5 Minutes With The Founders Of Bolin Webb

Bolin Webb designs and makes luxury grooming products for men – principally razors and shaving accessories. We are an award-winning company, building a brand known for design excellence within a growing market. Our products are aspirational, contemporary, performing and distinctive.

Derrick was looking for an appealing razor handle but could not find one. He was tired of using the uninspiring razors that were available at the time. These were functional or traditional. Little thought was given to visual appeal, the enjoyment of shaving, and to contemporary design. His idea was to use design cues from the world of cars and apply these to shaving: shape, colour, and materials. That was how the original R1 razor with the Gillette Mach3 blade was conceived. We continue to use British designers to find other distinctive solutions that are innovative, look great and perform, such as our razor case and stands, and now wash bags.

Colour is very important. Time is taken to select and trial different colours for the razors. We seek to choose paints that are distinctive, striking and that capture a spirit and aspirational appeal. Colour cues are taken from luxury car manufacturers such as Aston Martin, Lamborghini and Porsche among others. We adapt these to our handles to really narrow down to a product we are proud of. The names we choose for our different colours also come from the car world, but not always. As an example, the name R1 Blue 3000 comes from the Austin Healy 3000, while the R1 Ferrara Yellow refers to the home of the Lamborghini marque.

Honestly, I should give myself more time to shave carefully and with precision. I am always in a bit of a rush, and if I’m not careful I can nick myself with my blade. This is not a great outcome for a maker of razors. Given time, shaving does not need to be routine. It’s a pleasure to try new shaving formulations, sometimes with a brush yet mostly without. But always with a Bolin Webb razor.

Since launching our company in 2011, we have won several product design and brand awards. Our most recent achievement was awarded in April 2017 Best-of-the-Best for Germany’s prestigious Red Dot design award for our silicone razor case. With these design, we have taken the shaving experience from being a mundane task to a pleasurable one. Equally important, is the tactile handling of our razors. They look great, but pick one up and feel the difference too.

Hard to choose! The R1 graphite and X1 Eiger both in automotive metallic paint are truly elegant and eyecatching, but the newest favourite has to be the R1 Chrome, with a smoked chrome finish and a matching stand. It is a striking and masculine application of materials and design.

Bolin Webb aims to build a distinctive legacy within the world of male grooming products. Our enviable list of global retailers, and our design and brand awards, show we are doing just that. We will build on these strengths by adding new innovative products to our brand. The latest example is our new design-led wash bag for men, which was launched this summer. Again, we are proud of the design ethic and marriage of different materials to bring what we believe is another great product to market.