Closing up - is it a coincidence?

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

In just the past month or so Above the Tie, Dr. Jon's and the forum entitled The Shave Nook have closed.

Each may well have their own reasons but could it be there is more to it?

Might customers be moving away from established artisans toward newer ones? Perhaps moving back toward the long established heritage brands?

Is there a trend away from forums in general due to the growth of social media like Instagram?

Or might it simply be a coincidence?

 

[fast shaver]

If my memory is correct the Shave Nook never had many people posting & had a lot of older posts.
The mods were also Cutthroat at banning people left & right IMO.

 

[Phoenixkh]

I’ve noticed it too but I don’t know how to evaluate it.

The other day, I looked at my top 7 razors and none of them were around prior to 2018 and that was only the Wolfman WR2. All the rest were 2021 and more recent.

Now, the AAT X1 is recent too. It was first available in April of 2021.

 

[Kyle89]

Reddit always seems pretty bumpin' regarding shave talk, there are discord servers, and other ways to meet people online with these kinds of hobbies. I used to LOVE forums in the 2000s, but I always thought the medium was a dying breed, but very glad this one exists. For a lot of younger guys getting into this hobby, I don't think a forum will be their first choice. They're probably on reddit.

 

[Berwick12]

I hope not, I like the people and the vendors here. I only heard about above the tie from this forum. I can't say I've heard about Dr Jon's. I've only been at this for 2ish years.

@Kyle89 I try not to go on reddit, I find it harder to find stuff and it's organized like a teenager who is super excited, cuts you off mid sentence and starts their proclamation with. "It's like, it's like, it's like, like when....

It should be stated, I'm in my mid thirties and I can't already see myself become the get off my lawn guy.

 

[luvmysuper]

Above the Tie is in business, they posted here Friday that they have more orders than they can fill ATM.
I believe the Nook was unrelated to demand.
Don't know Dr Jons

 

[CJB3]

Mozingo Brushworks is shutting down too.

 

[Rocket 1]

Details on Dr Jons closing from a blog quoting the email announcement: Farewell to Dr. Jon (and his handcrafted shaving soaps) - https://leisureguy.wordpress.com/2023/04/23/farewell-jon/

Thank you all so much for the last 9 years!​

We started Dr. Jon’s as a hobby, more specifically a way for me to pay for my newly found and very expensive hobby of shaving. I thought it would be fun to make a few soaps and hopefully pay for my monthly shipment from various shaving stores. I didn’t realize that we end up running a full time business, shipping tens of thousands of soaps and aftershaves around the world and making this our day to day lives, this wasn’t ever really our plan.

Recently I was offered a position managing a Volvo dealership for the Garber organization in Rochester, NY and that has been my primary focus for the last 10 wonderful months. Due to the amount of time that I spend at the dealership, we have been neglecting other parts of our lives including all of our Dr. Jon’s customers and that has brought us to the difficult decision to shut our doors. It isn’t fair to all of you to give substandard service and limited offerings just as it isn’t fair to my family and employer to take what little time I have away from them. This was not an easy decision but it is the right decision for everyone.

I want to thank everyone that has supported us over the years and enjoyed the products that we put into the market. It was truly a honor to serve all of you whether you were just trying to get a good shave or adding a little extra to your lifetime supply of shaving goods. All of your kind words and comments have meant more to us than you can ever possibly know.

If you are looking for any last minute Dr. Jon’s items, please check with your favorite shaving retailer. We have shipped the last of our items and will be shutting down the website and social media accounts this week.

I wish you all nothing but the best and a lifetime of wonderful shaves.

Jon

 

[Phoenixkh]

Above the Tie is in business, they posted here Friday that they have more orders than they can fill ATM.
I believe the Nook was unrelated to demand.
Don't know Dr Jons

Mariah is doing all she can to get orders filled until the shelves are empty. I just ordered two leather travel cases. I have one already and it’s very well crafted and works like a charm. I’ll have one extra one to gift someone in the future.

 

[Rocket 1]

Mozingo Brushworks is shutting down too.

