As always, this year's showcase for Canada's best furs was the North American Fur & Fashion Exposition, held here this spring at the Place Bonaventure convention center. Attendance was up 15 percent above last year. Visitors -- primarily fur retailers and the press -- were 44 percent Canadian, 51 percent American, and 15 percent international. Together they left orders for $100 million in Canadian furs, which will be shipped to stores near you during the next couple of months.

What they found -- and you will too, shortly -- is a variety of fur types, treatments, and lots of color. There were more sporty furs, as Canadian designers respond to today's casual lifestyles.

There were also higher prices, especially on fox, wild furs and leathers. Of all things to think about on such an occasion, Hoof and mouth disease had a serious impact on the fair. Some leather makers said they experienced price increases on raw materials up to 50 percent during the previous three months, since farmers in Europe began destroying livestock infected with the dreaded plague. Some leather manufacturers were concerned that they might not have access to skins come September, especially now that the killing has begun on farms in Syria, Iraq and Iran, where Italian tanners often source their leather. It's hard to imagine this could lead to shortages of leather goods available at retail this fall, but expect to pay significantly higher prices.

Typically, the fur price increases have come at a time when fashion is smiling on fox and wild furs. One of the hottest fashion items at the fair was lynx cat, which became a hit this past February at New York Fashion Week. Also, movie star Chloe Sevigny, who has appeared on several Best Dressed lists recently, has been seen sporting a lynx cat jacket. That's good news for lovers of this exotic-looking fur, because there is a greater variety of styles now available, from $700 jackets with wool rib trim to ultra-luxe, dramatic $50,000 coats.

Other furs that looked fresh this year were North American sable piece goods and raccoon (believe it or not!) Conversely, simple, sheared mink garments -- with the exception of small, sporty pieces -- looked tired. Such are the whims of fashion.

Color and technology were especially important this year. Rich, muted shades of lilac, bordeaux and chartreuse spiced up this season's conservative, well-tailored silhouettes. Two-tone and tie-dyed effects were prevalent and offered understated luxe.

Lush, unsheared beaver dyed scarlet, honey and burnt orange made for popular men's parkas. Otherwise, the fair seemed to continue the perplexing trend of too-few coats made for men and too-few retailers willing to buy them.

Children, on the other hand, had more choices. Several companies offered adorable, upscale furs for kids, but expect to pay anywhere from $160 for a shearling vest, to $250 for a white rabbit cape with fur ball trim, and up to $800 for a persian lamb coat with a $54 matching hat and $58 matching muff.

Paula Lishman -- the originator of knit fur -- is encouraging online fur transactions by offering her line of washable tube shawls and home furnishings at slashed prices. Called SoftWear, Lishman said of the collection, "I want fur to be for evfuryone. Get it? Ev-fur-y-one

Zuki's designs are always a highlight of the fair, and this year was no exception. His major statement was called "Hide Surprise," because he performed his extraordinary, intarsia embellishment on the inside of simple-looking pinwale-sheared beaver garments with dyed finnraccoon trim. A lower-key version of the intarsia was a snowflake theme, with alternate color or multicolor snowflakes sprinkled randomly on sheared fur jackets. For the less extravagant woman, however, some of his simpler pieces were extraordinarily chic, especially sporty sheared beavers with tan ostrich trim.

Making its debut at the fair was -- according to all accounts -- an entirely new entry to the fur-trimmed leather market called Ocean Leather. Designed and developed by Eggert Johannson and available at Yukon Furs, some of the jackets look like snakeskin, but they're really Nile Perch and North Atlantic Salmon -- yes, fish! The scaly stuff took a tanner nine years to develop, according to Johannson, and even then it wasn't right. Finally it's here and available in a wide range of colors. Prices range from $9,000 to $12,000.

One of the best accessory lines, Martine et Bonal carried fox cuffs and collars, tibetan lamb cuffs and collars, little knit handbags on leather straps with matching scarves, three sizes of collars, two sizes each in fox or sheared beaver headbands, windowpane sheared beaver scarves and bags, a collection of boas and more, all in great fashion colors.