We actually had his first haircut done on his birthday last year. Scout has so much hair that we were able to use his first trimmings in a number of ways. Apart from the usual practice of inserting it in books (we actually used tow books), some was used in his First Haircut Certificate. This one is the ultimate memorabilia...
The idea was first presented to me when I had my first meeting with Ms. Penk Ching of Pastry Bin for Scout's first birthday cake. Shifting the topic a bit, here's what the cake looked like:
The idea was first presented to me when I had my first meeting with Ms. Penk Ching of Pastry Bin for Scout's first birthday cake. Shifting the topic a bit, here's what the cake looked like:
A and Scout were with me during the meeting, so she saw how much hair Scout has and suggested that I have a brush made using his first haircut trimmings. She said that she had the same done for all her kids. I thought that that's a good idea..quite unique!
So, the search went on for a baby haircut brush maker. I don't think we have one here in the Philippines. Ms. Penk referred Hong Kong and Taiwan. After some research, I found that the Chinese refer to it as scholarly brush and the usually, the ones who had one made before were emperors and their heirs.
I found some in Hong Kong and noticed that they've incorporated auspicious aspects on it. Like a brush made of pure baby's first haircut trimmings is very powerful and that if a brush is made using that of the baby and the mother, it's more powerful.
I also found some shops in Singapore wherein the shop barber would even do a home service in cutting the baby's hair. There's this shop that has a branch in Malaysia wherein the Malaysian branch is relatively cheaper than the shop in Singapore. It would cost around Php4,000 to commission to have the brush made. I just have to ship the trimmings to them.
While in the process of selection, a former office intern of ours told me that he was going back to Manila to do some further tasks for his thesis. I was discussing to him the idea and eventually found out that Japan makes them too. One thing that I like about the Japanese is the quality and respect that they put into their crafts. This could work! He got in contact with a shop in Kumano, the brush-making capital of Japan.
He came on the same month that Scout had his first haircut. Prior to the haircut session, he already advised me the length and amount of hair requirements needed to make the brush. Before he went back to Japan, he asked me for some of the trimmings. When he arrived home, he asked me what carvings to put on the brush. Scout's Chinese name was there, of course, and decided to include his lunar birthday as well. We had to make some changes in the Chinese name as there's a slight difference in the character in Japanese. I showed the suggested change to my sister-in-law and she confirmed that it's just the same meaning. So we went ahead with it.
We got this today in the post office:
I found some in Hong Kong and noticed that they've incorporated auspicious aspects on it. Like a brush made of pure baby's first haircut trimmings is very powerful and that if a brush is made using that of the baby and the mother, it's more powerful.
I also found some shops in Singapore wherein the shop barber would even do a home service in cutting the baby's hair. There's this shop that has a branch in Malaysia wherein the Malaysian branch is relatively cheaper than the shop in Singapore. It would cost around Php4,000 to commission to have the brush made. I just have to ship the trimmings to them.
While in the process of selection, a former office intern of ours told me that he was going back to Manila to do some further tasks for his thesis. I was discussing to him the idea and eventually found out that Japan makes them too. One thing that I like about the Japanese is the quality and respect that they put into their crafts. This could work! He got in contact with a shop in Kumano, the brush-making capital of Japan.
He came on the same month that Scout had his first haircut. Prior to the haircut session, he already advised me the length and amount of hair requirements needed to make the brush. Before he went back to Japan, he asked me for some of the trimmings. When he arrived home, he asked me what carvings to put on the brush. Scout's Chinese name was there, of course, and decided to include his lunar birthday as well. We had to make some changes in the Chinese name as there's a slight difference in the character in Japanese. I showed the suggested change to my sister-in-law and she confirmed that it's just the same meaning. So we went ahead with it.
We got this today in the post office:
Quite nice, right? Although I tried to offer to pay for the brush, our intern said it's his gift to Scout for his birthday and for letting him stay with us while he was here in Manila. I did ask, for curiosity's sake, how much it costs. He said it's around Php4,000, same as that of Malaysia's.
There are actually many different styles. If you're willing to pay more, like at least 3x more than what I got, you can consider getting a lacquer handle like these:
There are actually many different styles. If you're willing to pay more, like at least 3x more than what I got, you can consider getting a lacquer handle like these:
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(images from Tokyo Weekender)
Apart from the design perspective, the feature that I really like about the lacquer brush is that the color of the lacquer changes over time. So, it's like watching the brush age along with your kid. If you're interested in getting this brush, you can order it via Jcrafts in Japan.
