Saturday, August 30, 2008

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

Thursday, August 28, 2008

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)

Sunday, August 24, 2008

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

Thursday, August 21, 2008

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.

Monday, August 18, 2008

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)

Saturday, August 16, 2008

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)

Thursday, August 14, 2008

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