Simpson Brushes

Hi Gary,

Welcome to the hidden online world of wet shaving, I read through the threads on the sites and indeed you have been busy, I guess your fingers are sore after all that typing.

Nice to read some of the history, I am a bit of a Simpsons fan and have been collecting the range for a while, I want one of each and am over half way to that goal. Mine are all Vulfix made ones so I don't know what I am missing with the ones made by your family and perhaps that is best for my bank accounts sake. None the less I think Vulfix have carried on the range admirably and maintained the quality very well, I have found their customer service to be of a very high standard so they deserve to prosper. Many say the originals are better and indeed they are more sought after but the Vulfix ones are still very very good.

Remember if you want to unload one of your originals I will give it a good home, I promise not to swirl with it :lol:
 
Regarding why we gave up the business.....

The easiest way to describe why we had to sell was because people in the UK (not the US) would rather pay for cheaper mass produced brushes than handmade items (apart from niche markets and customers who we regularly sold to over many decades).

We did not decide to sell it was more a case of having to. That's the most detail I will give on the matter I'm afraid. Safe to say we didn't want to.

The irony is that at the time in the late 80s most people wanted the 'quick win' as far as brushes were concerned and didn't want to pay for the quality of handmade. Now, just over 20 years on there are forums like this singing the praises of 'vintage' Simpson brushes. How things change!!
 
Gary, the business was sold before the internet took off. It's an entirely different world now.Information Technology is revolutionising the way business is done and is enabling much smaller businesses to be successful. If the internet had arrived 20 years earlier, do you think the business would still be owned by you?
 
Mr Gary Young:thank you so much for taking the time (a lot of time) to answer so many questions about your family business.Its a pleasure to read threads like this:thank you.
 
Most definitely we would still be running the business. It was a way of life for us, not just a job/career. I miss it all the time - even after 20 years. I always appreciated what the company made and how we made - thanks to my Grandfather and Dad. I was brought up to respect the traditional way the brushes were made. Alltthe trips I made to London with my Grandfather and Dad (from the age of 8) were to slowly drip feed me how the business worked and to build relationships with the customers.
If anything the business was a 'gentlemans' business - that is, we had a suite at The Ritz used for meetings, lunch meetings with customers from the US and the UK at the Cafe Royal, etc. We weren't prepared to change the business from the traditional beliefs we all held - something which ultimately cost us!!
I have always said that one day I WILL buy the business back, and I still stick by that 'dream'. It would be a perfect scenario to be able to buy back Nimmer Mills as well and reinstate everything as it was 'back in the day'. Maybe, eh?
 
Gary Young said:
If anything the business was a 'gentlemans' business - that is, we had a suite at The Ritz used for meetings, lunch meetings with customers from the US and the UK at the Cafe Royal, etc. We weren't prepared to change the business from the traditional beliefs we all held - something which ultimately cost us!!
Click to expand...

It's been a fascinating read Gary thanks for your memories.

However suites at the Ritz and lunch meetings at the Cafe Royal and all the associated on-costs do have to be paid for and while I accept your rationale about paying for quality products there does have to come a break point when the customer recognises that it is he who is paying for the "gentlemen's" image and the sellers business luxuries not simply buying a shaving brush. Quality is quality not because it is expensive or bespoke (although the two often go hand in hand) but because the price/product/functionality and product longevity tie up. The current and classic example of that mix in shaving brushes is the 404 Badger/Boar mix.

The only constant in business is change. Change is good; change works. If a business cannot or will not change then it will inevitably die. Sad and as much as we may lament the halcyon days that's the way it actually is. It's all very well trying to maintain the traditional beliefs but we now operate in a global market with global competition; products can be bought at the click of a mouse without the need for a stroll down Jermyn Street.

I have two (modern) Simpsons brushes - a Wee Scot and a Major in best - I enjoy them both but frankly the Major sheds more hairs than it ought. Would I buy either again? Probably not. Wold I buy another 404, like a shot.
 
Hello and welcome, I have just one question, where did the name and shape come from for the fifty seris? Most the brushes have names not numbers.

