Davide Iafisco: Smooth Dublin Tobacco Pipe

With a deep appreciation for the history and craft of pipe making, Davide Iafisco takes inspiration from various schools of design. He studied personally under carvers like Teddy Knudsen and Claudio Cavicchi and attended the pipe-making seminars of Jeff Gracik and Adam Davidson. Those influences are obviously present in his work, but Iafisco also transforms and elevates his influences into something completely his own.

A particularly striking design from Iafisco, this Dublin is possessed of a organic character, both in terms of its build and presentation. The broad, rotund bowl here flares from its flat heel to its wide, plateau-crowned rim. The rim is asymmetrical and favors one flank of the bowl over the other, adding a touch of whimsy to the shape. As the bowl expands upward, it takes on a forward cant that imbues the overall form with a dynamic posture in profile. The bowl fills the hand comfortably and holds most of the visual weight within the composition, overshadowing the tapering shank-and-stem arrangement that trails out back. A warm blonde smooth finish dresses the stummel and highlights fine licks of flame grain about the bowl.