As we head toward the end of October and my favorite holiday I’ll be following up on my short blog post from last week and expand on everything going on right now and for November 2020. I’ll give a progress update on September’s production run and also let everyone know what I’m planning for October and November runs. I’ll give a short update on my health as well as the state of The Varlet’s shop and it’s efficiency at this time, then I’ll get to the details for the brushes themselves, as I usually do.
After feeling very strained at the end of the summer due to high temperatures and awful air quality I unfortunately had an injury at the beginning of October, though to be honest it was probably initially present during the latter part of September. Luckily, I have not suffered from Covid but ironically suffered this minor but traumatizing injury which is very rare for me. I’ve not talked about the details as I’d like to keep it personal but it did cause me a lot of grief physically and mentally. I won’t say much more about it but thought I would expand just a bit on what’s been going on with me healthwise, since The Varlet is still a one-man operation and if I am out of the shop, production comes to a halt. I appreciate everyone who chimed in with their well-wishes via email.
I am fairly certain I’m fully recovered now. I’ve been feeling strong for the past two weeks or so, and I think the photos of September’s run will show it. I did have a lot of the material already cast and much of the hair sorted. That said, production has been efficient during this time, with the weather being especially nice and the air quality being so good right now here in Northern California. Of course, being less physically uncomfortable lets me work a bit faster, but also the machinery and equipment that I use runs smoother with less upkeep.
Now that we’re about 8 months into the custom ordering process for brushes, I am feeling like I am hitting my stride with materials as well as turning brushes of different sizes and ensuring the proportions are correct, considering knot lofts and shapes, and overall making sure the execution is proper on each brush. It’s something I’ve strived for since the beginning, but lately it has come to me with much less friction. Certainly, while the vast majority of folks are happy with the brushes themselves, it is not lost on me that the customer experience is still not perfect. I really regret that at this time, and hopefully one day soon I’ll be able to meet time frames with more accuracy. For The Varlet at this time I can commit only to general time frames in order to continue to deliver craftsmanship of this sort on a custom basis. With that said, my focus is to get the short term plan I outlined completed by the end of November and I will do my best to get this wrapped up.
September Run
Handles for September brushes are all finished, with the exception of one. Knots are about 50% complete and I’m confident I can get them completed in the next couple of days, though it might take me into the weekend. I am trying not to rush the process as I can’t change the fact that the brushes are behind schedule, but I can definitely ensure they are excellent. Nevertheless, this run is almost done and should be shipping next week. Here are some photos of what will be shipping soon, though a lot of these handles need one more touch up polish and/or sanding (depending on the finish), but that is done at the very end before they go in the box.
October and November Runs
I have decided to consolidate both Oct and Nov production runs into one large batch. Looking at the numbers for Oct and Nov, combining there two runs into one shouldn’t make it too much larger than September’s run, which is pretty large. I’m estimating that with better conditions here in the fall that I’ll be able to wrap this up by the end of November as I planned. I certainly do not want to go into Christmas and the New Year with this short term plan still unfulfilled, so I will be doing my best to put my head down and finish this before this eventful year is over, and ideally before December is here. I will be contacting everyone on the October and November runs within the next couple of days to see where everyone is at in terms of their readiness to place orders.
S.F.F. - A brush for the Semper Fi Fund
I have been wanting to do something publicly for a charity which is near and dear to me for some time. My usual practice is to contribute behind the scenes as much as I can. I will sometimes give discounts to service members on a case by case basis, other times I will encourage a donation to the Semper Fi Fund instead of taking payment for a brush. It all varies and not everyone I speak with asks for a discount or anything like that, but I try to do what I can. I really enjoy reading about the experiences that members of our Armed Forces have in their service to our country. During tough times, I look to these experiences to inspire me to persevere and to overcome.
Nevertheless, I think it’s a good time to do something publicly as I said to raise a bit of awareness and to remind folks of the Semper Fi Fund and how great of an organization they are. I’m planning on making brushes henceforth from time to time that are labeled S.F.F., with varying designs and colors, I am not sure exactly at this point but I am going to just have fun with it.
All proceeds from the sale of these brushes will go towards to the Semper Fi Fund. I am still not sure exactly how I will go about this process, and what the best way to offer these brushes is right now. I have some ideas in mind, but for this first brush I think I might be doing a falling auction directly on the website. I will have more details in the next few days, and I will have a photo of the brush posted soon.
That is all the news I have for now but I will post more info on the S.F.F. brush as well as get in touch with everyone via email in the next few days to touch base. Hope everyone is staying healthy and have a safe and happy Halloween.
-Aldo
