Happy New Year!

Thanks to the folks who bought racks from us in 2008. I hope you all have a Happy New Year! The rest of you people need to get with the program! -T

Merry Christmas!

Pipe and Book Desk Set

Sorry to say this one is still available. I thought it would sell. Just goes to show what I know. -T

2 piece set with drawers for storage

$300 (Available)

The Craftsman Pipe Cabinet

Holds 7 pipes and is decorated with a design inspired by Arts and Crafts tile designs from the early 2oth century. This rack is finished in a distressed black w/ brick red, moss green and ochre accents. It has a generous drop front storage compartment on the bottom and two smaller drawers to stash your stuff. -M

$350 (Available)

Mississipi Modern?

Ozark Bauhaus? Down home meets Danish modern. -T

Holds 14 pipes w/ drop front storage below

25.5"t x 18"w x 8"d

$295 (Sold)

Woodland Cottage Bookcase & Piperack

This is one of my favorites from this year and I hope someone has a nice home for it. -T

Holds 7 pipes in felt comfort

Top storage trough for lighters and such

Good size drawer for more storage

And of course room for books below.

Overall size- 49"h x 19"w x 8.5"d

$475 (Sold)

McCarty Farm Redux

This is a reworking of a pipe cabinet I made some time ago. It's a little larger and has a couple of features the original lacked. One of the new features is the ability to remove the pipe rack section and use it as a table top rack. More photos are available. Let me know and I'll email them to you. -T

Holds 7 pipes w/ 2 storage shelves for tobacco and what-not.

$250 (Sold)

The Water Valley Lodge Pipe Cabinet

Rusty red paint and a stylized hart w/ black trim finish this rack.

It holds 8 pipes and has a drawer for your possibles. -M

$200 (Available)

The Khepera Cabinet

Khepera, the beetle, pushes the sun towards the horizon at the closing of the day. I have adorned this cabinet with a design featuring the mythical insect and as the sun sets you may want to reach for your pipe and favorite tobacco. -M

Holds 14 pipes /w a generous drop front storage compartment underneath.

$375 (sold)

The World at My Fingertips!

Here's a few spots on the web that I visit on a near daily basis. It includes some of my favorite pipe makers and a couple of pipe related and non pipe blogs I enjoy. Take a look, you might like them too. And let me know if there are others I don't know about but need to see. -T

Smokers Forums

A Passion for Pipes

David Enrique Pipes

Gregor Lobnik Pipes

BAFF (David Wagner) Pipes

Vollmer & Nilsson Pipes

Hermit in My Head

Wendy Usually Wanders

Back from a Long Journey

Okay- it's sinking in at last. It's taken decades to view this clearly but at last there is little - ok - no doubt. I am a nerd. I'm 52 years old and I just spent the last week listening to The Lord of the Rings on cd. I've read the books many times and my wife bought me the unabridged set on cd a couple of years ago and I think this makes my 3rd time to listen to it. I'm 52, I smoke pipes and I love the LotR. This is not the vision I had in past years of the man I would or should become, but here it is. I am a nerd. Don't get me wrong. I'm a pretty happy nerd, but a nerd all the same. I feel better now. Confession is good for the soul. Now I think I'll go warm up the dvd player and watch the movies! -T

Today's the Day!

Just got back from voting (and lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant ). More people at the polls than I have ever seen, but it still only took a half hour. -T

Weekend Camping Trip

Mark, his son John and I had a great time camping this past weekend in Tishomingo State Park in north east Mississippi. Plenty of hiking and pipe smoking and sitting around the campfire and pipe smoking and groaning from aching knees and of course pipe smoking. Tishomingo is a great place! A beautiful natural area with rolling hills and stone outcroppings. Unusual for this part of the country. -T

New Deptford? Deptford II the Sequel?

