Artisan (shaving soap/cream/etc) April

culcreuch said:
Well.....I started with a Welsh one!
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Excellent! I know Paul @pjgh is a fan of it too. I sent them an email whether they would do something with another scent (sandalwood and me don't get on) and they said they would put up a Bay Rum one, but I think they forget.

I started the month with Signature Soaps Eboracum, which is a great smelling lather with wonderful post shave feel.
 
What makes a artisan soap an artisan soap?
Does it have something to do with the amount of soaps they are able to make each year or something else?
Please forgive my ignorance! :)
B+M DG. A+E, are these thought of as artisan?


Paul.
 
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Already rich Americans commissioning private label from commercial soap makers is not artisinal. Making it in your own bath is. Meticulously seeking perfection with an own recipe which is then produced more readily by a commercial soap maker is because it came from artisinal beginnings.

... or are you trying to figure out if you can shave with your Savonniere du Moulin? I know I will this month.
 
Blademonkey said:
What makes a artisan soap an artisan soap?
Does it have something to do with the amount of soaps they are able to make each year or something else?
Please forgive my ignorance! :)
B+M DG. A+E, are these thought of as artisan?


Paul.
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It's a good question Paul.

It's probably a difficult one to determine, as I imagine there are producers that do not someone else's perspective for what will determine an artisan soap.

For the sake of this thread, I'd say however you want to define an artisan shaving soap is down to you.

For my own rule of the thumb, I see an artisan shaving soap to be something from an independent manufacturer, who make their own products.
 
pjgh said:
Already rich Americans commissioning private label from commercial soap makers is not artisinal.
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Sorry to ask an obvious question but who does this?

pjgh said:
... or are you trying to figure out if you can shave with your Savonniere du Moulin? I know I will this month.
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I was delivered a sample of this, I will use mine soon.

***
I myself get stuck on the classics 'MWF, Arko, etc'. Some of these I use out of lazyness than anything else. 'Artisan April' is my effort to try to use a few things I love and rate highly but seem to neglect.
 
I guess when we saw a huge proliferation of names, all with an ingredient list so close to each other and all with the same themed scents ... I guess someone with more of a sneer than a believer would think that they're more just marketeers buying from the same actual end producer. Often these houses would be dropping out all manner of razors or brushes, copying (sorry, "being influenced by") expired patents then I think it's a stretch that they might be soap, brush and razor journeymen.

Certainly not all ... but in the boom, probably many.
 
pjgh said:
I guess when we saw a huge proliferation of names, all with an ingredient list so close to each other and all with the same themed scents ... I guess someone with more of a sneer than a believer would think that they're more just marketeers buying from the same actual end producer. Often these houses would be dropping out all manner of razors or brushes, copying (sorry, "being influenced by") expired patents then I think it's a stretch that they might be soap, brush and razor journeymen.

Certainly not all ... but in the boom, probably many.
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I think that applies to here as well. Sometimes shaving creams that are made by Creightons seem to get advertised as the latest greatest new thing, but they all seem to use pretty much the same base.
 
pjgh said:
Already rich Americans commissioning private label from commercial soap makers is not artisinal. Making it in your own bath is. Meticulously seeking perfection with an own recipe which is then produced more readily by a commercial soap maker is because it came from artisinal beginnings.

... or are you trying to figure out if you can shave with your Savonniere du Moulin? I know I will this month.
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I will be using my La Savonnire du moulin at some point this month, I am still unsure about the larger soap makers such as Barrister and Mann being artisanal but I guess it's a difficult question to answer, OSP was definitely artisanal and so is Signature Soaps but the lines get blurred with some of the other so called artisanal soap makers when they seem to be producing large batches for world wide sale, it's not as easy anymore to know if a soap is made in huge vats or just made in small batches, Hampshire lanolin Shaving soap is another artisan that spring's to mind.


Paul.
 
Blademonkey said:
I will be using my La Savonnire du moulin at some point this month, I am still unsure about the larger soap makers such as Barrister and Mann being artisanal but I guess it's a difficult question to answer, OSP was definitely artisanal and so is Signature Soaps but the lines get blurred with some of the other so called artisanal soap makers when they seem to be producing large batches for world wide sale, it's not as easy anymore to know if a soap is made in huge vats or just made in small batches, Hampshire lanolin Shaving soap is another artisan that spring's to mind.


Paul.
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A number of soaps were mentioned, if you want to use any of them, then go ahead. I wanted it to be about participation and enjoying these soaps, opposed to having strict rules.
 
For me it’s about this part of the Artisan definition …”made in a traditional or non-mechanized way using high-quality ingredients”
When the “bigger names” scale up this is when the line gets blurred. I’m still happy using my pans, blenders, mixers and slow cook pots
donnie_arko said:
I think that applies to here as well. Sometimes shaving creams that are made by Creightons seem to get advertised as the latest greatest new thing, but they all seem to use pretty much the same base.
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I am going to make it a little more interesting for myself. Unsurprisingly I have built up an overly large collection as I NEVER git rid of anything. So far I have used an English and a Welsh soap. I have more English and some Irish and Scottish soaps with one French Soap I would class as artisan. I will try to represent each country in turn for the remainder of the month
 
BrianH said:
For me it’s about this part of the Artisan definition …”made in a traditional or non-mechanized way using high-quality ingredients”
When the “bigger names” scale up this is when the line gets blurred. I’m still happy using my pans, blenders, mixers and slow cook pots
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Always a pleasure to have your insights Brian.

culcreuch said:
I am going to make it a little more interesting for myself. Unsurprisingly I have built up an overly large collection as I NEVER git rid of anything. So far I have used an English and a Welsh soap. I have more English and some Irish and Scottish soaps with one French Soap I would class as artisan. I will try to represent each country in turn for the remainder of the month
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I hope you enjoy using these soaps and look forward to reading your impressions of those soaps.
 
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