A couple of years ago I stumbled across Matt DeRuiter’s Etsy shop while looking for brushes. This one caught my eye right away: All of the handles I have seen him offer, give you the option of picking your knot and set. In this case I wanted a different knot than what he had on hand. Matt got the knot for me, set it at the loft I wanted, sent me pictures for approval, and sent it my way. Shortly after I got it, he checked in with me to make sure I was happy with everything. His lathe work was excellent, and the polish was just first class. This got me following his shop. A year or so later, I clicked on this one, and couldn’t get it into my cart fast enough: I love the grip on this handle, the candystripe is awesome funky, and once again the work was as good as I have received from any of the big name brushmakers. Like the first brush, this one came with a soap and EDT sample. Nice touch. Now I am checking in more often. I had mentioned to Matt that I wanted him to make a custom for me, but I hadn’t moved forward on it yet, and now I stumbled across this one: Now I am building myself a little collection of DeRuitem brushes, and am looking at rod stock options to have him build me that handle I have been working on in my head for the last year or so. Matt’s shop doesn’t always have a lot of brushes up, but it is worth keeping an eye on, and he takes custom orders. I just felt like after posting pictures of his brushes on SOTD’s for a couple years, he deserved a little hat tip.
I like Etsy for the ability to make contact with craftsmen and artisans. Sometimes it's like FaceBook - I can't find the folks I'm looking for. Got a Link?
Thank you, Clint. I did ask him if he poured his own stock or not, and he does not. But both the left one and the right have some of the best depth to them I have ever seen. It’s hard to tell from pictures, but wherever he gets it, it is really nice stuff. It also takes a great polish, and seems to hold it pretty well.
Cool. I like the shapes of the handles. You can tell he put some thought into them without copying someone else's design or idea.