xtine

Cheryl, I'm sorry but I never told you the premise of the book, and I have not told it to anyone so I'm unsure how you know it? I also hate waste, and I am glad to hear about the solutions of the tribespeople. Art - I sent you an email

OMG total overload. It's like me trying to explain how a shirt goes from concept to store in a forum. But the thing about the hat is pretty cool. X

Art - that picture is beautiful. Thanks so much. I can get a lot from that. How does the elephant feel? I know tanning has a lot to do with it, but you said it was different than calf. Softer? Slicker? Stiffer? Thanks!

Four out of five answers were really helpful. Thanks so much. The fact that you really can't tell will be great. I can build a scene around that. And since the stoppage at the border is a setup, it's perfect. Can I ask a couple more? 1) When looking at a skin, what would the back of it tell you? 2) Is there a glossary of terms I can refer to that might tell about the edges, the hair in the back, the creases? 3) What does the smell tell you about a skin? 4) With reptile skin, can you still not tell even if the scales are on it? My point is, that if I have a superexpertninja come in, I want to know how he would inspect it and what words he'd use. I am going to get to all those links in a couple of days (2 jobs, 2 kids etc...) and will probably bother you some more after that. Thanks X

Good Morning - I am not a leatherworker at all. Just a novelist who put in a plot device she doesn't fully understand. I am hoping to pick all your brains on the below questions. I appreciate the time you would take to help me with all or some of the below. I know everyone is busy, and I'm not really a proper member here, nor am I a leatherworker. So I hope you can forgive the intrusion....okay here goes! *Is there an endangered species skin that can be easily confusedwith a really nice version of another, permitted skin? *What is a CITES cert? (I'm sure I'm saying this wrong) Is this something that will let an endangeredspecies skin through customs? How can it be allowed at all? What do they haveto certify? This seems crazy, but I’m totally uneducated on the subject. (maybeyou have a good link to the info?) *Are ALL skins checked at customs? I’d like it if a small amount got throughand then the big shipment is blocked. *What skin would you recommend? I’d like it to be so luxuriousthat when you touch it you say, “oh my god this is the nicest leather I haveEVER touched.” And what country would it be from? I can easily have it comefrom one place, be dyed/tanned in another and shipped from a third – possiblywith a third treatment on it if necessary. No problem for the story. Thanks in advance for your help. You can check out my website at http://fashionismurder.com (the "murder" part refers to the murder mystery aspect of the books) And you can look at the first book in the series here....http://www.amazon.com/Dead-New-Black-Fashion-Mysteries/dp/1466338121/ Have a great new year!