Barrister & Mann AMA, July 17th, 2016

Will, I think I speak for many of us when I say I'm glad you chose making shaving soap and shaving soap accessories for a living instead of practicing law

Myself included. I don't think I would have enjoyed it very much.

I hear you, I did it for 25 years and while there were definitely some moments, I'm comfortable turning the page on that chapter.

Will, thank you so much for doing this AMA. I'm learning so much, and that information about fragrances was just great!

I've just recently started using more traditional shaving soaps, after a multi-year stint with Method Shaving, and I was lucky enough to stumble on your Barrister and Mann soaps as the first tallow I tried. Boy, did I get lucky. I've tried several others since, and while all are pretty good, I keep coming back to yours. The performance is remarkable, approachable price point, great fragrances. And the glissant is superb.

What I really appreciate is the great and personal service you render-it's rare and appreciated.

And I echo what Marko said about practicing law. You made a very, very good choice.

One question I have is what you think of the various brush hairs and their advantages/disadvantages in using with your soaps. Most of my brushes are silver tip, mostly in the 'Chubby' style. I've got some monsters like the Kent BK-12 and a big Thäter in the mix, and I was wondering if any hair/style does particularly well or poorly with the Barrister and Mann line?

Thanks for all you do.

Will, thank you so much for doing this AMA. I'm learning so much, and that information about fragrances was just great!

I've just recently started using more traditional shaving soaps, after a multi-year stint with Method Shaving, and I was lucky enough to stumble on your Barrister and Mann soaps as the first tallow I tried. Boy, did I get lucky. I've tried several others since, and while all are pretty good, I keep coming back to yours. The performance is remarkable, approachable price point, great fragrances. And the glissant is superb.

What I really appreciate is the great and personal service you render-it's rare and appreciated.

And I echo what Marko said about practicing law. You made a very, very good choice.

One question I have is what you think of the various brush hairs and their advantages/disadvantages in using with your soaps. Most of my brushes are silver tip, mostly in the 'Chubby' style. I've got some monsters like the Kent BK-12 and a big Thäter in the mix, and I was wondering if any hair/style does particularly well or poorly with the Barrister and Mann line?

Thanks for all you do.

I'm glad everything is working well for you, Michael P I tend to find that lower lofts work better with my soaps, as do synthetics. High-loft badgers like the Kents and Thaters don't usually work well, in my experience.

Earlier this year, you mentioned that you might be producing a limited run of Petrichor toward the end of this year. From what I'm reading in this thread, I understand it's probably not in the cards for the year. Are you thinking about for sometime in 2017?

Thanks.
Bob

Thanks, Will-that's been my experience as well, the lower lofted brushes do better. The second time I used the Seville, the BK 12 seemingly swallowed all the lather. Next time, I got great results with ease with a Simpsons Chubby 2 Synthetic. I've got some other synthetics I'm going to give a whirl as well.

Every think about doing a 'special edition' with a ceramic or clay container, or something 'out of the box' like the MdC 'brain bowl'?

Will, I have a few questions for you, if you are still here after so many hours

1. Before you started making shaving soaps, did you primarily use creams or soaps or a combo of both ?

2. What made you take the step to start making shaving soaps ?

3. When you did start to make your own soaps, how did you go about it ? Did you research the internet and spoke with other soaps makers and from that started to mix your own soaps ?

4. Have you been into fragrance for a long time ?
I was already into fragrances at age 14, and had maybe 30-40 full bottles at the time I was 16-17 years old.

5. Do you wear fragrances every day ? Do you have rotation of fragrances/do you own a collection of fragrances ? (I curently own 500+ full bottles of fragrances, and wear a new one every day of the year pretty much, and find my temper and life just gets that tiny bit more exciting, when I wear a fragrance I can sniff during the day)

6. Do you have any idea why superlathers work so well for me - superlather is a mix of a shaving cream and a shaving soap and if I have a poor performing cream or soap, mixing it with a better quality counterpart (soaps or cream), will almost always provide me with a much greater quality lather and shave.

7. Would you consider having a steady line up of shaving soaps (for instance 8 or 10 soaps), that always are in your shop, and then release a couple of season soaps every 3-4 months ?

Thanks, my friend

B&M makes some good shaving soap and aftershaves!

My thoughts - B&M is number one, for me. Will's love of perfumery and scents really shines through on the creations... I have to say, I've enjoyed all that I've tried (and I own 14 of them!). They go beyond singular scents and simple or cliché fragrances. The performance of both the soaps and aftershaves is outstanding and dependable. I look forward to every new release. Can't wait for my Boudelaire to arrive in a couple of weeks!

Will, will we ever see Le Grand Chypre again?

My thoughts - B&M is number one, for me. Will's love of perfumery and scents really shines through on the creations... I have to say, I've enjoyed all that I've tried (and I own 14 of them!). They go beyond singular scents and simple or cliché fragrances. The performance of both the soaps and aftershaves is outstanding and dependable. I look forward to every new release. Can't wait for my Boudelaire to arrive in a couple of weeks!

Will, will we ever see Le Grand Chypre again?

Good news for you, I think the answer is yes!

Do you have some LE/seasonal scents that have been so well received you are considering making them a staple in your inventory. One of the most frustrating things in the shaving world is finding a scent that you can't buy again or not even get in the first place.

We've actually done that a couple of times now. Lavanille and Latha Taiga were both supposed to be seasonal only and proved to be so popular that we made them permanent parts of the line. The same will be done with Le Grand Chypre next year, but we have to finish the rest of the packaging overhaul and some other projects first.

Will, thanks for doing this. I saw Adrian was on the "whirlwind tour" list. When will you be at Maggard's again?