CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Charlottetown business owner Olin Penna’s new aluminum and chrome jar is more than a container for his homemade brand of shaving cream.
Penna, owner of Luther Lather Shaving Creamery, is also hoping the new jar (or stein) becomes part of a tradition for families and an heirloom that is passed down between generations of fathers and sons.
The new stein was inspired by the old shaving mugs used by older generations but also the traditional stein used annually for Oktoberfest celebrations.
“It has more of a historical significance than just shaving cream,” he said.
Penna unveiled the new jar last Saturday (June 8) in the Charlottetown Mall. Penna is back in the mall today across from Sport Chek for Father’s Day weekend in his familiar P.E.I. inspired pop-up kiosk decorated with lobster nets.
Besides the symbolic importance of the new jars, they are also more durable, smaller in size (so less waste) and have better brush ergonomics.
Penna, originally from Terrace Bay, Ont., officially launched the incorporated business in Charlottetown in 2016.
The business is operated out of his home, where he makes the shaving cream out of natural ingredients like honey, coconut oil, milk soap and fragrance oils. The shaving cream is also a moisturizer and an after shave. Penna ships online orders for the products (including a horsehair shaving brush) across North America and overseas.
Since launching the business in Charlottetown, Penna has become a familiar face at the Downtown Farmers’ Market on Queen Street, the Belvedere Avenue Farmers’ Market during Christmas shopping season as well as a regular at the annual craft market events in Moncton, Saint John, Fredericton and Halifax.
Penna wanted to switch from a glass jar to an aluminum one for a couple of years.
He first looked at Canadian companies to make the stein, but found that the cost of making the mould in Canada was too expensive and the minimum number of orders companies were requesting was too high.
So, Penna looked overseas, and settled on a manufacturer in eastern India.
Penna met the supplier in Hong Kong in January and finalized the deal.
Penna ordered 3,500 jars to begin with, and then potentially 10,000 or 15,000 down the road.
Penna said the jars are not the type of product you would see come off an assembly line. Instead, the aluminum is hand poured into moulds, but the dimples or hammer finish on each jar are done individually and manually.
“So, every jar is uniquely different based on where the dimples are. As well, the lids, based on the groves, when you twist on the lid, that lid won’t necessarily fit on other jars,” he said. “So, every jar is truly handmade, they’re not mass produced. That has a cool story to it as well – the more users use it, you wear the groves in, and that jar is truly bespoken to each user.”
On the counter of his kiosk in the Charlottetown Mall, he has a photograph of himself as a youth with his father and grandfather. His father Doug often makes the trip from Northern Ontario to help Olin out with the Christmas season circuit.
The photograph is a reminder of the importance of family and the relationship between fathers and sons.
This Father’s Day is extra special for Penna. On March 24, Penna’s wife Sarah gave birth to their son Hux.
"It's really surreal, especially for this Father’s Day being my first one, getting to sell my passion and share it with others but it will be my first weekend celebrating as a new dad,” he said.
