A little rant about fur....

1)Not all whites are created equal
There's white.... and then there's white.... Shades of white can vary widely. I can order a bunch of different whites in varying styles and pile length and discover some are more off-white and some are more ivory and some are more cream and some are the most blinding unicorn white. White can also look different in different lighting settings... a fur that looks okay under florescent lights may look completely different under natural sunlight. This can make color matching a real challenge (especially if we want shorter fur and some longer accents. This goes for other furs too... one color in one style may be a slightly different shade in another style. We can do things like airbrushing to help blend furs, but there may always be a subtle variation.
--We do our best to color match as best we can... but sometimes that's not possible.

2) Not all furs shave the same
Shaving fur should be fun!.... Like grooming a dog!.... Except it's not.
Faux fur is plastic, it doesn't shave the same as natural hair. Some furs shave better than others and some are REALLY hard to shave.... but they're all murder on your clippers - even with cleaning and oiling and proper maintenance. It can take several HOURS to trim a fursuit face depending on the fur (DF fur is notoriously challenging to shave).
--Please keep in mind, if I say I will NOT shave your body fur to be shorter.... this is why.

3) You can't dye fur
People seem to forget this one... a LOT! Fur is PLASTIC, it can't hold dye ( before you try to argue with me.... yes, technically it CAN, but not the way the dye was intended - Dyes are designed to absorb into a material, which is why only certain materials can be dyed in the first place - materials that can be dyed are natural fibers like wool or cotton not plastic like faux fur or polyester). Dyeing, airbrushing, painting fur all does the same thing..... the color does not absorb into the faux fur fibers, but simply sits on top of them. It changes the texture and feel of the faux fur fibers, and will fade/wash out/rub off over time. Because of this, most makers limit dyeing/painting/airbrushing to spot work (ie, small pieces) which will be less noticeable to changes due to fading over time.
--If we can't find the exact color you are looking for don't ask us to dye fur...... we can't do it.

4) Furs go out of print
Yes, sometimes furs are made and sold, then no more of that fur is made. This can be a challenge when doing repairs to an old suit. Dye lots can also change between bolts. If I buy some chocolate brown from a vendor, then buy some additional chocolate brown a few months later.... the browns may be slightly different. This is because one bolt of the same color may be from a different dye lot as the next bolt. The color change may not be drastic, but it will still be noticeable to some extent.
--If you want additional fur for your suit for repairs, it never hurts to ask if you can get your maker to order additional yardage for you to purchase. Most of the time, we have no problems doing it, as long as you pay for the extra fur.

5)Sometimes.... you're going to have to settle.
Look... some fur colors just don't exist. It would be lovely if every color/style/length/texture under the sun could be purchased on a whim, but it's just not so. I sometimes spend several months trawling the internet for that elusive color/length and coming up empty handed. This is often the reason lots of fursuit makers become fur horders... when you stumble upon a rare color you buy it right away for fears you will never find it's like again.
this particular point is only a half truth.... you CAN get every fur color if you're willing to PAY for it. National Fiber Technologies (http://www.nftech.com/), does make custom fur in any color/length/thickness you want.... but it's ungodly expensive. Fursuit makers aren't made of money... we really can't afford to use NFT fur without charging ungodly prices.... so you have to decide what is most important to you..... a close inexpensive match or an ungodly expensive exact match
--We do our very best to find the furs that will be the best for your suit... we may not be able to match exactly, but we try very hard to get as close as possible. Please do not ask us to shave a huge piece of fur or dye a fur to get an exact color ... sometimes you do just have to settle