Kent Brushes (as they are now more commonly known) was founded in 1777 by William Kent in the reign of George III. Kent holds a pre-eminent place in the history of brush making, with an unbroken record of excellence in the quality of its production which has been recognized by the granting of Royal Warrants for nine reigns.

The Kent family continued to run the company for six generations until 1932 when the last of the three Kent brothers passed away. This is when Mr Eric L.H Cosby, owner of Cosby Brushes Ltd, entered into an association with G.B Kent & Sons. A new chapter was then opened in Kent's long history, and since that time the company has been under the creative and dynamic direction of the Cosby family. Read on and enjoy!

The project is for Kent Brushes, a royally appointed brush maker and one of England's oldest companies.

- Tom Hoops

The actual shoot took us only one day, but the prepping and planning I'd say another 3/4 days.

- Tom Hoops

It was Kent's idea. We previously shot a campaign based around their factory and wanted to highlight the rich heritage of the company.

- Tom Hoops

Kent Brushes currently manufacture an exceptional choice of products, with ranges for hair, body, clothes, make-up, teeth and shaving. Part of Kent Brushes success with major retailers has been built on their reputation for efficiency and quality. Kent have been supplying stores such as John Lewis, Selfridges, Harrods, Fortnum and Mason along with leading chemists in the UK for over 200 years. Kent's range is now so vast, that it has a selection of over 250 brushes to choose from. The most comprehensive of these is the hairbrush range, providing brushes for use on any hair type, style and length and for every budget. With a selection of styling brushes, radials, ceramics, vents, ionic, paddle, for volume and pure bristle, Kent are now the perfect choice for salon use and retail. Read more here.

"The idea behind the shoot was to remind people of Kent's long heritage that spans back to the 1700's. I wanted to recreate the feel of the past, when life was much more hands-on. Our timber would have been felled by hand and moved by horses.

Families were sustained through the production and sale of timber and Britain was renowned for its Beech woods. This is still one of our chosen materials for creating brushes today. The images Tom, myself and our team have put together is a small glimpse into the first stage of the manufacturing process of making a brush, in a bygone era. Today we still receive large pieces of felled timber into the factory to begin its transformation into the everyday object that we know, love & need - the humble brush.

- Candy Cosby, Kent Brushes

Kent have been a manufacturing company for 238 years. This year we wanted to continue that theme but base the shoot where it all starts, with the wood. To do so we shot in a traditional foresters, where techniques are still as they were 100 of years ago. It was digitally processed and converted with Capture One.

- Tom Hoops

Work hard and shoot something you would put on your wall. not what you think others would want on theirs."

- Tom Hoops

ABOUT TOM HOOPS

Tom Hoops is a full-time photographer. He splits time between Europe and Asia. Self-taught; he shoots both film and digital. See more if his artworks in Behance and his website.