The Copper Hat is a husband and wife endeavor situated in Victoria on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. We created The Copper Hat because of our own frustration that came from shaving with typical drug store supplies.
THE BEGINNING:
We each struggled with extreme skin types, one oily and one sensitive and dry. We were overwhelmed by the increasing cost of multi-blade cartridge razors and the terror cheaper razors reigned on our skin. When Brad started a job that required him to be clean shaven every day, he took matters into his own hands. He tracked down his first vintage double-edged razor and a shaving brush and, for the next several months, his most common saying to Kate was “feel how smooth my face is!” After observing Brad’s excitement, Kate began wet shaving and could also never go back to the drug store habit.
We started The Copper Hat because we know that we are not the only people who are tired of spending too much money on large blade cartridges that will just be thrown away. Although recent technology has brought us 5 blade razors, vibrating blades, and razors with built-in shave foam, the finesse of this personal care routine seems to have been lost in the fast-paced chaos of our daily lives. We craft and stock high quality brushes, razors, blades, soaps, and other shaving supplies so that you can enjoy a personalized shave that is suited to your hair and skin type.
THE JOURNEY:
We started out selling Brad’s handcrafted shaving brushes and a handful of antique safety and straight razors on our simple website. Brad’s first “commercial” wood shop consisted of all of his tools on a rolling cart that he would wheel down the hallway out of our apartment building when he turned brushes. Later we got more impressive and built a little wood shop into our bedroom closet! Over the years Brad’s work shop has moved around, but it is currently housed in a very unique space in Rock Bay Square, in between a honey dispensary and 2 craft breweries! Soon we began sharing our passion for wet shaving at local craft fairs and seasonal markets in Victoria, Vancouver and Edmonton. We LOVE craft shows and markets, but also wanted a space from which to sell our wares all year round. Our first permanent retail space was approximately 25 square feet and shared with Brad’s wood shop. In the summer of 2013 we moved into our first official store front, a less than 100 square foot shop in Fan Tan Alley, Victoria. We spent a roller coaster of a year in that space and then moved into a 300 square foot space in nearby Market Square, just off of Johnson Street. We are currently open 7 days a week in our brick-and-mortar store and also ship all of our website orders from here.
We feel incredibly lucky to have met so many wonderful, supportive and interesting people on The Copper Hat path. Whether you are a customer, fellow vendor or small-business owner, market coordinator, family member, friend or someone else who has cheered us on along the way, THANK YOU, we truly couldn’t have gotten The Copper Hat to this point without you! We are passionate about grassroots economies and encourage you to support small, local businesses whenever possible. We adore this Coast and natural environments everywhere and are so happy that through The Copper Hat we can provide people sustainable shaving practices while working within our small business community.
Thank you so much for stopping by – Happy Shaving!
Kate & Brad
