NEW items added to the web site:

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From Merkur for 2010 - Just in:

Heavy duty satin stainless steel long handle safety razor. Turning knob at base of handle releases the screw rod top for blade replacement. 4" inch total razor length. Weight is approx. 5.2 ounces making this the heaviest model Merkur makes. This is a two part razor modeled after their barber pole design with a heavy weight stainless steel satin body finish.

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Also by request we now have:

Double edge razor blade sampler pack. We have brought together our most popular DE blades for you to sample. Men have different styles of razors, different beard types and different techniques and not all blades perform the same in various circumstances. The answer: try a variety to see what works best for you.

As you may recall from an earlier post: this summer when I met with the Merkur/DOVO representative, Ms. Rothstein, she let me know that the Science Channel http://science.discovery.com/ and TV program "How It's Made" http://science.discovery.com/tv/how-its-made/ would be airing a segment on the making of straight razors. The segment aired this past Friday, October 8, 2010.

Since DOVO is located in Germany they couldn't see this segment so I sent a link to Ms. Rothstein. She enjoyed seeing how the clip turned out and said it's her hands in the final scene putting the straight razor into the metal box and cardboard sleeve and chuckled that her "hands are famous now:-) I laughed too because I knew it was her hands in that part of the video - having met her many times over the years...

In case you missed the making of DOVO straight razors clip check here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ACJrAI3SxM

Merkur/DOVO Updates:

Per Merkur/DOVO: The DOVO straight razor segment on the "How It's Made" TV show will air on The Science Channel Friday, Oct. 8, 2010 at 9pm EST. Check it out http://science.discovery.com/tv-schedules/weekly.html for the channel in your area.

On another note: Merkur also let us know that "due to technical problems with the machines at our gold platers, we will not have any gold plated MERKUR razors this year. Don't know yet when it will be fixed." Therefore, if you have been thinking about a gold plated Merkur double edge safety razor you may want to take action...

The Vicious Circle

Any of you not shave daily because you hate it and it irritates your skin? Or do you have sensitive skin? Today we are highlighting one of our articles called "The Vicious Circle". Read about why we think only shaving every few days can be the cause of shaving problems http://www.shaveinfo.com/Shave_info/vicious_circle.htm

If you haven't seen it yet why not check it out now!

ALERT and call to action! Why H.R.5786 - "Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010" may NOT be safe:

If you have sensitive skin and/or use (or interested in using) naturally based niche body care and shaving products please take time to read this post and help....

There is a bill that has been introduced into the House of Representatives called the "Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010" - but it is anything but safe! This legislation is not necessary and we already have the FDA. Do we really need more government bureaucracy and red tape at the expense of consumer choice and small business?

Here is a good article that explains what is going on http://personalcaretruth.com/2010/08/5-ways-the-%e2%80%9csafe-cosmetics-act%e2%80%9d-will-harm-consumers/ and another good resource http://naturalperfumersguild.blogspot.com/

Our company has been in business since 1997 and specializing in naturally based body care and wet shaving products. If the law makers get their way and this bill passes our customers my be forced to purchase mass-market heavily synthetic products without natural aroma and loaded with preservatives and synthetic colorants. For people like me and many of our customers who are sensitive to synthetically derived and man-made chemicals that would be devastating and bad for my/our health and skin!

In summary, it will cause many small business and naturally based body care manufactures to shut their doors. In addition, many natural ingredients could be banned. Why, well there are many opinions but mine is A) if a large mega-company can't control the market and the ingredient/s used in products then nobody should be allowed to and B) see "A".

I signed the online petition here http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/oppose-hr-5786-safe-cosmetics-act-of-2010 and included this personal comment

"As a small retail business specializing in naturally based men's care my customers appreciate products that are not mass-produced and provide consumer choice. Driving the small business out of the space will only be a win for the mega producers and make less options available to the consumer and drive many small business "out of business". What happened to the day when small business was the golden child and not the self serving mega-corps who want to dominate everything. PLEASE, Don't squash the many from the rhetoric of the few with hidden agendas by enacting legislation that strangles and prices out the small business and their happy consumers who want alternatives."

