Alexander Tupitsyn: Smooth Bent Apple with Boxwood Tobacco Pipe

One of several artisan pipe makers based in St. Petersburg, Russia, Alexander Tupitsyn often crafts pipes with a distinctive style that's become known as the St. Petersburg design aesthetic. Pioneered by Vladimir Grechukhin, the tradition is distinguished by an affinity for stout, muscular designs imbued with bulbous curves and a certain degree of plumpness, and many Russian pipe makers have leaned into this shaping style thanks to Grechukhin's influence. Tupitsyn's portfolio reflects that inspiration, and he also boasts a close working relationship with Grechkhin, working together to also produce PS Studio pipes.

This bent Apple exemplifies Tupitsyn's personal design style and that of the St. Petersburg school as a whole, combining an iconic Danish shape with the hearty proportions and stature of many a Russian pipe. Riffing off of the Fish — a shape popularized in Danish artisan pipe making — this bent Apple pairs a bulbous bowl to a shank that's teardrop of cross section, its slight upward curve in profile beautifully balanced by the stem's gentle recurve — the two arcs opposite yet identical. The shank's teardrop shaping results in a crisp ridgeline along the left flank, and Tupitsyn has continued its trajectory through the transition to sweep up the bowl and terminate at the rim, blending with the bowl's flame grain and adding structural contrast against the otherwise supple shaping of the stummel. A rich auburn stain highlights said flame grain, and the finish's lighter hues are beautifully complemented by a rounded accent of boxwood along the shank end.