In Closing: A Stylish Shave
eShave's Pipe shave brush, made of cast metal and plated in nickel, is a work of art that any male consumer can appreciate By Marie Redding, Senior Editor
Combine the latest buzz about the growing men's market with the overall consumer trend in "trading up" to more-luxurious items, and the new Pure Badger shave brush by eShave seems destined for success. eShave, a small company founded by artist Danielle Malka, has always catered to the upscale men's market. Recently, the firm has been seeing an "explosion of business," says Malka, due to the changing attitudes of men. She explains, "Now, we are noticing requests coming from major department stores. It's not a niche phenomenon, but a mainstream one. And we're seeing international interest as well."
The Pipe shave brush was designed by Malka, who first thought of the idea for the brush when she was washing her face with a brush. "I realized how practical it was to hold a brush that way and how easy it would be for men to hold a shave brush in the same way. I also wanted to combine that with a funky design." Malka borrowed the concept of taking a simple pipe shape and elevating it to resemble modern art from a 1920's painting called "Ceci est Une Pipe." This title translates to "Here is a pipe." It is by surrealist painter René Magritte, who chose to paint a plain pipe to convey the message that art is just a representation of life.
The Pipe brush and its stand are made of cast metal, brushed by hand, and then plated in nickel. The soft, matte finish is both rust- and tarnishproof. The bristles are made of pure badger hair, which is the only type of animal hair that retains water. This type of hair is ideal for a shave brush because it enables continuous moisture on the skin--which is key to a close shave. There was a lot of trial and error involved in the manufacturing of the brush's unusual shape, according to Malka. The production team had to go to nontraditional suppliers in order to have some parts made. To deal with some technical design challenges, they worked with jewelry foundries to overcome various weight issues when it came to using certain metals.
The brush is assembled in eShave's in-house production facility. It is hand-wrapped in tissue paper, and packed inside a set-up box, by Hartford Boxes (Hartford, CT), that resembles a gift box. The box's heavyweight white paperboard by Queen City Paper is embossed in a textured pattern resembling leather, and it is hot-stamped matte silver by Telekamp. To help educate men on how to get a perfect shave by using the brush, step-by-step directions are printed on the bottom of the box.
"Every man should be shaving this way," says Malka. "There's no reason they should be suffering in the morning. They can have it all—a close, comfortable shave and the great-looking tools to accomplish it."