Pretty, practical, and perfectly purse-sized, Boco Atelier is the latest must-have brush on the market. Created by Swedish wife-and-husband duo Louise and Oskar Fröjdén, it is the new solution for messy manes everywhere, no matter where you are
Fretted frizz is a foe well known in the Nordics. Time and time again, we fall victim to helmet hair, windswept matting, and the general havoc our climate wreaks on hair. But in the era of micro bags, it’s a rare occasion that your beloved Mason Pearson will fit next to your phone, keys, and the 15 essential lip products you simply can’t leave home without. If you do, by some miracle, manage to shove it in, your beloved brush will likely emerge marred by the inevitable lint, gum wrappers, and crumbs that seem to collect at the bottom of every bag. So, what’s a girl to do?
The solution, thankfully, comes to us from the sanctity of Swedish soil. Stepping into the market, Boco Atelier offers a brush perfectly proportioned for your purse, complete with an optional pouch and a cleaning comb to keep it in pristine condition.
“The issue for me has always been the brush,” says Boco Atelier co-founder and COO Louise Fröjdén, who started the brand with her husband and business partner Oskar Fröjdén. “As a girl, you usually have a small bag and you want to fit your hair brush, powder, lip gloss, and so many other things in it, but personally, I can never fit the brush!” This irritation sent Louise on what turned out to be a wild goose chase. “There were smaller brushes on the market, but all of them were made of cheap plastic and broke so easily,” she explains.
Louise soon realised she wasn’t alone in her pursuit of the perfect pint-sized product. “Whenever I’d meet friends, I usually had a brush in my bag, just to smooth out my hair,” she says. “But nine times out of ten, my friends would also ask, ‘Oh, can I please borrow your brush?’” With the need confirmed, Louise saw only one solution: to create her own. Something durable, sturdy, and (most importantly) small enough to pop in a bag.
After nine months of development, the first Boco brush is ready for handbags everywhere (and yes, this is only the first iteration. More bag-sized delights are on the way). At 14.5cm, this ergonomically crafted product is a handmade marvel, and quite frankly, an instant necessity – especially after a breezy boat ride to the couple’s archipelago summerhouse, where we met them to discover the brush.
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Louise and Oskar Fröjdén, Boco Atelier founders. Photo: Margarita Sheremet
Boco Atelier's hero product is their tortoiseshell-inspired acetate design 'Parisian Presence'. Crafted in lighter tones (making it easy to spot in a dark-lined bag, and stand out from typical black rivals), the brush features two distinct types of bristles, each serving its own purpose. First: nylon. These bristles arc over the brush to detangle even the toughest knots, massaging the scalp to boost blood flow (vital for hair growth and scalp health). Beneath sits a bed of boar hair – a natural fibre that distributes the scalp’s oils, smoothing and adding shine as it goes. As a combination, it results in flawless, frizz-free hair on the go.
This small but mighty brush is no small production feat. Louise and Oskar explain that each brush takes 33 individual steps and two months to make in their Parisian workshop. Why so long for such a petite product? “Every step is completed by hand,” they explain. From cutting and gluing the acetate to trimming the bristles by eye, every part of the process demands meticulous attention and true craftsmanship.
The Petite Hairbrushes are available to pre-order at bocoatelier.com.