Where is Sri?

I’m kind of bummed that one of my favourite artisans, Sri Ram of Wholly Kaw no longer posts here. Does anyone know if he’s active anywhere else or if he’s stepped back from the forum scene entirely?

I know he sponsoring our H&S 316SS passaround with a plethora of new product

One of the most endearing features of Sri is his lack of drama amongst artisans:

Consistent product lineups of favourites consistently available

Orders shipped properly and on time everytime

Tip of the spear product quality and innovation.

With the exception of B&M, no artisan operation is run more professionally.  There may be wisdom in letting others tout the merits online whilst laser focusing on R&D and Ops me thinks....

He posts on r/Wetshaving sometimes.

DanLaw i agree with everything you said, Sri has consistently been a cutting edge, class act and (unlike B&M) he still ships to Canada and I assume internationally. My only very minor comment would be that he could improve the layout of his website but that’s very minor as you can still find/but whatever (in stock) product you want. I’ve been using some of his skin care products for a few months and I’m very pleased with them. 

Sri was never a high volume forum poster and, as you pointed out, no drama. Ever.  I’m guessing he’s likely just busy running his business and experimenting with new product innovations.

I just visited www.whollykaw.com and there have been some improvements to the site, at least to the homepage.    Don't get me wrong, its not awful and I have seen some awful ones.

DanLaw i agree with everything you said, Sri has consistently been a cutting edge, class act and (unlike B&M) he still ships to Canada and I assume internationally. My only very minor comment would be that he could improve the layout of his website but that’s very minor as you can still find/but whatever (in stock) product you want. I’ve been using some of his skin care products for a few months and I’m very pleased with them. 

Sri was never a high volume forum poster and, as you pointed out, no drama. Ever.  I’m guessing he’s likely just busy running his business and experimenting with new product innovations.

FWIW I agree with your kind remarks. I also think the website gets the job done but calls for more patience than we prefer.

Apologies for the long absence from DFS.  

Work was hectic after the pandemic imposed social distancing was partially lifted in the lab I work.  And had to get a ton of projects off the ground both in the lab and outside.

But so what we were upto?

1. Developed the new shave cream. Vegan with beta carotene, emollients, antioxidants etc.
2. Moving into a new facility
3. EU certification process currently underway
4. Pre-shave conditioning product - formulated for sensitive skin.
5. Taking advantage of shipping and warehousing capabilities from an external provider
6. Shopping bot developed using Telegram. Be gentle. Still very much unrefined. But if you know what you want to buy, bot makes it faster for purchase with less clicks.  Mobile number on the checkout pop up needs the country code. 
7. New scents coming up - for creams and soaps. Peaty, figs, dates, peat smoke, vanilla with a spicy finish anyone?
8. Hair care products almost done
9. Got some more help - trained the new people. 
10. etc.

Happy to be back here.

Hi Sri whollykaw

Welcome back, it looks like you’ve been very busy which is great news for the rest of us!!  I’ve been using a couple of your skin care products for a few months now and just ordered a couple more. I’ve been pleased with them. I noticed that WCS is carrying some of your skin care line which is a good thing. I think WCS has always been a friend to both artisans and shavers alike. I’m hoping that other merchants will pick up the skincare line and increase the market. 

I think your expansion into shaving cream is fantastic. That is one area of the artisan space that I think has been screaming for someone to step into. We all use shaving creams to some extent do it will be nice to have a true artisan choice to use. 

Thank you

I forgot to mention those new scents!! Sounds wonderful. I live that peaty/peat smoke scent for some reason. The Salter French Verviers is the only one I know of so far and I love it. I’m looking forward to more v

I had my first shave with Dulci Tobacco a few days ago, and both the cream and the shave were excellent!  Unfortunately, we had house guests coming, so I did not have time to post an SOTD photo.  Perhaps this one will do for now:

Dulci Tobacco is part of the Wholly Kaw portfolio of products Sr has donated to the H&S 316SS passaround.

It was a little sweet as delivered but leaving the cap off for a couple days really brought out the tobacco. The scent is now quite masculine and sophisticated.

Despite some concerns the creme would fail to live up to the outstanding performance levels of Wholly Kaw soaps, it has been stellar.

Another Wholly Kaw home run