Sounds like you have her genetics!!!
Pictures - behind the scenes at Captain's Choice
- Thread starter Captain Pre-Capsize
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #22
Bottling bay rum:
- Thread starter
- #23
Who says laundry baskets can only be used for clothing? We have uncovered a whole new market for them! They are great for hauling lather bowls and scuttles from the artisan who makes them to our design back to the good ship, Captain's Choice.
- Thread starter
- #24
Next up is getting each lather bowl into its fitted and padded box. These lather bowls are our Starry Night bowls with that name affixed onto the front of each box. The box you see here then goes into another slightly larger box that it is shipped in. So, box in a box and nothing breaks. Usually (cough, cough).
You can spot the crinkle paper that snugs each lather bowl tightly and just beyond is an appropriate sailboat paper weight. That is as close as I get these days to a sailboat I am afraid. Today has been a full Saturday of work and by the looks of my watch it is 4:30. I knocked off around 7:30. A typical day is ten hours or so, six days a week and after thirteen years it has not gotten old. Having my own business has always been very fulfilling. I think it is the uncertainty of it all and the variety that is captivating for me.
You can spot the crinkle paper that snugs each lather bowl tightly and just beyond is an appropriate sailboat paper weight. That is as close as I get these days to a sailboat I am afraid. Today has been a full Saturday of work and by the looks of my watch it is 4:30. I knocked off around 7:30. A typical day is ten hours or so, six days a week and after thirteen years it has not gotten old. Having my own business has always been very fulfilling. I think it is the uncertainty of it all and the variety that is captivating for me.
Last edited:
Loving this thread, thank you!
- Thread starter
- #26
All of our ceramic and copper lather bowls are made one at a time by hand. So they are prone to differences which is part of the charm of handmade goods. (There are times that I find it necessary to go for a long walk, bring a brown paper bag to breathe into and out of, and chant, "This is part of the charm, this is part of the charm...") Accuracy counts for them, down to the 1/4 inch!
First though, an illustration on volume which is what lather bowls are all about. Take a sailboat for example:
1. A twenty foot sailboat with a six foot beam (width) has 180 square feet of volume.
2. A twenty-six foot sailboat with seven foot beam has 364 square feet of volume.
One sailboat is just a little bit longer and yet has twice the volume of the other sailboat. The larger boat is an entirely different craft - handling, stability, responsiveness, momentum, etc. and is just six feet longer.
Reduce it down to a small lather bowl and even a tiny bit of difference can be a deal breaker. Here are two pictures of some Starry Night lather bowls. The one on the right is precisely to specs - 4 1/2" wide X 1 1/2" tall. The one on the left we cannot sell because it misses the mark. How much did it miss by? Just 1/4" is all it took. It measures 4 1/4" wide X 1 1/4" tall. Together, losing 1/4" in width and 1/4" in height makes it too small. Why? Because it is not about the 1/4". Instead it is about the volume of the vessel - just like a sailboat.
First though, an illustration on volume which is what lather bowls are all about. Take a sailboat for example:
1. A twenty foot sailboat with a six foot beam (width) has 180 square feet of volume.
2. A twenty-six foot sailboat with seven foot beam has 364 square feet of volume.
One sailboat is just a little bit longer and yet has twice the volume of the other sailboat. The larger boat is an entirely different craft - handling, stability, responsiveness, momentum, etc. and is just six feet longer.
Reduce it down to a small lather bowl and even a tiny bit of difference can be a deal breaker. Here are two pictures of some Starry Night lather bowls. The one on the right is precisely to specs - 4 1/2" wide X 1 1/2" tall. The one on the left we cannot sell because it misses the mark. How much did it miss by? Just 1/4" is all it took. It measures 4 1/4" wide X 1 1/4" tall. Together, losing 1/4" in width and 1/4" in height makes it too small. Why? Because it is not about the 1/4". Instead it is about the volume of the vessel - just like a sailboat.
Last edited:
Thanks for the post! Gives me an idea on the size!
@Captain Pre-Capsize - Any chance we'll see the out of spec bowl(s) for sale. They are so good looking I could definitely find use for one that doesn't meet spec for a lather bowl
- Thread starter
- #29
We don't have many - that is the goal. So when we do have one pop up I set it aside. Then when a customer places a nice order I toss it in for free with a hand written note. For the customer it is like Christmas morning to get a surprise like that. I had one in Abaco and gave it to a young niece of mine. She puts her rings and whatnot in it.
For a time I did sell them as "seconds" and now, I just don't. Not for any real reason I guess. I like a customer having an unexpected item as our way of saying thank you for the large order - I guess that is why.
That starry night sure is fetching. That too small bowl would make a cute dog bowl for the small doggies.
That's awesome. Tack that on to the list of awesome things the captain does.
- Thread starter
- #32
This picture is not a good sign / is a good sign...
You are looking at the entire inventory of Aquamarine copper lather bowls and Standard copper lather bowls. That is correct, one of each. Not good that we are nearly out again and good that customers love them so much!
You are looking at the entire inventory of Aquamarine copper lather bowls and Standard copper lather bowls. That is correct, one of each. Not good that we are nearly out again and good that customers love them so much!
- Thread starter
- #33
How much would you pay for a bottle of beer? Would you pay $95.00? Of course not, but I pay that for something else...
The white jug is what we receive our bay essential oil in. The Red Stripe is there for the sake of comparison. Authentic bay essential oil is very expensive stuff, believe me. There is synthetic bay oil but we only use the real deal direct from the Caribbean. (Thus the Red Stripe as a prop and no, I did not write off the six pack as a business expense but I could have!)
Would you believe $1,100.00 for the container you see here? It is true and that is the going rate. So if that Red Stripe was full of bay essential oil you would be paying $95.00 for the eleven ounce bottle.
Using authentic ingredients is one reason that our bay rum product line - aftershave, soap, cream, and balm are top sellers.
The white jug is what we receive our bay essential oil in. The Red Stripe is there for the sake of comparison. Authentic bay essential oil is very expensive stuff, believe me. There is synthetic bay oil but we only use the real deal direct from the Caribbean. (Thus the Red Stripe as a prop and no, I did not write off the six pack as a business expense but I could have!)
Would you believe $1,100.00 for the container you see here? It is true and that is the going rate. So if that Red Stripe was full of bay essential oil you would be paying $95.00 for the eleven ounce bottle.Using authentic ingredients is one reason that our bay rum product line - aftershave, soap, cream, and balm are top sellers.
Last edited:
You and your team do great work, Scott, and a big Thank You for letting us see what goes on in the background.
Nice type A flieger
- Thread starter
- #36
Time for a guessing game. Here are a few bottles of one of our aftershaves prior to being bottled.
Tell me, which aftershave is this?
Tell me, which aftershave is this?
Land ho?
- Thread starter
- #38
Lime??
This
Similar threads
- Locked
- Locked
- Article
- Locked
- Article
