I’m a big fan of the company The Art of Shaving. Recently they opened a retail store in Valley Fair, northern California’s largest shopping center. Their products have been available locally at Nordstrom in San Jose and at Neiman Marcus in Palo Alto, but it’s so great to see they finally have a larger presence by having their own store.

To commemorate the opening of their first Silicon Valley outpost, I decided to dedicate my most recent ‘Style’ column of Metro Silicon Valley to the opening of their store. I made attempts to interview a company representative, but nothing came of it. Despite their seeming lack of interest, the column was written to celebrate a ritual that nearly every grown man has to do on a daily basis: shave.

Tonight my partner and I ate dinner at Taiwan, a Chinese restaurant in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood. While there, I could not help but notice how many men in the establishment were sporting facial hair in addition to me. I hope that a few of those men, as well as some of the smooth-faced guys head over to The Art of Shaving store to try some of their amazing products. Their products will treat your skin with much more care than their corporate management treated me.