Latest of the commission work that goes on behind the scenes. It's a bigger version of the original Deptford. This one holds 15 pipes and is a darker richer color. Just a reminder that we are happy to work with customers to make a pipe rack that will satisfy their needs. -T

Two Cousins Board Meeting

Mark and I met up at Arkabutla  yesterday morning at sunrise for our first hike of the season. Arkabutla is about 45 minutes to the south of me and about the same to the north of Mark, so it makes a good meeting place for us to get out and breath a little forest air. In the parking lot we met our new friend, the black dog. He accompanied us on our 2 hour hike and said goodbye when it was over. There's nothing like a walk in the woods w/ a good friend and a good pipe! -T

at right Black Dog and Mark

Interruption

I was busy at work on a pipe rack this morning, when suddenly my little dog Lilly started up her "snake alarm" bark. I was surprised- we haven't seen many snakes in the yard this year. During dry summers they wander into the yard looking for water, but this year there's been plenty of rain. But there she was, barking like a mad woman ...on our back porch. Not the normal snake locale. As I came closer I could see a 3 ft. copperhead w/ a half ingested chipmunk protruding from his mouth. An amazing and slightly disgusting sight. After watching Nature for a few minutes with my wife (sans Lilly- she had to go inside. Too much stress.) I scooped our friend up in a bucket and deposited him in the woods behind our yard. I hope he takes the hint and stays away. OK- back to work! -T

The Morning Stroll

At least 5 days a week I go for a morning walk. I drop my daughter at school and on the way home I stop by a local park situated behind the library and community center. There is a paved path that loops around a large open field. Judging from how long it takes me to make the circle it must be about a mile and a half long. I usually walk it twice. I have never been an enthusiastic exercise participant, but I thoroughly enjoy my morning walk. There are a hand full of other walkers each morning- housewives in their 40's, a couple of guys that I assume are high school coaches that actually run the circuit and a couple of elderly retired couples that make their way around very slowly. I guess I must be known to all of them as the "old pipe smoking guy", because I always have a pipe in my mouth. I hope this morning jaunt may make this small group of people think that maybe pipe smoking isn't a crime against humanity. Maybe a person can maintain their health and smoke. But who knows what they think? The main point is- I really enjoy the hike. It clears my head and gives me time to think about the day ahead. By the time I leave the park I have the day's game plan in mind. I have at least a good notion of what I will do first and what I hope to accomplish. -T 

Bocce!

The guys came over Saturday for a few rousing games of Bocce in the back yard to kick off our regular 1st Friday get-together. After 4 hours of grueling play, it was off to our regular haunt- Zinnies East. We had a great time as usual, talking politics, family, pipes and anything else that came to mind. -T

Art in Houston

If anyone happens to be in Houston in October, please stop by Koelsch Gallery. I have a few paintings on view. -T

OleFatt Blogg

I've been a avid reader of Anders Johansson's OleFattBlogg for some time. I enjoy reading a fellow pipester's adventures and journeys through life. I highly recommend anyone with a similar interest to take a look.

Ander's was kind enough to answer a few questions and provide a little background info about himself. He writes far better than I can paraphrase, so I'll let him speak for himself -

My Name is Anders Johansson. I was born in '62 in Trollhätten, Sweden, and am currently living in Gothenburg. I live in sin :-) with "K" and we have a daughter "E" who turns 13 this autumn. The latest aquisition to the family is Rufus, our Swedish Vallhund (Västogöapets in Swedish), who runs his own blog in Swedish.

I got the nickname "OleFattGuy" back in the days when I was the singer in a crossover Metal/Rap band (remember the genre, early '90's?) I was thinner then, but figured I'd grow into it, and therefore it was much better than "Tiny" or "Slim" or "Junior ...

I have been working with computers since'90 and with the web since '96.I currently work as an IT consultant, in the business of game based learning, selling technical back-end solutions, system architecture, servers, SCORM-adaption etc.

I've been smoking pipes "sincerely" for the last 5 years or so. I am biased towards smaller bowls and love so-called "ladies" pipes, as long as they are not pink or studded with rhinestones or such extra frills. Though I DO have a Savinelli Ladies pipe with rhinestones ...

I have fumbled in pipe making and am hoping to get better at it as I equip my ManCave with more and more adequate tooling. Only yesterday I destroyed another piece of perfectly good briar by sanding into the smoking chamber ... :-(

My favorite tobaccos are in the English/Balkan/Oriental sphere and I love GLPs Maltese Falcon, and Red Rapparee and Frog Morton Across the Pond and ... I could go on and on but you get the picture.I have experimented in blending my own tobaccos and both the "OleFattBalkan" and the "OleFattEnglish" have gotten rave reviews.

