Buying lambskin from Türkiye: what to ask a tannery

Start with swatch cards, not photographs

Every screen shows colour differently, and photographs of leather are lit to look good. Ask for swatch cards of the colours you are considering, cut from current stock and labelled with the colour code. Lay them next to your fabric and trims in daylight before you decide.

Ask how the tannery handles dye lots

The same colour dyed in two batches will differ slightly. A good supplier tells you which lot your skins come from, keeps lots together in a bale, and can send a cutting of the actual lot before shipping. If you reorder later in the season, quote the lot number of the first order so the tannery can match it as closely as possible.

Minimums, mixed orders and stock

Ask three things:

• The minimum per colour, and whether it is counted in skins or in square feet.
• Whether several colours can be combined to reach a total minimum.
• Which colours are kept in stock and which are dyed to order, because the lead times are very different.

Lead time and shipping terms

Stock colours can usually leave within days; colours dyed to order take weeks. Agree the shipping term at the start (for example ex works, free on board, or delivered to your door), because it decides who books the freight and who pays which costs. For sea freight to South Asia or the Americas, plan the transit time into your production calendar.

Documents for your country

Ask which documents come with the shipment: commercial invoice and packing list as a minimum, and usually a certificate of origin. If your buyers ask for chemical or physical test reports, request them per dye lot and agree who pays for testing before the order.

See the skins before you order

Nothing replaces handling full skins. A showroom visit lets you see every colour side by side and talk through grading and finishes with the people who make the leather. If travel is not possible, a video call with skins in front of the camera is the next best thing.