Jared Coles: Sandblasted Bent Apple with Orange Wood Tobacco Pipe

Jared Coles has been crafting pipes under his own name for a while now, having previously co-founded J&J Pipes with colleague John Klose. The two worked together for about eight years before amicably parting ways, with Jared's career as an independent artisan marked by success ever since. Here, the California carver presents a muscular, compact piece reflective of the American style of design, with influences of the Danish school also presented. This piece is one of a very few bent Apples we've received from Jared and is a most welcome addition. Displaying a sweeping, fluid profile along with the supple curves and softened lines informed by Danish shaping, the charmingly plump bowl tapers gradually from its low waist to the softly rounded rim. Jared has poised the bowl at the end of an equally stout, upwardly curling shank that extends from a rather high-set transition, which emphasizes the robust nature of the stummel. He's chosen the hard, fine-grained and yellowish, orange wood as a delightful accent, its domed, bulbous design reflected in the bowl's shaping. It's fitted precisely and seamlessly at the base of the jet-black stem for stark contrast against both the mouthpiece and the dark sandblast covering the stummel, the low-profile finish highlighting some lovely growth rings along the bowl's flanks.