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Your Favorite Artisan Aftershave Family

Besides drug store varieties, I have four Fine after shaves, and I have tried a small number of samples from Barrister and Mann, Stirling and WSP. So far my favorite is Fine.
 
Barrister and Mann is my favorite artisan brand, but I have not sampled anything more expensive than them.
 
Going to go with Barrister & Mann and Stirling as my faves. I have tried several other brands, all decent enough, but for my wants and needs are a noticable step down. I mentioned earlier in this thread of the large number of artisan manufacturers. If we revisit this subject in five years, I am afraid a good number of the manufacturers we support won't be around anymore. There are so many, it will be tough for even the middle of the road outfits to survive. Oversaturation is obvious here. If you asked ten men on the street if they know of artisan shaving supply businesses, you would likely get a confused and puzzled response from them. And that is the problem.
 
I mentioned earlier in this thread of the large number of artisan manufacturers. If we revisit this subject in five years, I am afraid a good number of the manufacturers we support won't be around anymore. There are so many, it will be tough for even the middle of the road outfits to survive. Oversaturation is obvious here.

I have a little "inside baseball" here for you, so don't post this on the internet or anything. :biggrin1:

In all seriousness, one of our retailers - a major player - and I were talking about soap manufacturers last year. He told me that with all of the artisan manufacturers he is really wondering how long some of the heritage brands will be around like the "Three T's" (Trumper, Trufitt & Hill, TOBS). Based on the orders he places with them versus the orders he places with the artisan brands he was seeing a clear shift toward the artisan makers.

So I agree that many artisans may not be around in five years but his impression was there may be some consolidation among heritage brands. For instance, we have been vendors here for ten years and are among the very oldest now. Generally there are 25-30 vendors here. Presently there are twenty-two vendors listed and I can count only five that preceded us. So most are gone in just ten years. To be clear, some who are no longer here are still in business it is just that they are no longer vendors here. But many have gone out of business. Yes, this small business thing is not easy but it is immensely rewarding.
 
Reuzel aftershave! That is all!
No "family" ... however, the entire Reuzel family of products is top tier! No better pomades and hair tonics out there! And I'm a HAIR guy!
 
I have a little "inside baseball" here for you, so don't post this on the internet or anything. :biggrin1:

In all seriousness, one of our retailers - a major player - and I were talking about soap manufacturers last year. He told me that with all of the artisan manufacturers he is really wondering how long some of the heritage brands will be around like the "Three T's" (Trumper, Trufitt & Hill, TOBS). Based on the orders he places with them versus the orders he places with the artisan brands he was seeing a clear shift toward the artisan makers.

So I agree that many artisans may not be around in five years but his impression was there may be some consolidation among heritage brands. For instance, we have been vendors here for ten years and are among the very oldest now. Generally there are 25-30 vendors here. Presently there are twenty-two vendors listed and I can count only five that preceded us. So most are gone in just ten years. To be clear, some who are no longer here are still in business it is just that they are no longer vendors here. But many have gone out of business. Yes, this small business thing is not easy but it is immensely rewarding.
Your mention that the heritage brands are fading away is obviously happening. My mention of the status of some artisan manufacturers didn't take into account the condition of the heritage outfits because of the subject matter of the thread. Your remarks bring to mind the downfall of Caswell Massey and Crabtree & Evelyn. They both are a mere shadow of what they were a decade ago. And the "three T's" appear to be headed in the same direction. I can think of only one purchase I made from a heritage maker in the past few years, and I used to buy grooming products regularly from them. Whatever ails the heritage makers, and surely there are numerous factors in play, the challenges of changing markets, customer preferences, the retail price creep, but most importantly the advent of the artisan trade, all seem to be causing the downward spiral for the heritage brands. On the other hand, the most savvy artisans will succeed and prosper. As a retired small businessman, I have utmost respect for those that have the conviction, the fight, the spirit, to operate a successful small business in today's world. Nice chatting with you, sir. By the way--nice avatar!
 
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