Badger Badger Badger the New Shave brush Handles

Tis the beginning of so many new brush handles.  From the limited addition Walnuts, newly finished Spalted Maple, and Lilac wood.  With many more in the pipeline....


Take one home @ http://tinyurl.com/m7nvv6k Lovgren & Daughter Etsy Shop.

This striking handle will be gone soon.  All of the similar ones went within a few weeks.  If you like it get it now and pick your Knot at the Etsy Shop: http://tinyurl.com/m7nvv6k

At our Etsy Shop Lovgren & Daughter: http://tinyurl.com/m7nvv6k

Found in our Etsy Shop: http://tinyurl.com/m7nvv6k

Each one could be yours!  We offer engraving at no additional cost - anything from a monogram to a family crest to pinup picture (another bolg post on that custom brush on the way :).

Found at the Etsy Shop: http://tinyurl.com/m7nvv6k

Wedding Brushes for the BIG Day!

Groomsmen gifts' of Shaving Brushes

Custom Made Badger Brushes Made to surprise and delight the Wedding attendants.

We have been working on shave brushes for a large wedding night and day for a customer who is giving the brushes to his groomsmen (and some other significant people) ;)

We were very lucky to have such a great customer.  He had great ideas and excellent taste.  Above all our communication was perfect.  We wish him every bit of happiness with his bride for a long and happy and healthy life together. 

In the beginning, there was a few emails back and forth to get the font and the monograms just right.  One other consideration was those recipients who had 4 names instead of three.  Monograms are largely by what you prefer (no more hard and fast RULES of monograming).  In the picture below the handles are drying after their layers of varnish.

Here are the finished brushes with Pure Badger Knots.  We are so delighted with the way they came out.  They are all individually shrink wrapped in gift boxes.

Drying Shave Brushes

If you were thinking of giving brushes as groomsmen gifts, feel free to contact here, at our email Kristin.lovgren@gmail.com or through the Etsy shop: http://tinyurl.com/m7nvv6k . Lovgren & Daughter.

These are all ten shave brushes.

Together, we can choose a shave brush handle, font and the placement of the monogram or names. 

You can choose on the number of shaving brushes to suit your wedding party, whether it is 1, 6 or 16. 

You can also change the type of knot to suit your preference or budget.

We are always happy to help.
At Lovgren & Daughter on Etsy

http://tinyurl.com/m7nvv6k

 



Beautiful Walnut Badger Shave Brush Handle special finish

We love when customers come up with ideas!

One of our customers liked the idea of Walnut in a more dramatic profile.  Now we usually do a very graceful profile (shape) of a handle but our customer had given us a sample of a Bavarian turning to use as a reference.  Actually now we are going to make a few in a similar manner because it looks great.  Also the Belle Époque curves are great but there are avenues and styles that look extraordinary also.  I keep falling back on the saying "A change is as good as a rest".  Sometimes to reignite the creative process we need to see from someone else's perspective.

Brilliant idea.  Having a picture for reference is always a good idea.  And it makes talking about the style and the wants of the customer easier. 

 

 

This finish on the wood is wee bit different.  It is a combination of walnut oil and a wax over the walnut oil.  Usually we do everything to make sure the new owner hasn't have to think about the handle again for the rest of their lives.  In this case, it was important to the customer to have a finish that was traditional.  The earliest forms of finish was some kind of oil either walnut, linseed or one of the other oil that provide a good seal.  On top of that is beeswax to provide a buffer between the oil and the air or water.    

 

This type of finish will need periodic renewing.  Which means the wax must be removed and then the oil replenished and the beeswax reapplied.  This maintenance is not for everyone.  We are happy to work with people to give them the shaving brush they really want.

 

Feel free to drop us a note, we would love to hear from you!

Etsy Shop Lovgren and Daughter:  http://tinyurl.com/m7nvv6k



 

Badger, Badger, Badger

Badger Brush

"So, is the Badger brush, like, Badger-Badger or is it something like Badger?"

I was asked this question this week when I was talking to a customer.  At first I was surprised.  What on Earth?  Of course it's <<real>> badger.  But it got me to thinking. 

Why are our brushes so much cheaper than very large brand names?  The large name spends a lot of money on their marketing blitz.  They have been doing it for years.  The have stand alone brick and mortar stores in New York City  (the most expensive real estate in the country).  Bless their hearts.  They have CEO, CFO all the way down to the sales staff on the floor; the barbers in the shops.  Everyone needs to get paid.  I hope they do.  I hope they have great benefits and awesome pensions.  To finance these things drives the cost of each item up. 

Here's what we do without: salaries, benefits, making enough money to cover the costs of manufacture, and profits - we get a lot of satisfaction.  We love them,  we love the wood.  I love the finishes that bring out the beauty of the wood.  Eric loves the tool and learning new and better ways to use them.

Name something you love to do.  Name something you do that doesn't make you money.  Scrapbooking? Shiny antique cars?  Retro cookie har collecting?  Excellent!  And you do it now even though you aren't paid for it.  It's the same thing and once you've made something for friends and family...where do you go but outside your circle. In our case, we started a shop on Etsy.

Then we found an amazing resource from China.  99% of all badger brushes are made in China.  They still have a large badger population.  Badgers interfere with a farmer's fields.  Farmers who need their crops to survive.  Now they can earn money by killing pests. And having found a resource we can buy directly from China.  Directly from tiny business to tiny tiny business.  Across the world.  Across the world!  That is cool enough to do it by itself!

So we get our brushes at a good price and since we do not have expensive expenses, we don't charge as much as the big names.  This is where I am not good at capitalism.  I wouldn't feel right charging a zillion percent mark-up.  I also am not worried about funding pensions and shareholder return on investment.  Frankly, the big business idea could not be more unappealing.  I went to business school.  It was painful.  Not my thing. 

So, are our Badger Brushes are Badger-Badger.  I think this explains why they are cheaper than the large company's similar brushes.  Pure Badger Hair Shave Brushes, Really.

And ps have nothing to do with the meme.