I a an avid fly fisher and tie my own flies, and if I were ever to change my line of work I would want to work with something related to fishing/environment/tourism in some way.

I also love to cook, and I do most of the cooking (Italian mostly, sometimes Swedish) at home and also shopping for it. I also have learned to clean up my mess - though it too a decade of nagging me there :-) . I appreciate good wine (love Tuscan, Rioja and Lebanese) to accompany my food and most brown spirits (Cognac, Whiskey, Rum Calvados ...) and a good Grappa is always welcome to accompany my after dinner smoke or espresso.

That's all folks!

 

Thanks Anders! If anyone else knows a good pipe related blog that needs spotlighting please drop me an email. I'd love to know about it. -T

#3 Burnham Wood Crescent

In a lovely brownstone in the heart of London sits a small pipe rack with six pipes ready to smoke on this cool early autumn day- too bad there's been a murder. Hugh Drummond eyes the pipes and wishes he could take a leisurley stroll with his fiance, smoke a pipe and discuss wedding plans, but that will have to wait. Right now he needs to find out the name of the man lying on the floor with a knife in his back.

Even without the drama this is a nice little pipe rack. Very good brown crackle finish. -T

Holds 6 pipes and adequate storage for your smoking rotation.

16"W x 16"T x 7.5"D

$150

O Canada!

In his never ending quest for world peace, Mark has produced and shipped a version of his Spring House pipe rack to a customer in Canada. We hope this helps to cement the warm relations we have w/ our neighbors to the north. And speaking of our neighbor, he was kind enough to send us a photo of Mark's rack in action. It's always great to see our racks filled and put to good use. -T

Component System

OK- "component" is a little too high falutin' a word for these simple pipe racks, but you can sit them side by side and form a larger rack to hold however many pipes you have. Nice crackle finish. -T

Holds 3 pipes w/ nice storage space

$55 each 

1st Friday ...on Saturday

As Tim's most recent writing suggests, September is here! With the coming of the new month comes another 1st Friday, that monthly gathering of friends that has taken on such meaningful significance for me and I suspect the others in the group. It all started several years ago (I don't know how long ago, but I think that we may be in our 12th year of doing this) when our little group of friends were at our annual 4th of July celebration at Tim's house ( This has been going on for around 30 years, believe it or not) and we all came to the conclusion that we just didn't see each enough. It had gotten to the point where jobs and families and the vicissitudes of existence had kept our tight little group so busy that we just didn't get around to taking care of one of the most important things in our lives, our friendship. We decided to meet on the 1st Friday of each month and spend the evening talking and eating and drinking and smoking, but mostly talking. It's true that we now meet on the 1st Saturday of each month, but we still call it 1st Friday. This is the same group of friends  that goes to the Chicago Pipe Show together. We have plans for a camping trip next month. We are talking about spending a day in downtown Memphis riding the trolley and picnicking (hanging out) on the river. Meeting as we do each month has forged a stronger bond among old friends and I, for one, am extremely grateful for it. -M

Pictured above from L to R- Chuck, Tim and David

September's Here!

September has arrived and I find myself ready for cool weather and the golden days of fall. Mark and I are already talking about camping and hiking (2 of our favorite things to do in the fall and winter!) It also seems like the best time to make pipe racks. We've continued to be busy through out the summer w/ rack orders and this is a first for us. Usually (speaking w/ 3 years experience ) there is a slump in business during the summer, but not this year. Now we are thinking about gearing up for the Christmas rush. Christmas has been the best time of the year for us and we hope this is true again this year. If you have been thinking about getting a Two Cousins rack you might want to order soon. 

Enjoy the Fall! -T

New Pipe!