Please help me by Opposing HR 5786. You can also write your congress http://www.congressmerge.com/onlinedb/ or your senator http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

But MOST IMPORTANT: Please sign the online petition http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/oppose-hr-5786-safe-cosmetics-act-of-2010

It only takes a minute. THANKS! Em

New Category Added

We have added a "For Women" category that provides traditional wet shaving information for women.

http://www.shaveplace.com/Wet-Shaving-for-Women-s/170.htm

Tidbit from Merkur/DOVO in Solingen, Germany:

"How It's Made", the TV show on the Science Channel http://science.discovery.com/tv/how-its-made/ filmed DOVO straight razor production prior to Merkur/DOVO representative Ms. Rothstein's summer visit to the US. In addition, they put together a narrative with with her assistance that will be a part of the 4 1/2 minute segment. It's supposed to air in the September/October time frame.

We will let you about the air date as soon as it is scheduled. I am looking forward to seeing it - should be interesting. The Science Channel in my area is on Direct TV Channel 284. Check your listings to see if you get this channel. Shop for DOVO straight razors.

Did You Know?

Summer is upon us and many brands of shaving cream will start turning to liquid once temperatures approach 95 degrees or higher. This doesn’t affect the performance, only the texture and consistency. Therefore, if you notice this has happened to your cream simply place in the refrigerator or cool location overnight. However, it may never return to its pre-heated state - which is normal under these circumstances. Use and enjoy because the lather is just as good either way.

Therefore, if you live in a hot climate or shaving cream has traveled through heat and it arrives liquefied you will know why. Side comment: the Em’s brand of shaving cream is more of a liquid to start and should just be shaken before using.

Em’s Resources and Web Sites Explained

Em’s Place, Inc. has three main web sites to serve our customers in the wet shaving community.

1 ) www.shaveinfo.com is our FAQ/Knowledge Base site for shaving and body care information and videos. We also have a YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/shaveinfo with several videos that are also included on shaveinfo.com

In addition, we now have a twitter account at http://twitter.com/shaveplace to keep up with what’s happening.

2) www.shaveplace.com is our new shopping site. The emsplace.com site currently being used by most of our existing customers will eventually merge into shaveplace.com. Changing technology has prompted this new site which provides more of the features our customers deserve.

Due to major changes in the database structure we will not be able to bring over existing customer accounts so please assign yourself a password the first time you shop on this site so you can enjoy all the features available - including the ability to track an order from your account. For first time checkout on this site select "proceed to checkout" (bypass "returning customers") and assign yourself a password to initiate the account features.

3) www.emsplace.com is our existing web site and has been for many years and will remain in place.

Conclusion: We hope you will find the new site easier to navigate, enjoy the more streamlined look and appreciate the expanded customer features. Please be sure to bookmark any of these sites that may be of interest and we look forward to serving you for many years to come. Thank you for your business! Em

Sneak peek: Our new web site at www.shaveplace.com

Since the last post we have been hard at work programming a new web site domain. With technology moving ever faster we had to look at different options. During the transition we will be running both www.emsplace.com and www.shaveplace.com. New products will be posted only to the new domain www.shaveplace.com. Please check out our new site and get use to its feel and function. If you notice any glitches please email info@shaveplace.com

Also visit our Information site at www.shaveinfo.com

Hi All, it's been awhile (well there's an understatement:-)

A lot has happened since my last post over a year ago, wow! The biggest change is location. Our main operations are now located on the central Oregon coast about an hour from our other location. We now have a larger facility to take care of customer orders and more room to grow. A major move always takes time, and getting use to finding where things are located can be a little disorienting... The other major change was incorporating the business on advice from our accountant. That too meant some restructuring and reorganizing.

Now it's time to get back on track updating the web site and looking at new ideas. You may have noticed a number of out of stock items by the end of this summer. We are starting to receive the holiday shipments so be sure to check for items that are now, or will be soon, back in stock.

Hard to believe we have been serving the wet shaving community for over a decade - actually since 1997. Thank you to all of our regular and new customers for your business.

Change of Ownership for the Simpsons Brand of Brushes

Em's Place has confirmed with Progress Shaving Brush (Vulfix) Ltd that the sale of Simpsons has been completed and according to Simpsons the exchange took place on May 30th.

We understand that Vulfix intends to keep the Simpsons line of brushes "as is" and all weights of hair and other specifications will remain the same. Production is expected to start next week. They will be supporting Simpsons brushes both pre and post sale.

