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Amazing what some of these guys are pulling off!

I agree that all those mentioned in the article are amazing artisans who are doing things I can't. My only issue with all the avant garde stuff is that innovation is not always necessary or an improvement (think "Delorean", or the fashion industry). Sure it took some skill to turn chicken wire in to nine inch stilletto heels but no one really wants to wear them.

Andrey Savenko! Sand your chamber!

NathanA wrote:I agree that all those mentioned in the article are amazing artisans who are doing things I can't. My only issue with all the avant garde stuff is that innovation is not always necessary or an improvement (think "Delorean", or the fashion industry). Sure it took some skill to turn chicken wire in to nine inch stilletto heels but no one really wants to wear them.

Agree.

There are a lot of folks leaving the pipe behind and opting to make sculptures with holes in them. It's clear that not everyone mentioned in this article is doing that, but it does give one pause.

My favorite pipe makers ride the line between pipe and art.

My favorite pipe makers don't.

I've been contemplating the modern pipe designs. I think that the modern design doesn't really fit the pipe smoking life. Pipe smoking is about relaxation, contemplation, and conversation. These things are much needed in a day of fast-paced, sterile, and thoughtless existence.


While I would not accuse the pipe designs of being thoughtless, I find that they don't work for my taste at least. I like pipes that bring a person out of the clean, sterile modern age back to an age of more thoughtful living.


And, of course, I think they should be smoking instruments first and artistic second.


Just my opinion. And I'm still a young :whippersnapper:


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My favorite pipe makers are those that appreciate the value in restraint. I value creativity and innovation but tobacco and the materials used have a lot to say by themselves. I think the more elaborate designs are cool, but my own preference lies closer to modesty than some designs. It's great that there are varying tastes and opinions, though. Those extremes in design DO influence others and contribute to innovation and new ideas.

Take cars/motorcycles for example - a neon green and candy red flame paint job with gold flake isn't as cool to me as flat black with subtle (almost unnoticeable) pin stripes.

My hope is that people can slow down and appreciate what already exists, that they've never before noticed, not wow them with a flashy peacock display.

phmann wrote:My favorite pipe makers are those that appreciate the value in restraint. I value creativity and innovation but tobacco and the materials used have a lot to say by themselves. I think the more elaborate designs are cool, but own preference lies closer to modesty than some designs. It's great that there are varying tastes and opinions, though. Those extremes in design DO influence others and contribute to innovation and new ideas.

Take cars/motorcycles for example - a neon green and candy red flame paint job with gold flake isn't as cool to me as flat black with subtle (almost unnoticeable) pin stripes.

My hope is that people can slow down and appreciate what already exists, that they've never before noticed, not wow them with a flashy peacock display.

Nice post. I think what happens to a lot of people who are pushing boundaries is that they get lost in the complexity of what they can achieve instead of saying, "Ok, this design could be good. What about it is unnecessary?"

Distilling an idea down to its simplest form often reveals the truest beauty behind the design. Why do you think people love billiards so much?

d.huber wrote:My favorite pipe makers ride the line between pipe and art.

Couldn't agree more, and I also love the pipes that have the classic design elements in them, but the maker has put his/her own twist on the design, making it his/her own (that may sometimes be the same thing as riding the line between pipe and art come to think of it).

That being said, I think the pipe with the ring is waaay cool!

/Albert

Albert.A wrote:

d.huber wrote:My favorite pipe makers ride the line between pipe and art.

Couldn't agree more, and I also love the pipes that have the classic design elements in them, but the maker has put his/her own twist on the design, making it his/her own (that may sometimes be the same thing as riding the line between pipe and art come to think of it).

That being said, I think the pipe with the ring is waaay cool!

/Albert

I think I liked the bulldogs best because they at least referenced a classic design. These are all kind of fun to look at, but I'm not sure I'd buy any of them, even if I were rich. I prefer things a little more classical.

Yeah, I probably wouldn't buy any of them either.

That being said, I think the pipe with the ring is waaay cool! Wait, I kinda recognice that sentence.
Seriously though, I wouldn't buy it, but I think the execution is very good.

/Albert

Those are some odd pipes...

Some I like, some..not so much..

In my dreams -- and in the spirit of Gilbert & Sullivan ("My Object All Sublime" from the Mikado) -- I (being omnipotent dictator of everything) decree that all the pipe-smokers who are "liking" that stuff be required to smoke no other pipes but those for a year. No respite from them and no mercy. Every smoke.

Even the most stubbornly proud of them would be whining for clemency inside of two months' time.

And I would be laughing sadistically at their plight.

William Blake wrote:Throw him in the river who loves water.