Rosemary & Co A Second Look

I think the biggest issue with reviews, and this goes for almost all reviews never mind us amateurs, is that the product just does not get enough time under the spot light before we rush off to supply views. This is down to the time between discovery and so yesterday being so short. Some things such as figures, on the surface are easy to review but look again. Are they historically accurate? How about how well they take paint? Any area's that the brush can not reach but the eye can? etc. etc. Well at least with paint brushes it's simple, yes? Obviously tat would be a no, why else bother with this post?

 

I first bought the Sable Blend Series 401 from Rosemary & Co. and found the tip to annoyingly curl at the end. Not a total surprise as they were very cheap and you know what they say. So I moved up a couple of gears and bought a 10/0, 3/0, and 2/0 Kolinsky Sable Series 33 brushes for a princely sum of £10.50 for the three. Basically on a par with other Kolinsky brushes. Now on the web site or in the catalogue I read that many of the  brushes that are supplied as Kolinsky are blends at best ad often total fakes. This point was not lost on me as I had in the past noticed my brushes bristles changing colour as time and wear worked them over. From the start I noticed a difference between these series 33's and the blended ones prior and indeed other brushes I had used up to this point. First up them seem to hold more paint, second the point kept it's shape without the need for regular trips to the mouth to re-point. Sure I have to do it (it's a habit anyway) and another thing, I can paint better lines than I could in the past. However these were new brushes and if they did not hold up for the price I paid then really what could be said?

 

Anyway fast forward a few months and I am still using the same brushes, the picture above was taken this morning showing the points of the two brushes that I use the most. These being the 10/0 and the 3/0. I estimate well over one hundred painting hours with each brush (yes I know I do spend a lot of time painting) and they are showing no signs of slowing down. I can not guess how much loner each brush has left in them but what I do know is that any of the other brushes I have used in he last year or so would have fallen by the wayside by this point. So price to service I have found these brushes to score very highly, post to the UK is just £1 whilst posting abroad is estimated. This is not something that fills me with happiness as the winner of the give away lives in the USA and the estimate was £10! sure they would refund the difference if it was over but in my case I got them posted to me then sent on myself. So if I was you I would contact them for a quote and then pay, I am sure they would be fair but I did not risk the price of postage working out to be the same as the product!

 

Not wanting to finish on a negative let me state I have little doubt that my improved standard of painting owes not a little to better light and better brushes so I can say confidently that the Rosemary & Co Series 33 Pointed brushes will out perform like for like priced brushes.