WSO Update and Thank You!

          First off I apologize for my absence from the forums and from social media aside from some updates re my Mothers's condition. The outpouring of support, thoughts and prayers has quite simply blown me away. For that I want to express my deepest thanks to everyone. Thank you for the thoughts, the prayers, the well wishes, the extended (very extended) patience. There is something special about this community and I hope every single person gets to experience it, albeit I hope it is under different circumstances.
          As I tend to do I will probably blabber on to long but I want to touch on a twitter post that was made re always wanting more when it comes to razors and soaps and everything else. It was  the few posts I replied to and my comment was, "It is good to want what we have as opposed to have what we want". The comment oddly enough meant more to me than razors and soaps and brushes. In a time where someone in your family is in a difficult situation it makes you reflect on appreciate what you have and have had. It is sad that it takes such an event to do so, but at times it does. So far be it from me to tell anyone what to do in their life, but truly appreciating what you have and not taking i for granted as opposed in the endless quest of wanting more may be something at one time or another we could all benefit from doing. At this particular time all I want in life is what I have and I want it dearly.
          A quick update on my mother to answer the numerous emails, many of which have been unreplied and for that I am sorry. She is in a holding pattern, in Cardiac ICU, and we are hoping and praying for some improvements. Her main surgery was 11 days ago, she should have been out of icu 9 days ago. After staring off recovering well within 24-36 hrs there was a serious setback. The good news is she is not getting worse, the bad news is it imperative she shows signs of improvement. Enough said.
          On to business. A relative will be with my Aunt and Sister a the hospital allowing me some time this am and then later tonight to do some shipping of orders. Please bear with me, I will work as hard as I can in the time permitted to ship as many orders as is humanly possible. I should be able to continue to do so over the next few days and will get everyone's orders en route as quickly as I can. This is a welcome reprieve in many ways as I can be immersed in this and keep my mind occupied and rest easier that I am fulfilling my commitments.
          That brings me to my next thought. I will not forget this and in the future when all this is past I wil think of some way of returning this favor to the community and especially to those who have shown extended patience with outstanding orders. I dont know how, I dont know what, but I will.
         One last Thank You to everyone, customers, community members and even fellow Artisans ( B&M is tops with me folks- good people first- cant say enough about them) for the thoughts, prayers, good vibes and support. A quick special thank you to those who have stepped up and even assumed responsibility to assist in handling WSO issues and informing the community of the situation if they were not aware via social media and my blog or personal correspondence. You people know who you are and you will have a special place with me from this time forward.
             
             Sincerest Regards,
                                          Jim@WetShaveObsession

WSO Update and Thank You!!

          Just wanted to take a moment to thank you all for your patience and support. As many of you know in a bit of a family medical situation with my Mom at the moment. Out of nowhere some serious issues arose and surgeries were and are required. One of which was completed today, prepping for what is hopefully the final one on Wednesday.
          It is ironic as I have befriended so many customers and shared this with a few of them and the wetshaving community is such a tight knit one I have received well wishes from so many people it is unbelievable. That is what prompted this blog. Please do not take offense if I have not responded to your individual email well wishes or at my absence on the forums. I am simply balancing & prioritizing things at the moment and doing what I can, where I can, in all areas to keep things moving along. Again a huge thanks to everyone for all your support, thoughts and prayers. They are much appreciated.
           Now as far as WSO business. I am still cleaning up the remnants of the USPS shipping debacle and reships have been and are being sent. If you have not received shipping notification you will be in the next few days. I am shipping several orders tonight and hope to have the rest out tomorrow so all customer commitments will be honored. This has been quite the sequence of unplanned and unfortunate events. I appreciate all of your patience and understanding more than I can express.
           In addition to reships I am also beginning the process of getting product to KnockOutShave.com so the distribution of WSO products can be taken over and both availability and service can be at the level customers deserve. I will do this as quickly as I can under current circumstances. Please do not ask him when he will be getting items in. That falls on me to get them to him and I will as they are ready. It will take a bit to ramp up stock but I really feel this will help everyone, especially you the customer. I have said many times, I never expected this amazing and overwhelming response, I an honored and humbled by it, I fell bad I have not been able to keep up with it, and I feel like there is now a solution in place that will most certainly vastly improve it and hopefully correct it.            
          This is almost like a starting over of sorts. The issue with WSO products that has really made this such a large issue is quite simply the time put into the manufacture of them. It not just a combining of ingredients and the making of the products. It is the extensive prep of the ingredients beforehand that is very time consuming as well. I honestly feel however that is what makes the difference. The time, care and effort to ensure not only the best ingredients, but that the best ingredients are then individually optimized, then the manufacture process and so on. Time and time again it has been suggested that a corner be cut here and there, but I honestly believe the reason the demand has been what it is due to these steps that are and have been taken. The solution to the problem does not and can not lie in cutting corners or compromising the very core principles (and in my opinion ultimately the quality) the products were originally formulated with. That is what makes them what they are. Long term will that prevent WSO from being a "big time" player? Perhaps it will, but it will not prevent WSO from producing the finest quality products possible...and that is and always has been the goal.
             Thank You to everyone for your time. I apologize again for my absence on the Forums and Social Media hopefully all will return to normal very soon.
            Enjoy Your Shaves!
             Regards,
              Jim@WetShaveObsesssion

