I still do not have a jacket. I had one email from Theodoros in Nov promising to do the work, with pictures of the actions he would take, then nothing. It is 2 years now since I placed the first order (Feb 2022). And it is 1 year since the jacket was returned to Thedi, at his agreement and at my expense. He now has both my jacket and my money.

@ton312 Respectfully, you jumped to the conclusion that I just cannot measure myself. Then built an entire rationalisation about how because of that, I deserve to wait, what is I guess, an indefinite amount of time. This is unjustified. I actually can measure myself--I've ordered 2 jackets from Five Star since then, both of which fit. Jackets that were ordered largely with advice I gleamed from listening to what others said in this forum. In both of those cases I had no problem either with communications or with getting a product that met the requirements of my measurements.

Further, I did take the jacket to local sources for alteration before going back to Thedi. We have a master tailor who listened to me and told me the problem I described with the first jacket, about not being able to raise my arms above 45deg to the front was because the front wasn't long enough. He looked at the jacket, showed me exactly where to take it in, and remeasured me. Ultimately he couldn't take the jacket because he doesn't have a machine capable to work on that horsehide. That was my ultimate problem--no resources I could find in my entire country who could alter a jacket.

It's also why I offered to pay Theodoros whatever he asked to do the job--because who better to perform an alteration than the original maker.

Which makes all the things stated about the pain of the makers a moot point. Theodoros didn't have to take the jacket back--as was rightfully pointed out. And he volunteered to do the work. Which I gratefully appreciated.

I would also like to remark that I am not a Karen customer. I do not bombard with emails, do not make demands, and do not take a disrespectful tone. Back in Oct/Nov, I would write 1 email a week. Polite, understanding, tone. Not making any demand for when the jacket should be done, but just asking (begging tbh) for communications with me. And after Nov, when Thedi did reply, I stopped writing and waited. In 2024, I've written 2 emails, to both Thedi addresses, and received no further reply. I see on Insta (which I don't have but can check), that Theodoros is travelling and premiering new jackets. I know he is working.

For everyone else--at this point I'm not sure I even want a jacket. This has been one of the worst retail experiences of my life. He has both my money and jacket and I have no idea if I'll ever get anything back. If Thedi offered a refund I'd take it.

But I don't necessarily want for this to end with a confrontation or a defeat. I am willing to explore other options with him. The original jacket was a Cossack flying jacket. I took a chance on it--usually I prefer motorcycle jackets. If, for example, Theodoros wanted to work on a traditional d-pocket jacket with me instead of remaking another Cossack, I would be fine to do that, even if it required more time or money.

I know that might seem weird given my experience--but I'm well past the point now where getting another Cossack would come with any sense of joy. I would just be relieved that the saga was over. And that's not what I want for a custom piece in my closet. Conversely, I don't want Theodoros to feel he lost, or to make something he would (and seemingly is) loathe to do. If another option would create a win-win, that would be good.

I just honestly want something to happen. Something I can trust, to close this out.

Finally, sorry for a wall of text--I've just been sitting with this for months and I'm just catching up to all the back and forth that continued after I thought the thread dead.

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ton312 said:

At this point you do have my sympathy. This is lousy cs. Best of luck. I assume you’ve tried all avenues, DM on IG, phone, etc?

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