My second pipe from Slovenian carver Gregor Lobnik. I love this guys pipes! This one has become one of my favorites already. Beautiful cross grain w/ a lot of birdseye and a perfect size ( about 5"). Very lightweight. The cumberland bit is very comfortable. This is important to me because I am a clincher as I make make pipe racks ... or do anything really. Smokingpipes has a couple of Gregor's pipes on sale now and I am sorely tempted to get #3. I give this pipe 2 thumbs up and if I had a 3rd thumb, I'd give it that too! -T

Pickwick Dam Pipe Rack

Pickwick is about 100 mi. east of Memphis. It is a beautiful place where several friends have weekend getaways on the lake. This pipe rack (made of cedar) would fit well in one of these lake cabins. If only I could convince one of my friends to take up pipe smoking and buy this Dam Pipe Rack (I named the rack this just so I could say that!) . -T

A happy home for 14 pipes

w/ ample storage space below

17"W x 22"T x 6.5"D

$200 (Sold)

Tobacco Storage Solutions

Like most Pipesters, I have a tobacco storage problem. Hoarding or cellaring tobacco is a concern. I have limited space and at the same time I want to continue to buy and store more tobacco. Every time I read an article in the news about new anti-tobacco laws I suffer a case of kneejerktobaccopurchaseitis! Every time someone on an on-line forum writes about a "wonderful tobacco" they just tried, I find myself clicking on to my etailers website to try a tin or 2. But when the tobacco arrives I have no place to put it. I came up with a solution for at least the near future. I realized I had some unused space under various bits of furniture and workbenches. I also have a lot of scraps of plywood. With these two things in mind, I headed for the hardware store and purchased some cheap casters and drawer pulls and ta-da! I now have room for even more tobacco! The picture above shows one of the units partially (Yes- there's room for more!) full of pint size canning jars. This is the size I prefer and also they work well w/ the space I have. The unit rolls easily under the work bench you see behind it. I haven't patented the design so feel free to try it yourself! -T

I've had a couple of inquiries and the answer is "Yes", we can make a storage unit for you. Just email us w/ the size you need and we'll give you a price. -T

Cool Blog!

No, I'm not crowing about our blog- I'm talking about a cool pipe related blog called the Briar Files. It belongs to AlanDP. I don't know AlanDP and I hope he doesn't mind me talking about him. He puts a great deal of effort into researching old pipe smokers and has some really nice vintage pipe ads on the blog. Check him out.

Plain Jane

Nothing against Plain Janes! I think they are great. If I were a woman, I'm sure I would be a plain Jane ... but that's not a subject I want to explore ...at least not here. Anyway - here's a simple pipe rack w/ crackle finish for 7 pipes and some stuff. Suitable for desk top or wall hanging. -T

$95 (Sold)

Andrei Mikhailovitch Rodzianko

I had planned or was at least in the planning stages of telling an elaborate tale of a Russian Nobleman who fled Russia during the revolution w/ only a few cherished possessions. This pipe rack being one of them. He was to travel Europe - Paris, London Vienna- and eventually the world. A romantic figure, a noble gypsy making the scene at all the right places and always w/ his pipes in tow. But I soon realized that I would have to be Tolstoy to tell the tale I wanted to tell ...and I'm no Tolstoy. So here's a nice pipe cabinet w/ a romantic flair. You'll have to fill in the story line for this one. -T

Holds 6 pipes in comfortable elegant surroundings
16.75"W x 7"D x 21.5"T
Drop front storage along with open top storage

$250 (Available)

The Custom Barrister

I recently made this cabinet for a customer in Pennsylvania that wanted a custom color on one of the racks in our catalog. I made a finish sample and sent it to him for approval. He was happy w/ the sample and seems pretty dang happy w/ the pipe rack. He didn't want me to use his name ( we won't speculate as to a reason) here but said I could refer to him as a "satisfied customer". That got me thinking about "customer". How does that relate to "custom"? I am no wordsmith and don't really do the whole dictionary thing, but I can say this; custom orders are a great opportunity for us to get to know our "CUSTOMers". The orders usually take several weeks and there is lots of back and forth, trying to get the details worked out. By the time the pipe rack is delivered the new owner has a real feeling of participation in the process and I feel like I have made a new friend.
Call us w/ your special request. Maybe we can help and have some fun at the same time. -M

Neill ZuluCollector Roan Visits Memphis!