WSO Shipping/Status Update

           As many of you know we have been quite busy and just reopened the store, Within several days our stock was completely wiped out, which while it was a great thing., left us with a huge backlog of orders to be shipped. By stocking up figuring we would be able to meet customer demand for a longer period, all that was essentially accomplished was the increased stock was purchased in a much faster rate of time which has left us with a shipping backlog. For this I sincerely apologize. As most of you know this is not my main job however I have a responsibility to my customers to ship their products they have paid for in a timely fashion.            The purpose of this blog is two-fold. First and foremost it is to assure everyone that any and all outstanding WSO order will be shipped by this Saturday at the latest. Many orders such as ones placed after the 16th have and are being shipped by the committed to ship date. However there are some previous to that which have missed their ship dates and any and all will be shipped by Saturday in order they were received.
            The second reason for the blog is to let it be known what is being done to remedy the product availability as well as shipping backlog issue. This coming week will be a transition week whereby all WSO products will be shipped by an exclusive retailer, that retailer being KnockOutShave. The time being spent packaging individual orders is time that could be spent manufacturing product and in order to better service our customers demands as well as improve shipping times this solution became the one that made the most sense. By partnering with a retailer that places the emphasis the same place as WSO does and where it belongs, on quality, we will as a team better to be able to meet not only demand but provide the level of service WSO customers deserve. With a full time job, a wife, a 7 year old, and a 2 year old this hobby has taken off into something I never expected. In all fairness to the customer I cannot continue to expect people to not only wait so long for products to become available, but wait for the shipping of said products as well.
          I truly feel that this is the best solution for all parties involved and most importantly for the customer. I sincerely appreciate the patience displayed by all in waiting for the products to become available as well as your patience in the shipping of said products. Again to reiterate all orders will be shipped by Saturday 5/24.          This coming week will consist of the transfer of the WSO inventory to KnockOut Shave and then the products will be available and for sale and in a place where they can be quickly shipped out to the customer.
I can focus on what I am good at and enjoy- the manufacture of quality shaving products, and KnockOutShave can focus on what they are good at- the distribution of quality shaving products. Both of us doing so with quality and customer service being the top priority. It is my sincerest hope that this will address both the availability as well as the service issues (and again I thank all who have been amazing in your patience waiting for the WSO products).
  .Enjoy Your Shaves!
    Regards
     Jim@WetShaveObsession

PS - KockOutShave currently has a few WSO Premium Shave Soaps in Stock and for Sale! We did a test run to see how things would work and this is the remnants of that test. So visit KnockOut Shave and click on the soaps link to see what he still has available!

WSO Stock Update- 5/19/2014

          Ok so after the last week the bottom line is WSO is pretty much wiped out of stock of soaps, Blash and Balm. We had the busiest week ever. We were/are literally slammed with orders. The week started with the busiest day we have ever had and that trend continued right through the weekend.
          I am waiting on some raw materials and actually have the materials in stock to make some products, such as soaps, I simply will not have the time to do so until we can get these orders all shipped out.
          I would simply ask everyone that has ordered to please bear with us as we are working through the orders and shipping them in the order that they were received but i will say up front some will not ship out in the normal allotted ship time. I can only process the orders after I am done my day job and I rely heavily on my wife to take them to the post office during the day. We are both doing the best we can and I assure you all the open orders will be shipped within the next few days.
          I sincerely appreciate and am humbled by the response to WSO products. I sincerely thank everyone for your patronage and support. I also wish to inform everyone that I am working on a solution that will free up more time for me to focus simply on the manufacture of product and the distribution will be done by an exclusive retailer who is set up to do the stocking and shipping much more efficiently than I, since that is solely what he does. This is someone that shares my passion for wetshaving and someone that also shares the same values as I. It will be a pleasure working with him and while this will mean a substantial decrease in the revenue to WSO, it will much better allow us to service the most important person, the customer and fellow wetshaver.
          Once again I thank you for your patronage, your support and your patience. I am quite simply blown away by the response to the WSO product offerings. I am humbled, I am grateful, and I am honored.
     
          Enjoy Your Shaves,
           Regards,
            Jim@WetShaveObsession

WSO Stock Update 5/13/2014 - 2;10pm est

       This blog is to inform that a full batch run of White Lightning Ultimate Skincare Premium Shave Soap has sold out already. This puts me in a bit of a predicament in the sense that from a business perspective it would certainly make sense to immediately use my Ultimate Skincare Base that is in stage 2 of  the manufacturing process to make more White Lightning.
       That sounds all well and good,  however I have quite a few customers that have been patiently waiting for Vanillawood and Lime. Especially Vanillawood. In order to be fair to those who have been pateintly waiting for these other 2 Ultimate Skincare Soaps, I will be using the 2nd stage batch of Ultimate Skincare base to make first Vanillawood and then Lime. It is difficult to state an exact timeframe until I check on things when I get home from work.

