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Hi everyone, This is my first post here on the forum, so I apologize if I didn’t put this in the right place. Sorry for the length, I just want to give all the info I can to get the best advice. Thanks in advance for your time! I recently picked up a side of matte-ish black Horween Essex for a custom tote order. The tote was made and shipped and I started using the rest of the side for a crossbody bag with an alligator flap. I checked in yesterday with the tote customer to make sure she was happy and she said she was, but she’d noticed that the color was rubbing off on her white pants. She didn’t have this problem with her first tote from me last year and I’ve never had this problem in the 3 years I’ve been working with Essex so I was surprised. Out of curiosity, I went over to the alligator and Essex bag that I just finished up and rubbed it with a scrap of light colored T-shirt and sure enough quite a bit of color came off. Obviously, I’m concerned that not only does a customer have a tote that’s leaving color on her clothes, but in the meantime I have just finished an expensive, fairly time consuming hand-stitched bag (my first using alligator) that’ll be rubbing on someone’s shoulder and hip. I can’t have it leaving big black marks on someone’s clothes. I wouldn’t even try and sell it if I know that’s a possibility. Now that the bag is done, what can I do to try and seal it? The edges are all painted with Vernis edge paint so I’m nervous about getting any kind of solvent on them and having that turn into a big mess. I tried buffing the whole bag with a soft cloth to remove excess color, but the color transfer hasn’t stopped. I thought about using Resolene, but I’m concerned about (a) being able to apply it consistently and not having it gum up since it’s all finished and 3-D and not an easy flat surface and (b) won’t it make the matte black really look shiny and plastic-y? I liked the way it looked before with the soft finish. It made the gray alligator flap pop. Lastly, does it work well on leathers with soft-medium tempers. I’ve used it on heavy veg tan work but not this kind of thing. I can’t afford to experiment with stuff that “might” work, because if it works on a flat scrap and not on the finished 3-D bag, the whole thing’s wasted. Is there any way to salvage it? I loved the way it turned out and would really appreciate any advice. I’d also like to be able to help the tote customer so she’s not stuck with a bag that ruins her clothes. She’s in a different state, so if you have a product in mind that she could buy separately and apply as a non leather worker that’s even better. Thanks again! -Hannah

Hello everyone, My next project is a ladies bucket bag as requested by my better half. The bag will be hand sewn with 632 Fil au chinois lin cable in black Black Horween Essex, 4oz Brass hardware Lined Just got started last night, but personally I like seeing the progression of people's projects, so here is mine. Thanks for looking Chris