On a hot steamy southern night we dragged Neill to our favorite haunt for a few drinks and a few bowls. I think we all had a great time- I know I did! -T

Woodland Cottage Pipe Rack and Bookcase

Here's a new pipe rack at last.

I think this will fit well in any rustic getaway - even if it's your
den or office and the rustic part is just in your head. -T

Holds 7 pipes in felt comfort
Top storage trough for lighters and such
Good size drawer for more storage
Overall size - 49"h x 19"w x 8.5"d

$475 (Sold)

Commissions

It may seem like we here at Two Cousins aren't doing much. That we are not furthering the cause of pipe smoking or at least not providing comfortable homes for pipes like we should. We have been busy and for the first time we are actually busy with commission work. I won't go so far as to say we have a lengthy waiting list, but the work is steady. Thanks be to the pipe gods! We do have some ideas for new racks that we will work on as time allows and of course post here asap. But for now this commission thing is kinda cool. It's fun working with pipe smokers to come up with pipe rack designs to fit their needs. So if you have something special you want made for your collection, please drop us a line. We'll be happy to work w/ you. -T

1st Friday!

Last night was our 1st Friday! Yes, it was Saturday night, but that's

 a long and pretty uninteresting story. I'll skip it for now. We get together once a month at our favorite midtown haunt and talk politics, religion, home life, wives, children and of course pipes and tobaccos and whatever else that crosses our minds. There are 4 of us (occasionally 5) and we have been friends for ...well, a long time, so this monthly meeting is always looked forward to with a lot of anticipation. It's great having friends that you can discuss the afore mentioned topics without coming to blows. And we get to smoke pipes and cigars! Because o

f the current laws we do have to sit out on the deck, but it's covered and pleasant and we have a great waitress (Wendy, seen in the photo w/ Mark. Chuck is in the other blurry photo w/ his favorite lovat.) who let's us stay for hours. She even saves our table for us, and this is not the kind of place where you call ahead for reservations. It's great to have friends. -T

Sunday Morning

There's nothing better (well, ok- there is - but I won't attempt to list them all here.) than a warm Sunday morning in the backyard. Coffee, pipes and the perfect reading material! And lest you think me lazy- a sketchbook for pipe rack ideas. Yes, here at Two Cousins we never rest! -T

Vollmer & Nilsson

We made it back from Chicago! We had a great time despite the police presence and a smoking ban on the show. I'll write more about our Chicago Experience after Mark and I have a chance to get together and come up w/ some semi-coherent thoughts.

But 1st, let me show off my 3 (yes, I'm a glutton) new Vollmer & Nilsson pipes that I picked up at the show. Mark bought 2 and for once I think he has to agree I am right about something- V&N make great smoking pipes! I can't say enough about how good their pipes smoke. And they are beautiful. The brothers have an eye for detail. Beveled rims and wonderful silver work. These guys know their business. I have several pipes that cost twice as much- even a few that cost 3 times as much, but they are not engineered any better than my Vollmer & Nilssons (I have 6 now and they are all great- no bad apples). If you want my opinion ( and my opinion of you is slightly lowered if you do), every pipe smoker should own at least one V&N pipe. -T

The top picture is in our hotel room in Chicago. Left to right our buddy Chuck, Anders Nilsson and Martin Vollmer

Chicago! Chicago! Chicago!

The Chicago Pipe Show is about the only thing on our minds right now. OK, there's family and stuff, but for the next 2 weeks we are all about Chicago!

Here's what Mark will be bringing. If you attend the show (and you should!) please come by our table and take a look.

Chicago or Bust!

We're getting excited! That's really an understatement. This is like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and a boatload of Pilgrims combined!

We may have time to make one or two more racks, but it's about down to packing and loading.

Yeeha! Chicago here we come!

Here's a sample of what I'll be bringing. I hope we can get a photo of Mark's stuff in a day or two. -T

 

Seth's Collector Tower

Only 12 inches wide and 32 inches tall, this cabinet was built for a customer that had a particular space in mind and sent ideas and dimensions. He had been looking at the Elliot's Collector Cabinet on our website but had to have some changes. -M

Holds a bunch of pipes

$300 (Reserved)