Recommendations for alternatives to leather?

[James Mooney]

I'm looking for an alternative to using leather in jewellery. Ideally looking for:
Material thickness approx 1.5mm
Something a bit stiffer than leather but still reasonably flexible
Must be available in black but colour choices would be nice :rolleyes:
Suitable for cutting and engraving with a laser

I'm sure I've come across a gasket / grommet material in the past that's made from polysomthingorother but when it comes to manufactured materials I don't know my polyass from my polyelbows! Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

James

[art baylor]

If you want to use synthetic leather like materials, pleather, know what they are. Some is polyurathane, which should be okay, but some is vinyl, which is PVC, a no-no. Durahide brand should be polyurathane, but they have a newer version, Durahide Plus which adds 15% real leather particles. Probably real stinky to cut or engrave. They are all plastics so vent well.

Art

[Joe Pelonio]

Try the ABS with pebble finish, it comes in black, engraves, and cuts well in thinner sheets. Tap plastics has it, as does McMaster-Carr.

[James Mooney]

Great, I'll google the mentioned brands. Many thanks for the replies