B&B Confidential #8: Gary Young on Simpson Brushes

[franz]

Gary, I enjoyed reading your interview. I'm waiting on a Duke 3 in Best to be delivered at my door any moment now.

Perhaps a bit of an article in a well read magazine might make it appear more 'hip and trendy' to the masses? I really don't know. The traditional shaving world is probably in more of a niche than it was in yester years.

There was a poll on here recently that asked how many members had discovered B&B through a certain article on "The Art of Manliness" website. It was a surprisingly large percentage (I forget how many). So your question has been answered, in a way!

I think traditional wetshaving is specialized, time-consuming, and expensive enough in the "setup" that you will never be able to market it effectively to the masses as long as cartridges and canned goo are readily available. That said, as the Art of Manliness example shows, you can definitely appeal to young men with an appreciation for grooming and style -- young men who may pass this tradition on to their sons, and possibly friends as well.

I can't speak for anyone else, but one of the most effective ways to market traditional wetshaving to my demographic (20-somethings) is to appeal to our nascent sense of manhood and our fraternity with admirable, strong men past and present. In this sense traditional wetshaving -- along with other difficult, masculine pursuits of yesteryear that history has neglected -- becomes part and parcel of our shared heritage as males. Partaking in that tradition is something young men aspire to.

Wow, I'm sorry about the long-winded post!

 

[Genie]

Great read!

 

[Crag]

Great read for sure...I enjoyed reading your post on the Simpson's brand of brushes so much that i bought a Wee Scot...It is marvelous, and if the NEW style is this good I can only imagine how good the original was...It works great with Trumper hard soaps, too...absolutely amazing for such a small knot, IMO.

Now I must acquire a chubby 2 in best...glad it is tax return time...!

 

[altshaver]

Gary, thank you for doing this interview. I really enjoy reading your stories about the History of the Simpson Shaving Brush Company. You really have injected a lot of excitement in the Shaving Brush Forum lately.

I do have a question for you. Do you believe that Boar Bristle Shaving brushes will be phased out with Badger Hair shaving brushes? I do agree with you about Badger Hair brushes being phased out in the future, but I wonder if Boar bristle is easy enough and cheap enough to source, particularly as it is a by-product of harvesting a commonly used meat staple. Thanks for your insight.

 

[talkless]

I can't speak for anyone else, but one of the most effective ways to market traditional wetshaving to my demographic (20-somethings) is to appeal to our nascent sense of manhood and our fraternity with admirable, strong men past and present. In this sense traditional wetshaving -- along with other difficult, masculine pursuits of yesteryear that history has neglected -- becomes part and parcel of our shared heritage as males. Partaking in that tradition is something young men aspire to.

I'd be really surprised if that were the case. I'd hazard a guess that at least 3/4 of the members here will be over 35 and that's why D.E shaving will always be a niche. Somebody do a B&B age poll and prove me wrong.

 

[global_dev]

I think boar will be around for much longer yes, as you said because it is a bi-product of a much more commonly used food stuff.

I was under the impression that the chinese badger (origin of some/most? badger hair) was from a food source as well... just not a typical western source...

 

[franz]

I'd be really surprised if that were the case. I'd hazard a guess that at least 3/4 of the members here will be over 35 and that's why D.E shaving will always be a niche. Somebody do a B&B age poll and prove me wrong.

I'm not sure what you took from my post, but I'm not implying that 20-somethings are in the majority here.

I mean to describe one way in which you could "sell" or evangelize wetshaving to some of them.

 

[garyg]

Great interview & we've gained some perspective on our passion as well. I want to thank Gary (nice name btw) for his contributions to the brush forum also, his identification of my old "CT" Simpson butterscotch as standing for certain family initials impressed upon me how small & special that the brush business is ..

 

[Valker]

Great interview !

 

[huracan]

Great interview !

Yes, I like learning about the history of the items we use.

I use and enjoy all 4 of my Simpson brushes, a Duke 3, a Polo 8, an Emperor 3 (Vulfix) a Sommerset (but not Nimmer) made Tulip 3. I have been in search of a Nimmer made brush.

Thanks Gary for such wonderful insight and a big thumbs up to B&B.

 

[jsj_297]

Suddenly my beloved Savile Row 3824 looks like it needs a friend. Im willing to give a Simpson brush another go........hmmmmm

 

[onotoman]

'My favourite brush is the Chubby 2 in Best. Great Uncle Alex’s was obviously the Wee Scot (but he did use a Chubby 2 in Best day-to-day). My Grandfather and Father also used/use a Chubby 2 in Best every day.'

Mine too - I have this lovely old Chubby 2 in Best that has darkened to a lovely Butterscotch over the years - not sure how old it is (I've only had it for a year or so but use it every few days) - on the right is a new Chubby 2 Best.

Possibly the old one is London-made?

 

[Gary Young]

'My favourite brush is the Chubby 2 in Best. Great Uncle Alex’s was obviously the Wee Scot (but he did use a Chubby 2 in Best day-to-day). My Grandfather and Father also used/use a Chubby 2 in Best every day.'

Mine too - I have this lovely old Chubby 2 in Best that has darkened to a lovely Butterscotch over the years - not sure how old it is (I've only had it for a year or so but use it every few days) - on the right is a new Chubby 2 Best.

Possibly the old one is London-made?

Afraid it is not a London made Simpson. If it was the decal would read 'Made in London' - this was changed to 'Made in England' after the move to Somerset. Probably late 60s/early 70s brush.

Gary

 

[onotoman]

Thanks a lot for the information Gary

Afraid it is not a London made Simpson. If it was the decal would read 'Made in London' - this was changed to 'Made in England' after the move to Somerset. Probably late 60s/early 70s brush.

Gary

 

[RussG]

Gary, thanks for a nice piece of encapsulated history that also bridges the past to the present and also the future. Please continue. I hope that you and your family are working on a book.

 

[Gamma]

Good job B&B and thank you Gary!
This interview adds another layer of human-ness to the whole picture.

 

[fondoo]

awesome interview. makes me wanna buy the chubby 2 now.

 

[goby]

I know what you mean! I don't advocate either way. We had a problem about 25 years ago after a radio programme about Nimmer Mills/Simpsons/Coates was aired. We had a visit from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) who had received a call from a concerned local resident. She stated that she had listened to the radio broadcast and was sure that we bred and kept badgers at the back of the Mill that we killed, and used their hair for our brush making. We actually had to walk the guy from the RSCPA around the Mill to prove that no badgers were kept! We had no apology at the end of it either!

Gary

Gary, do you know how the badgers are raised/killed and why?

I don't want to get in a animal rights debate (seriously), but I'd prefer not to purchase badger if the sole reason for their death is the hair. I've heard that they are either raised for food, or that they are pests in China, and killed because they destroy crops. But there doesn't seem to be any data regarding either. Currently I use boar because I know they are primarily killed for food. Same with leather.

BTW, I know I'm in the minority here, so again, I don't want to start a debate. Thanks!