Both the quality value and volume line of Vulfix brushes and the smaller high end niche line of Simpsons brushes will be offered and should provide a selection of brushes to suit all price ranges and tastes.

Em's Place is an existing merchant doing business with Vulfix and looks forward to also receiving the Simpsons line through them. Vulfix is an excellent company to communicate with and the production time has always been reasonable. We think this is good news, and hope our customers will too...

Vulfix is located on the Isle of Man in the UK, and our first new batch of Simpsons brushes should arrive in the next several weeks. We wish Vulfix much success with this new addition to their product line.

New Information Page

We have posted a new informational page with talking avatar on our companion site shaveinfo.com called "The Vicious Circle".

Do you wait for several days or longer to shave because it is so irritating, or you hate it so much, that it becomes a daunting task?

Our philosophy is that when you don't shave daily, that could actually be one of the reasons for such an awful and irritating experience.

Read more...

Back in Stock

We have received a new shipment of Simpsons brushes and have taken the out of stock notices off many models that have not been available. There are still a few models out of stock that should arrive in the coming weeks.

The Merkur HD and Long Handle HD will also be coming back in stock.

Trumper Products from England

We have updated our Trumpers section with several new Trumper products. Sandalwood Skin Food, Wild Fern Cologne and Sandalwood Aftershave.

Updates

1) You may know that Simpsons was out of production for a while due to employee illnesses. Production has now started again and orders will slowly start to ship in the coming weeks. Therefore we hope to have out of stock items available soon...

2) Out of stock Dovo straight razors can take six to nine months to come back in stock - sometimes sooner but not anticipated. Straight razors are made to order by skilled craftsman so think ahead if you are interested in a straight razor purchase - because once something goes out of stock it can be a while before more become available.

3) The Merkur HD (heavy duty) regular handle razor is expected to be available again in several weeks. This is one of the most popular styles for the Merkur double edge model fixed head razors.

4) Proraso Red (the Wheat Germ formula) has been discontinued by the manufacturer and we have now sold out of our stock for that item. This is why it is no longer available on the web site.

5) We are now stocking the Gold Dachs hard shaving rounds (aka Rivivage). This is a European shaving soap from Germany that has a heady clean scent. Available in single puck, two puck box or aluminum screw thread bowl with soap.

Also, be sure to check out our companion site for videos and additional wet shaving information at www.shaveinfo.com.

Happy New Year and Thank You!

Em's Place wants to thank all of our customers who have helped our company to grow and become your source for wet shaving products over our eleven years in business.

Look for new products and some phasing out of slow moving items in the coming months. For example, we just found out yesterday that Proraso is no longer producing their "wheat germ, aka red tube) shaving cream, so stock up now.

We wish you and yours a happy and prosperous new year. Your business is appreciated, Em

New Products and Update

1) Now back in stock is the Omega turned resin syntetico handle brush. In addition, two new styles are now available. Syntetico brushes are vegan friendly badger-like synthetic fibers and the result of years in development with innovative technology. Resistance, elasticity and softness with tapered tips make these shaving brushes a great alternative for making lather.

2) By popular demand, we are now stocking the Simpsons Emperor E2 super badger brush. All the Simpsons models we carry are in stock and ready for the holidays. Shop early while supplies are available...

Updates to Web Site

We have added some new items to the double edge portion of the general razors page as well as on the mugs and bowls page. Look for the "new" tag for what has been added...

New Model Parker Double Edge Razor Added and Some Holiday Comments

Parker Razor: We have added the Titan (Gun Metal) R22 model of the Parker brand twist to open razor. Previously this model was lighter at 1.89 ounces, however it has been updated and is now heftier - weighing in at 2.49 ounces. Another distinctive finish and pattern for the Parker silo/butterfly blade loading double edge line of razors.

Holiday Comments: You may have noticed that stores seem to be gearing up for the holiday selling season earlier than ever this year. I am not sure if this has anything to do with why our business is picking up more than average for this period, however, if this is an indication of things to come it may be best to plan ahead, or order early. This will assure that something you may want for yourself or to give as a gift is available and in stock.

The most popular selling men's wet shaving gift items are lathering soaps and creams, shaving brushes, razors, colognes and gift sets...