You’ve seen them. Those long, elegant handles tucked into the brush rolls of the world's most elite oil painters and watercolorists. They don't have the massive marketing budgets of the big-box art store brands. They don't pay for flashy endcap displays at Michael's or Hobby Lobby. Yet, if you walk into a workshop by someone like Richard Schmid or Casey Baugh, you’ll see the name stamped in gold: Rosemary & Co. Honestly, it’s a bit of a "if you know, you know" situation.
Most people start their art journey grabbing whatever is on sale. You buy a pack of synthetic brushes for ten bucks and wonder why the bristles won't hold a point or why the paint just drags across the canvas. It’s frustrating. It makes you think you’re a bad artist. But usually, you’re just fighting your tools. Rosemary and Company brushes change that narrative because they are handmade by a small team in Yorkshire, England, who actually care about how the hair is tied.
Buying a brush from a family-owned workshop feels different. It’s not a mass-produced piece of plastic from a factory that also makes toothbrush bristles. Rosemary Symonds started this business over 40 years ago from her kitchen table. Now, her daughter Symi helps run the show. They are real people. When you email them, a real person who knows what a "filbert" is actually answers. That level of soul translates into the tool itself.
The Reality of Why Handmade Brushes Actually Matter
Expensive doesn’t always mean good. We’ve all been burned by "luxury" products that are just branding. But with Rosemary and Company brushes, the value is in the construction of the head. In a cheap brush, the hair is often cut at the tip to create the shape. This is a disaster. When you cut the natural taper of a hair—whether it’s hog bristle or sable—you lose the "flag" or the fine point. It becomes blunt and scratchy.
Rosemary’s team hand-shapes the hair. They use a "jogging" process where the hair is placed in a small cup and tapped until the natural tips settle into the desired shape. No scissors involve. This means the brush holds more paint and releases it more predictably. It’s the difference between a fountain pen and a leaky ballpoint.
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The variety is honestly a bit overwhelming. You have the Ivory range, which is their most famous synthetic. It’s designed to mimic the feel of stiff hog bristle but with the spring of a synthetic. It’s a workhorse. Then you have the Eclipse, which is softer, meant to mimic mongoose (which is now mostly banned or highly regulated). If you’re a portrait painter trying to blend skin tones without leaving huge streaks, the Eclipse is basically your best friend.
Breaking Down the Different Hair Types
Let's get into the weeds because the hair type dictates everything about your painting style. If you use the wrong hair for the wrong medium, you’re just making life hard.
- Masterpiece Series (Kolinsky Sable): This is the gold standard for watercolorists. It’s expensive. Like, "don't leave this in the water jar" expensive. But the snap is incredible. You touch the paper, and the brush springs back to a needle point every single time.
- The Evergreen Range: A synthetic that is slightly softer than the Ivory. It has a distinctive green ferrule. It’s great for oils and acrylics when you want a bit more "give" than a stiff bristle.
- Shiraz: These are versatile. If you’re a hobbyist who switches between acrylics and oils, Shiraz is a solid choice because it’s tough but keeps a sharp edge.
I’ve talked to plenty of painters who refuse to use anything else. They aren't being snobs. They’ve just realized that a brush that lasts five years is cheaper than buying five brushes that die in six months. The ferrules are double-crimped. The handles are balanced. It sounds like marketing speak until you spend eight hours at an easel and realize your hand doesn't ache as much because the balance is right.
What Most People Get Wrong About Professional Brushes
The biggest misconception is that you need a hundred brushes. You don't. You need maybe five good ones. Professional artists often use one or two Rosemary and Company brushes for 90% of a painting. They might use a large Series 279 Long Flat for the block-in and a small Series 401 Pointed Round for the highlights.
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Another mistake? Cleaning. People think they "ruined" their Rosemary brush when it gets splayed. Usually, it's just dried paint in the ferrule. Because these are handmade, the hair is packed densely. If you don't clean it properly with a good linseed oil soap or Masters brush cleaner, paint builds up at the base and pushes the hairs apart. It’s not the brush’s fault; it’s yours.
And let's talk about the "shedding" myth. All brushes might lose a hair or two in the first five minutes of use. It’s just loose hairs from the manufacturing process that didn't get caught in the glue. Give it a flick, wash it once, and it should stop. If a brush keeps shedding, it’s a dud. But with the quality control in the Yorkshire workshop, duds are incredibly rare compared to the stuff you find in big-box stores.
Practical Advice for Building Your First Set
Don't go out and buy the most expensive Kolinsky sable set immediately. You’ll be too scared to use them.
- Start with the Ivory line. Get a mix of Flats and Filberts. The Filbert is arguably the most useful shape because it’s a flat brush with rounded corners, so you don't get those harsh "box" marks in your clouds or skin tones.
- Try the "Mundi" or "Egbert" shapes. Rosemary is known for these specialty shapes. An Egbert is a super long filbert. It feels floppy and weird at first, but it allows for beautiful, calligraphic marks that look more "painterly" and less "stiff."
- Invest in one "Comber" brush. If you struggle with painting hair, grass, or fur, the Comber (a feathered-out flat brush) does the work for you. It’s sort of a cheat code.
The Ethics of Natural Hair
It’s 2026, and we have to talk about the materials. Natural hair like sable, hog, and squirrel are still used because, frankly, synthetics haven't quite caught up to the way natural hair carries liquid. However, Rosemary & Co is very transparent about their sourcing. They ensure their materials are ethically sourced and comply with CITES regulations.
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If you’re vegan or just prefer synthetic, their synthetic technology is some of the best in the world. The Red Dot range is their answer to sable. Is it 100% the same? No. But it’s about 95% there, and for most artists, that 5% difference isn't worth the price jump or the use of animal products.
How to Get the Most Out of Your Investment
If you’re going to spend $20 on a single brush, you need to treat it like a fine tool. Never, ever leave your brushes soaking face-down in a jar of solvent. It bends the tips permanently and dissolves the glue holding the hair in the ferrule.
Instead, wipe the excess paint off with a rag. Dip it in your cleaner. Use a "Masters" soap or Rosemary’s own brand of brush soap. Lather it in your palm. Rinse with lukewarm water—never hot, as hot water can expand the ferrule and cause the hair to fall out. Reshape the head with your fingers and let it dry horizontally. If you dry them vertically (bristles up), the water and residue run down into the wood handle, causing it to swell and the paint to crack.
Final Thoughts on the "Rosemary Experience"
There is something deeply satisfying about using a tool that was made by hand. It connects you to a lineage of artists. When you hold a Rosemary and Company brush, you're holding something that hasn't changed much since the days of Sargent or Zorn.
It’s not just about the hair or the wood. It’s about the confidence. When you know your brush is going to respond exactly how you want it to, you stop worrying about the "how" and start focusing on the "what." You focus on the art.
Next Steps for Your Studio:
- Audit your current kit: Identify which brushes are splayed or "hooked" at the end and replace those first with an equivalent from the Ivory or Shiraz line.
- Order a "Short Filbert" and a "Long Flat": Most beginners only use "Medium" lengths. Trying different hair lengths will change how much control you have over the paint flow.
- Check the Rosemary & Co website for "Artist Sets": They have curated sets by famous painters. It’s a great way to see exactly what the pros use without guessing which sizes you need.
- Switch to a dedicated brush soap: Stop using dish soap, which strips the natural oils from the hair and makes synthetics brittle over time.