A Eureka artist has created a special all-natural soap for both hands and paintbrushes. The soap is being sold at a local hardware store.
Ryan Greis said his product, Corrugated Hand & Brush Soap, was designed specifically with painters, artists and DIYers in mind.
It’s now available for purchase at the paint department counter at Cotton’s Ace Hardware, 111 Hilltop Center Drive. Two 6-5-ounce bars cost $10, and 1-ounce bar is $4.
Greis, 51, is an illustrator. His work has appeared in local and regional news publications around the U.S. He has a full-time job in marketing and teaches classes at his art studio, Drawn Studio, 2523 S. Big Bend Blvd., in Maplewood.
Greis, originally from the greater Cincinnati area, has lived in Eureka for the last 20 years and said it was important the new product, under his brand name Anco Bilt, be sold locally first.
“I wanted to make sure that the first place that I sell the soap at really meant something to me,” he said. “I’ve been going the Cotton’s Ace Hardware in Eureka, particularly, for years, and so, it was a no-brainer for me to be able to just kind of envision this soap on their shelves or at the paint department counter. They were wonderful in really embracing this and getting it in there quickly.”
The soap’s corrugated ridges help create a better lather, coating the paintbrush bristles fully, Greis said, while the soap’s coconut and olive oil formula helps to condition the brush.
It can be used for all sizes and types of brushes, he said, including natural and synthetic bristles.
Greis teamed up with Maven Apothecary in St. Louis to manufacture the soap. In addition to soap, the shop makes candles and bath and body products.
“I don’t know how many brushes I’ve thrown away in years past where you use it once and the bristles are all over the place and you can’t get that nice clean edge anymore,” Greis said. “This (soap) actually helps you reshape that brush to be able to get more use out of it. It’s really a game-changer in my mind.”
Barrett Smith, manager of Cotton’s Ace Hardware, said in a recent Anco Bilt statement that the partnership with Greis will provide a “unique product in a prime market.”
“Eureka is unique in the sense that it’s an established city, with a range of older and newer homes, and they’re still building communities,” Smith said. “Houses are being fixed up, touched up and built up. For this reason, we keep a full range of paint and painting supplies in stock. But this soap is unique. There was nothing quite like it in our store before.”
Greis said his soap will be sold in hardware stores throughout the St. Louis area. He plans to expand his product offerings under the Anco Bilt brand, named after a now-defunct art supply company that specialized in crafting easels and drafting tables.
While Anco Bilt went out of business in the 1990s, Greis hopes to keep the name alive with his products curated for artists.
“I’m excited to bring (the Corrugated Hand & Brush Soap) to the larger community, not only in St. Louis, at the local hardware supply store, but kind of spread that out organically throughout the Midwest and eventually to the coasts,” Greis said.
For information, visit ancobilt.com.