Jared Coles: Smooth Blowfish with Gold Leaf Tobacco Pipe

For eight years, Jared Coles worked with John Klose on the J&J brand of artisan pipes before the duo decided to pursue their crafts separately. Now, Coles makes pipe under his own name, and he fashions traditional shapes with as much vigor and specificity as he does his more creative, organic work. No matter the shape he crafts, Coles' work is unified by a keen eye for precise lines, supple curves, and handsome finishes, all of which are present in this gorgeous Blowfish.

While we don't often see the Blowfish from Coles, it's always a welcome sight when we do. This piece perfectly demonstrates the carver's finesse for shaping, and it mixes sloping curves with structural lines for a unique, eye-catching presentation. A swirling ridgeline wraps almost continuously across the surface of the stummel, across the fore, along one flank of the bowl, and around the curling shank. Besides adding a sense of definition to the pipe's soft features and contributing to the asymmetry of the shape, the ridgeline works to accentuate the elegant curvature of the design, giving the eyes and fingers a focal point in which to trace the trajectory of the stummel.

Compressed vertically and horizontally, the bowl careens forwards and outward for a sense of driving momentum, enabled, in part, by the subtly lifted heel. The lopsided shaping of the bowl and shank further accentuate this sense of implied momentum, as the stummel angles in opposing directions at the fore and aft. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the pipe is its finish, which consists of a smoky, chestnut-hued stain. The finish showcases an abundance of birdseye across the briar's surface, and embedded specs of gold leaf along the bowl's and shank's plateau provide even more rich visual appeal.