When I first hung my artisanalcleaning brushesin their designated spots on the kitchen wall, itdidcross my mind thatmaybeI wasn’t teased enough as a child. If I had been, perhaps I wouldn’t be the type of person who relished the aesthetic merits of their 100 percent goat-hair dusting brush from Germany. But thanks to a nonjudgmental and progressive upbringing, I became someone who takes profound pleasure mincing around their homeflicking fine particulate matteroff surfaces with a fancy handmade tool.
If you were also not pushed off a single swing and given lots of hugs and now find yourself charmed by inane handcrafted objects, this goat-hair duster could be for you. If you often think to yourself, completely unironically, about how perfectly various household tools exist at the intersection of form and function, this goat-hair duster could be for you. (Just to be clear, I’m not pro-bullying.)
In a small village outside Münster, Bürstenhaus Redecker makes a range of specialized brushes for handling specific cleaning tasks. This particular brush has supersoft, pliable goat-hair bristles and a thin beachwood handle and is perfect for maneuvering around objects on a shelf without having to move them. The brush will last a lifetime, provided you occasionally comb the bristles as one would a pony's mane. I’ve gotten so much better at dusting because it’s so easy—and appealing—to pluck this beautiful object (or really,objet) from the wall and banish unwanted motes of dust.
Despite all of those merits, I’ll admit that nobodyneedsthis $60 cleaning brush. There are plenty of ways to dust your home without it—ways that won’t cost nearly as much. But they won't be nearly as much fun, and you certainly won't be able to hang them on the wall as a piece of folk art when not in use. I get immense satisfaction every time I sweep cat hair off my coffee table or cast dust specks from my credenza. Is it because I’m terminally silly? Perhaps. But as long as the dust is brushed away, and I feel a small sliver of happiness doing it, I'll love my goat-hair brush—and recommend that you get yourself one too.