        My main intention is t inform those waiting for Vanillawood and Lime that I:
 1- appreciate your patience and
 2- will be releasing them as my next ultimate skincare soap restocks.

       I want to thank all my customers for their patronage and also their patience. I am working hard to restock and keep up and will do the best I can. I will continue to do so in a fair & ethical manner based solely on wait time. Thank You all for your patience and understanding.

       Enjoy Your Shaves,
        Regards,
         Jim@wetShaveObsession

WSO May Update

*The Store will be reopening tonight at 9pm EST. There are several new and exciting things happening. First of all the introduction of a new soap formulated specifically for straight razor shavers ( See my previous blog).

*The Pre-Shave Oils are fully stocked, both Regular and Mentholated.

*The aftershave Balm and Blash are both fully stocked in all scents.

*The soaps Bill the Barber, Zaro, Signature & White Lightning will be fully stocked.

*There are others that are in stock as well. The new scent Bevel mentioned above will be available in limited stock.

*Next to be stocked will be the new Vetiver, new Acqua Di Gio, then Vanillawood, then Coconut Lime & Lime. The summer months are here and I expect the Coconut Lime and Lime as well as the Mentholated White Lightning may be popular with their crisp, clean, cooling and refreshing scents.

*There are a several customers that I told I would notify when some of the scents mentioned above are available. Do not worry, everyone I have told will have their desired scent set aside and you will be contacted in the next day or two.

*I am working on the Pre-Shave soap and that may or may not be ready for release by the end of this month. My primary focus will be stocking soaps at this point.

*I want to thank all of my customers and supporters and also thank this entire board for the fantastic patronage and support. I sincerely appreciate it. I wish I could express my gratitude more but I just can't think of any better way to say it.

*Stay tuned. I expect the month of May to be a fun and exciting one here at WetShaveObsession. Join me in enjoying it!

Enjooy Your Shaves!
Regards,
Jim@WetShaveObsession

WSO Proudly introduces Bevel....the Shaving Soap Formulated Specifically for the Straight Razor Shave....

WSO Proudly Introduces Bevel

       

              So as some of you may or may not know I recently got back into straight razor shaving quite ardently.  I quickly recalled how when I use a straight I prefer the consistency of my lather to be different than when I shave with a DE or Injector. I like it to be thinner and very slick. I began to think to myself what if I were to formulate a soap that naturally produced a thinner, yet rich and slick lather. One where the more lather you produced or the more product you continued to incorporate it would still have a slightly thinner consistency. I set about the task of formulating such a soap. 

              Very quickly I realized that even though straight shavers may prefer a thinner consistency lather, there still needed to be a certain amount of user flexibility as not everyone prefers their lather exactly the same. I expected this undertaking to take quite a few sample batches, and it did, but I honestly have to say all the homework I had done in setting about on this hobby months and months ago paid off. Knowing which oils I selected for which reasons, their fatty acid and their triglyceride content and what that translated to as far as lather production, as well as the additives and what they provide asw well paid off significantly in this undertaking. Very quickly I had a workable soap that performed well. Well, however, is not good enough. I did a few more tweaks, gave out a cule samples, used it on my own and I had what I was looking for.

              Now for the scent. I wanted it to have a bit of an old time feel. Some slight citrus, moss, leather, hint of tobacco,  barely perceptible vanilla influence. It had to have a cologne type fragrance to it, one that would take the user back a bit. The feel of a simpler time. Its definitely a fougere based scent but unlike Zaro not an upscale fougere. More of a journeymans fougere if that makes sense. A woodsy fougere. A daily wear fougere that provided a comfortable feel. I think I have accomplished that. 

               The best part about this soap is that while it is designed primarily for straight razor shavers it definitely offers the user the flexibility to create a lather that is more than acceptable for a DE or Injector shave. In fact if you are a DE shaver that doesn't like lather so thick it clogs between the blade and the conb of the razor but still offers great slickness, cushion and performance this is one you will want to try.

              So as you can see I have not sent the last week with the Etsy store closed twiddling my thumbs. I had a major USPS shipping issue with an entire shipment of 14 orders that needed straightening out, but much of my other time was spent on this task. When the store reopens tonight at 9pm est there will be a limited number of pucks of Bevel available for sale. I sincerely hope all that choose to try this soap enjoy it as much as I and the testers have. It performance has made straight shaving a tad bit easier for me to re-acclimate too. 

               In a way I am surprised no one has done this before, but in a way I am not. This is a very niche market and not exactly a large enough % of the traditional shaving market to target if your goal is to sell a ton of soaps. However if your goal is to fulfill what i see as a potential need, something that will help to improve the traditional shave even for a smaller portion of the market , it is worth it. Also I will be honest, I would have made something like this for myself to use eventually anyway, Why not share it as I have have shared my other products that started off the same way.

               Stay tuned for the release of Bevel, the shaving soap formulated with the straight razor shaver in mind!

               Enjoy Your Shaves!

                Regards,

                  Jim@WetShaveObsession