http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/2014...-q-brothers-apothecarys-new-mens-shaving-shop "The new shop will specialize in men's shaving and grooming products, a side of Merz's business that recently has exploded and gradually taken over the apothecary. "'It keeps on growing; I can't even fit everything,' said Qaiyum."
Hmmmm.. I'm not sure I would take recommendations on shaving products from someone who wears a full beard.
From the article at the link: "I could name a hundred brands we'll be adding" to Q Brothers, said Qaiyum, many of which he's personally tested, having grown out his own beard and mustache for that express purpose. and "There's a misconception that guys with beards don't shave. Most guys shape and shave around their beard." The latter is why wetshaving continues to grow despite the current popularity of beards. It is great to see Merz Apothecary / Smallflower expanding their wetshaving business into a bigger, better store. It makes perfect sense, as they stated in the article. This shows that traditional wetshaving is continuing its rapid expansion. The result is greater product availability, which benefits us all. Better still is the increasing presence of combined brick-and-mortar and online/mail order stores. Q Brothers, Old Town Shaving Company, Art of Shaving... a good trend indeed!
I'm not sure if the "hundred brands" was meant literally, or if he simply meant they will add many new items to their lineup. There must be countless thousands of products that fall into the "traditional wetshaving" category. Many high-quality shaving product made for cartridge wetshavers becomes "traditional" when used with a safety or straight razor. The only difference between these three types of shaving is the razor. In the recent past, only a small selection of top-shelf shaving products was available to most people. Traditional wetshaving has grown by leaps and bounds, so there is now incentive to widely distribute and sell these products. Even so, a given individual will only discover a fraction of the products available. With their depth of retail experience, the Qaiyum family is positioned to offer a range of products that is second to none.
I stopped in there last week. They already have a collection of wet shaving products that will make a man giggle, and once they open the expansion the day after thanksgiving I may shed a tear of joy being able to see and smell and touch the huge amount of inventory. Definitely worth checking out.
Smallflower is simply the online store for Merz. The reason for the name difference is that apparently most people can't spell "apothecary". From this 2005 New York Times article: In the late 1990's the Qaiyums started selling the store's products online at Smallflower.com, a site name they settled on after, Mr. Qaiyum said, "I did a test of how many of my friends could spell 'apothecary,' and how many knew what it meant, and both of those were depressing results.
The new Q Brothers store opened yesterday. I managed to stop by today, but only had a short time to spare. It was also pretty busy, so I did not snap any pics. But I have to say, it was pretty fantastic. All the big names you expect plus a fair number of artisan products as well. Smelled a bunch of stuff, pretty much felt like a kid in a candy store. I'll definitely be back there!
