Back when I worked in retail, I sat through a training seminar on a
particular jewelry line. The designer used eighteen karat gold, and the
company’s representative explained to us that 18 karat gold means that it is
75% gold and 25% other metal. Anything can be used to make up that 25%, which
is how 18 karat gold can vary from piece to piece. But this designer wanted a
proprietary blend of 18K gold, one that was unique to her brand. She used a
high concentration of sterling silver in the 25% portion of her 18 karat
gold. The result was a bright yellow gold that glows against the skin.
When picturing Poly Monroe in her about-to-open fabric store, I thought that
she might want something similar: a proprietary weave of fabric. And
considering her full name—Polyester Monroe—I knew the synthetic fabric would
play a part. But polyester the fabric has a bit of a reputation in material
circles, and if Poly was going the distance on outsourcing a proprietary
blend of fabric, it wouldn’t come cheap. Would fabric aficionados be
interested in Poly’s polyester? Probably not. Unless it was somehow unique.
Having worked in the apparel industry, I understood that a small percentage
of a synthetic fabric, blended with a natural fiber, could change the drape
of a garment. Blended fabrics make better garments for travel, as they don’t
wrinkle as easily (and wrinkles in blended fabrics tend to release when
steamed). And because synthetics hold their color more than natural fibers,
the fabric that Poly chose would have to be something colorful and rich.
Velvet!
The word velvet describes the nap and texture of the fabric, not the content.
Velvet can be made from silk, from cotton, from viscose, or from a
combination of fibers. In Poly’s case, she developed a velvet that is ninety
percent silk and ten percent polyester. That touch of polyester is what makes
it her own, she thinks. Something that will make people remember her and her
store.
Of course, when the shipment shows up and she finds a body underneath the
bolts of velvet that she’s ordered, it just may be possible that they’ll
remember her for a very different reason!
After two decades working for a top luxury retailer, Diane Vallere
traded fashion accessories for accessories to murder. CRUSHED VELVET, the
second book in the nationally bestselling and Lefty-Nominated Material
Witness Cozy Mystery Series, comes out August 4. Diane is the current
president of Sisters in Crime Los Angeles and was co-chair of the 2015
California Crime Writers Conference. She also writes the Madison Night
and Style & Error Mystery Series. Diane started her own detective
agency at age ten and has maintained a passion for shoes, clues, and clothes
ever since.
Website
Fabric shop owner Polyester Monroe is back in business—this time
getting wrapped up in a diabolical but crafty case of murder.
With opening day of Material Girl approaching, Poly is stocking up on lush
fabrics, colorful notions, and best of all, a proprietary weave of velvet.
But upon delivery, it’s not quite the blend she expected, being ninety-
percent silk and ten-percent corpse. Crushed under a dozen bolts of fabric is
Phil Girard. His wife, Genevieve, local tea shop owner and close friend of
Poly, is the prime suspect.
Granted, Phil may not have been the perfect husband, but surely Genevieve had
no reason to kill him! There’s just the small matter of Genevieve’s own
incriminating confession: I’m afraid I killed my husband. Now, as Material
Girl’s grand opening looms, Poly is torn between a friendship pulling apart
at the seams—and finding a smooth killer with a velvet touch…
INCLUDES A CRAFT PROJECT
1 comment posted.
I am truly looking forward to this next book of yours Diane. The fabric that you had printed with the book covers in phenomenal. That would make a great scrap book cover for one thing or some wonderful book covers. I can think of many other things to do with them as well. Would love to be entered into the contest. Thank you so much.
Cynthia E. Blain
ceblain(AT)tmlponline(DOT)net
(Cynthia Blain 8:01pm August 5, 2015)