Strop & Alum is a two person shaving shop above a hardware store in Butte, Montana, run by Anselm Kassab, a barber for twenty six years, and woodturner Ren Tsosie. Ren turns each brush handle from a walnut offcut on a treadle lathe, sets the silvertip badger knot in resin and oils the wood three times. Anselm lathers every brush at his own chair before it is boxed and blends the pre shave oil at the bench by the dropper, about nine brushes in a week.
Who this theme is for
A small grooming shop selling tools rather than bottles: a shaving brush, a safety razor, a lather bowl, a boxwood comb. Buyers of these things already know what they want and they check the details, so the page opens on the brush and the lather bowl on the walnut counter, moves to a barber working at the chair, then shows hands at the bench. Clean Minimal keeps the logo plain and the buttons sharp, which suits a shop that would rather let the walnut and the brush do the talking.
What was decided in the brief
The style is Clean Minimal on its second variant, because the forest green primary is the colour of the stained plank walls in the photos and the copper accent picks up the brass lamps, so the buttons belong to the room. The brand facts lead with the walnut offcut and the treadle lathe, then the silvertip knot and the lather test at the chair, then the weekly count of nine, because a buyer comparing a $68 brush with a $15 one wants to know what the handle is and who tried it first.
Questions
- Is this Shopify theme really free?
- Yes. You download a complete Shopify 2.0 theme ZIP and no account is needed. In your Shopify admin go to Online Store, then Themes, then Add theme, then Upload zip file.
- How do I offer the same brush in different woods or knot sizes?
- Make one product with an option for each choice, such as Wood and Knot Size, and add each combination as a variant. Give each variant its own photo and price so a buyer who picks the larger knot sees the right one and pays the right amount.
- Can I sell razors and blades on a store built with this theme?
- The theme itself has no limit on what you list, but rules on blades differ by country and by payment provider. Read Shopify's policies and your payment provider's terms for your country, and set shipping zones to match before you list anything with a blade.