Making men fall in love with shaving

Jude Jarvis (40) is one of the co-founders of Marram Co, a luxury men’s grooming business. Born in Edinburgh, she lives in Howth with her husband, James, and their children — Skyla (eight) and Benji (five)

In our house, wake-up is normally governed by the children or the dog. Our daughter has never been a good sleeper. I think it’s that she doesn’t want to miss out on anything. So, it’s up, and the usual prep for school. My husband travels, and he is away every week for two days. He may well be up at 5am to catch a plane.

Even though I’m a working woman, it’s important to me to be there for the kids in the morning. I’m fortunate that I can do this. I see them safely to school. It’s relatively calm in the morning. They are at an age where they are independent enough. We live two minutes away from the school in Howth. We are so fortunate. We’re in a little cottage overlooking the harbour. I can see the sea.

I find the water incredibly calming. When I was a little girl, we travelled all over the world. So I was either in the sea or a swimming pool for most of my childhood. I love the water. Howth has a lovely community. It feels relatively safe. If the kids were to wander off, somebody would notice, and bring them back. After I walk the kids to school, it’s straight back to work.

I work partly from home, and we have an office in town. I am one of three co-founders of Marram Co. It is a luxury men’s grooming business. For me, it was the right time and the right place. While the kids were little, I was at home. Before that, my background was in brand consultancy and advertising. I’m an all-or-nothing person. And I was fortunate enough that I didn’t have to work, and I really cherished that time with the kids when they were small.

Three years ago, we were on a family holiday in France with my dad, and he came down mid-shave — he remembered that he had something to tell us. He was lathered up, and he had his brush in his hand. It started a conversation about shaving. He was so positive and energised about shaving like this. He spoke about that moment [he had] to himself in the morning and how, using the right tools, he got a much better shave.

We had never heard anybody talk about shaving like this. Like a lot of men, my husband hates shaving. He sees it as a chore, and rushes through it. That prompted us to look into it. Wouldn’t it be great to make it something pleasurable? We all have rushed lifestyles, and that moment in the bathroom might be the only time you get to yourself.

Older generations of men used to shave on a daily basis. Think of cowboys, and even the soldiers in the trenches with their mug and brush. That generation always did it, and did it so well. We wanted to bring that and make it modern. This is the first business that I’ve set up. My husband had other businesses in different fields. He is an ideas man, and I think he has domain names for 25 businesses that never happened.

We could see that men’s grooming was growing. Our aim was to make shaving a good thing, rather than a rushed chore. It wouldn’t take any longer, but if you are going to do it in two minutes, do it right. If your stubble is as strong as copper wire and if you just go at it with a bad blade, you can imagine the torture on your face. I see so many men going around with red, raw faces.

We came up with a razor handle that is compatible with the best blades on the market; and a brush; and a bowl for the lather and creams. We formulated them all; they are all natural with essential oils. The idea was that you got pleasure from the tools you use.

I’ve got a stationery fetish, and doing work is more pleasurable for me with a beautiful pen and a lovely notebook. So it was kind of this idea with our kits. There is something about the lathering of the brush in a bowl, whisking up this amazing meringue, which looks really appealing and smells amazing.

It bothers me that there is such a spotlight on women in business. On the one hand, it is good, but men and women are no more important than each other. Gender shouldn’t be a barrier. It’s important that the kids see both mummy and daddy working.

We have a wonderful minder in the afternoons, and this allows me to work until 5pm. Then I’m home for the kids — to feed them, go through their homework with them and put them to bed. I probably work in the evenings after they have gone to bed.

I go to the gym about five times a week. There is something about having a strong, healthy body and mind. I love getting that aggression out. I can punch a punchbag, but I can’t punch my husband!

I volunteer for the RNLI. It’s a way that I can give back. The community here in Howth is so amazing. It is centred around the harbour. I train every Monday, and we’re out on exercises on a continual development programme, until you reach a standard where you are given a pager, and you are responding to casualties.

I started it last summer. I love it. There is something about it; it’s so structured, and there is a protocol on absolutely everything. There is no grey area. They are a great bunch of guys and very inspiring. It’s amazing to go out on the water and to know exactly what you should be doing. I find, in business, there are so many choices to be made on a daily basis. But in the RNLI, it’s really nice to be told, ‘You need to do this, this and this’.

At night, I read for total escapism. My favourite books are human stories that I can identify with in some way. I’m asleep in about two seconds, and I’m lucky if I’ve even read two pages.

“I love getting that aggression out in the gym. I can punch a punchbag instead of my husband”