Dasha Florov: Smooth Bent Apple with Boxwood Tobacco Pipe

Dasha Florov's portfolio boasts a broad range of design styles, from highly sculptural, avant-garde shapes to those of more traditional aspect. When the American carver crafts one such traditional shape, she often draws inspiration from Danish pipe design and historic artisans from Denmark, and this bent Apple rendition pays homage to the work of Lars Ivarsson. The son of pipe-making pioneer, Sixten Ivarsson, Lars elevated the Ivarsson name to new heights and has become an icon and inspiration for today's generation of artisan pipe makers across the world. While Lars crafted myriad shapes and designs throughout his career, one aesthetic he was particularly known for was fitting rounded bowls to longer-than-standard, subtly arching shanks sometimes fitted with stems revealing a domed base.

This bent Apple rendition from Dasha beautifully exhibits that signature Ivarsson aesthetic, pairing a voluptuous bowl with a long stretch of shank that gradually curls upward and tapers slightly toward the stem. Such a trajectory adds forward momentum to the composition, ultimately terminating at the bowl which seems to urge forward into space. Likewise, the stem base echoes that aforementioned domed aspect continuing the lines of the shank and integrating the stem by matching the rounded nature of the bowl. A boxwood accent ring adds a touch of contrasting color against the darker auburn stain of the stummel, the color palette also reminiscent of Ivarsson's pipes. A wonderful shape with stunning grain, this Florov pipe offers a natural, in-hand comfort and testifies both to Dasha's shaping and engineering skill and to Ivarsson's continued influence on modern artisan pipe making.