I hate to hear that. Looking at instagram posts, he said he is keeping his lathe and wouldn't rule out making a handle from time to time. ZT4 24mm was next on my list for natural hair knots

 

[CJB3]

I hate to hear that. Looking at instagram posts, he said he is keeping his lathe and wouldn't rule out making a handle from time to time. ZT4 24mm was next on my list for natural hair knots

It’s a big loss. The ZT4 knot is a masterpiece. I have one in one of his handles, and I’m having Rudy make me a handle for a 28mm knot.

 

[Alum of Potash]

Wasn't The Shave Nook run by BullGoose?

 

[DesertIguana]

Some people who start a small business don’t get it is 24 x 7 x 366 commitment.

Some soon realize being in business is very competitive thing. Some customers buy from other business over small price difference.

Some people figure out being in business means owner gets paid last, after profits go to pay bills first. Assuming you have no employees.

If you have employees ever dollar you pay them cost you about $1.35. That is drain on profits.

Last some people realize that a job, with benefits, and pension best trying to make a profit as small business.

 

[thombrogan]

If I only use my discord account for playing online trivia and ‘party’ games with out-of-state family members and not for wet shaving communications, will you please stay in business, @Captain Pre-Capsize ?

 

[brucered]

Wasn't The Shave Nook run by BullGoose?

That is my understanding.

With regards to ATT, I think they are closing shop hopefully by choice on their own terms. The influx of orders, came after they announced they were closing, with people getting last chance orders in.

Amazon and AliExpress are not helping small business. But people will often choose cheaper as times are tight for a lot of people right now. I've never ordered shave goods from AliX, but I see people recommend brushes and razors all the time, as they are dirt cheap.

 

[Dennis Trigubetz]

Some people who start a small business don’t get it is 24 x 7 x 366 commitment.

Some soon realize being in business is very competitive thing. Some customers buy from other business over small price difference.

Some people figure out being in business means owner gets paid last, after profits go to pay bills first. Assuming you have no employees.

If you have employees ever dollar you pay them cost you about $1.35. That is drain on profits.

Last some people realize that a job, with benefits, and pension best trying to make a profit as small business.

On the Colonial General site one of the principals said he was moving from Pennsylvania to New Jersey to take a job.

 

[DesertIguana]

When I was in 20’s I worked for Baskin Robbins - 31 Flavors Ice Cream, Headquarter Store.

We were trading site for new franchisees, became intrest in maybe jumping on this franchise.

Go the info package, it was very extensive about what you need to get franchise, and cost of operation. Last projected income.

Friend father was CPA he looked over opportunity. His advice was you would be better off getting on with Post Office.

Did neither, but did take job in factory that I hated.

 

[AU55IE]

In just the past month or so Above the Tie, Dr. Jon's and the forum entitled The Shave Nook have closed.

Each may well have their own reasons but could it be there is more to it?

Might customers be moving away from established artisans toward newer ones? Perhaps moving back toward the long established heritage brands?

Is there a trend away from forums in general due to the growth of social media like Instagram?

Or might it simply be a coincidence?

In regards to Above the Tie I feel like availability hurt them. I want to say that I bought my first great high end razor (The Atlas) many years ago possibly within the first few years of their conception. I know for a fact Stan was still running the show back then because there was still talks of more razors. The problem is I bought my razor locally from a store that once carried many such items including your soaps but have since stopped bringing in many such products and is focusing on less artisan products its seems which is a bit sad but I am not sure for what reasons this occurred but for me it was a contributing factor.
As far as shipping goes it was extremely hard to get products internationally especially from the US as shipping costs became far too high if not impossible. I know for a fact that USPS put Australia on a Suspension list for a long long while and that ultimately had an impact upon things as I was also not able to order from various businesses during that time and it was very uncertain.

Dr. Jon's closed due to other reasons as soap making had to return to become a hobby again and it was no longer possible for them to continue making soaps as well as working their day to day jobs particularly when they became promoted within their work. So I would argue that it had very little to do with the shaving community or scene although the availability of Dr. Jon soaps were non existent in locally in Australia to my knowledge which is a shame (neither are yours anymore for that matter).