Thank you
 
Guys I accepted the offer to come on this forum to answer questions as plainly as I can. When I get asked about the business history and why we gave up the business I have answered 'as it was'.
Please do not make assumptions about 'lunches at Cafe Royal' - prestige customers tend to offer lunch at prestigious venues - please don't assume we squandered profits for the sake of a 'top notch meal'. That was not the case.
I am not here to be fired at and shot down when I give an honest reply.
Yes the forums in the US are more commercial than this but they do not make assumptions about why businesses change hands. It was and is a family matter - none of you know the 'whys', I do and it is my perogative to keep reasons to myself.
One of the last posts makes it sound as if we were 'bad business men'. One question, who owned the company the longest? The Simpson family, David Carter or Vulfix?
I think this stands as my last contribution on here. I will stick to the US sites where they seem to respect the history and don't look to knock the time I am 'taking out' to answer questions. It's a shame.
 
I'd be sorry to see you go Gary, we are quite a robust forum, if a question is too personal just tell us you don't won't to answer. I must admit the life of a brush maker sounds very glamourous and I see Simpsons as a very British endevor.
 
As you say Gary, it's a shame.

It was certainly not my intention to 'shoot you down', as you put it. I genuinely did enjoy your recollections of the history of Simpsons. However I am equally entitled to express my 'honest' opinion as are you. I have been a Chartered Purchasing Manager - yes, they do exist - for over 30 years and I know exactly how these meetings, deals et cetera work and are conducted, with both 'prestige' and by extension non-prestige customers (not sure what the difference is though); its what I do. I did not bring up having a suite at the Ritz nor lunches at the Cafe Royal. You have made several assumptions (probably about my post) with which I do not recognise.

I, like everyone here, respect shaving history in general and Simpsons brushes in particular but we are surely entitled to our opinions; this is an open discussion forum.

As you say it's a shame and frankly I'm sorry if what I have posted has upset you, that was not my intention but I reserve my right to have an opinion.


Gary Young said:
Guys I accepted the offer to come on this forum to answer questions as plainly as I can. When I get asked about the business history and why we gave up the business I have answered 'as it was'.
Please do not make assumptions about 'lunches at Cafe Royal' - prestige customers tend to offer lunch at prestigious venues - please don't assume we squandered profits for the sake of a 'top notch meal'. That was not the case.
I am not here to be fired at and shot down when I give an honest reply.
Yes the forums in the US are more commercial than this but they do not make assumptions about why businesses change hands. It was and is a family matter - none of you know the 'whys', I do and it is my perogative to keep reasons to myself.
One of the last posts makes it sound as if we were 'bad business men'. One question, who owned the company the longest? The Simpson family, David Carter or Vulfix?
I think this stands as my last contribution on here. I will stick to the US sites where they seem to respect the history and don't look to knock the time I am 'taking out' to answer questions. It's a shame.
Click to expand...
 
Blyth Spirit said:
It's been a fascinating read Gary thanks for your memories.

However suites at the Ritz and lunch meetings at the Cafe Royal and all the associated on-costs do have to be paid for and while I accept your rationale about paying for quality products there does have to come a break point when the customer recognises that it is he who is paying for the "gentlemen's" image and the sellers business luxuries not simply buying a shaving brush. Quality is quality not because it is expensive or bespoke (although the two often go hand in hand) but because the price/product/functionality and product longevity tie up. The current and classic example of that mix in shaving brushes is the 404 Badger/Boar mix.
Click to expand...

I must have been mistaken about the section above relating to The Ritz/Cafe Royal. I thought it was included in your post?!?!?

I am glad you have been in your profession for 30 years - an admirable achievement. Because of your longevity in your chosen career I have no doubt that you have experience of 'how these meetings are conducted'. That may be in your world but not in the world that was Simpsons. I am sure you have heard this adage before - 'A little knowledge is a dangerous thing'.

I have enjoyed answering questions on here and replying to private messages but I guess you can't get on with everyone, and I guess I cannot get on with you.
 
Hey Gary, you think I could see a pic of your 'proper' simpsons brushes?

Ive never knowingly seen a pic of vintage simpsons brushes before.
 
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