Above the Tie did mention a drop in sales as well as cost of materials and I don't doubt that.

I feel as though times are tough for many people with the cost of living increasing and for some of us unemployment as business are looking at ways to cut costs and maximize profits.

I see many posts on reddit and here daily from newer people entering the hobby and a lot of people are perhaps looking to start to save money from carts. I feel like many people are drifting away from social media also. Reddit is facing their own dramas at the moment as too is facebook and twitter and instagram since the acquisition from meta has become a pain to navigate as they force subscription with modals and overlays so many people casual viewers that just want to see will just walk away.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with Above the Tie products in fact they were of a very high quality however perhaps there has been less promotion of products from older established brands but I do believe rising costs seems to be the underpinning problem. Rising costs also means an Noble Otter aftershave costs $49 in Australia and as such I have noticed that local stores are not even bothering to stock them and as you know Alcohol based products are not able to be shipped internationally so that ultimately affects purchases internationally. I will not often buy a soap unless I can get the matching aftershave and I suspect a few people feel the same also but at the same time paying $49 for a small bottle of aftershave (especially) during these times is out of the question.

I managed to order one of your copper shaving bowls from Maggards just before the USPS suspensions and the pandemic hit full swing in Australia so I was very grateful for that however it became cost prohibitive to purchase order internationally as the AUD sank to half the USD so that also added to the problems.

There is a myriad of reason perhaps but each business has their own problems. I don't think there are as many new artisans starting up either to be honest.

I had plans to buy some Above the Tie products but after my own personal set backs I was unable to do so and then the business closure was announced which was sad.
I feel like many people are experiencing personal setbacks, some more than others but costs in general is a problem. If one has to spend more money on a basic living items then it becomes difficult to spend on other things.

I do feel things will turn around and do hope that businesses such as yours are able to see it through and the hopes that local availability also improves along with reasonable costs.

 

[Phoenixkh]

I buy some items on Amazon but not the small business stuff. I did buy 10 packages of AC blades from Amazon Japan because they had my favorite Kai blades ridiculously cheap. Someone here mentioned it.

I do have an aversion to goods from China but they are difficult to avoid. I know some people have restricted budgets so it makes sense to try the Chinese razors and brushes. That’s the beauty of B&B. There are recommendations at all price points: Vintage to Modern.

When I started out wet shaving in February of 2022, I looked at a few YouTube guys but that didn’t last long. I was familiar with forums from learning photography so I searched out all the forums options along with the Face Crack groups. It took me a couple days to realize, B&B was the only viable forums site, that is, if you value new posts every day. I’ve loved meeting all of you and learning so much.

I hope the wet shaving community continues to grow. I have looked at how many visitors we have vs. new members. It would be nice if a few more joined us. It’s free, after all. I do put in a few dollars to keep the place running. If we all became contributors at the lowest level, we’d never have to worry about this place closing down.

Here endeth the speech. <eg>

 

[kaufdrop27]

I buy some items on Amazon but not the small business stuff. I did buy 10 packages of AC blades from Amazon Japan because they had my favorite Kai blades ridiculously cheap. Someone here mentioned it.

I do have an aversion to goods from China but they are difficult to avoid. I know some people have restricted budgets so it makes sense to try the Chinese razors and brushes. That’s the beauty of B&B. There are recommendations at all price points: Vintage to Modern.

When I started out wet shaving in February of 2022, I looked at a few YouTube guys but that didn’t last long. I was familiar with forums from learning photography so I searched out all the forums options along with the Face Crack groups. It took me a couple days to realize, B&B was the only viable forums site, that is, if you value new posts every day. I’ve loved meeting all of you and learning so much.

I hope the wet shaving community continues to grow. I have looked at how many visitors we have vs. new members. It would be nice if a few more joined us. It’s free, after all. I do put in a few dollars to keep the place running. If we all became contributors at the lowest level, we’d never have to worry about this place closing down.

Here endeth the speech. <eg>

@Phoenixkh would you mind sending me the link to the Kai blades? I can’t even find them on Amazon Japan. Thanks!