Partially Sandblasted Poker Tobacco Pipe

Formerly known as the American Pipe Making Exposition, our annual Global Pipe Making Exposition features contributions from some of the world's foremost artisans, all united around a central theme. One of the most exciting events of the year for carvers, smokers, and enthusiasts of briar alike, the Global Exposition acts not only as a showcase for the immense talent of these artisans but as a focus for the boundless creativity that these masters of the art possess. For 2026, the theme of our Expo is "The Art of the Sandblast," celebrating the artistry and craftsmanship behind one of the most meticulous finishing techniques in pipe making. Through the sandblast, these artisans transform the natural grain of briar into textured works of art, highlighting the unique character of each block and demonstrating the artistry of the technique.

Luiz Lavos formed an interest in working with wood when he spent time in his grandfather's workshop in Brazil as a child. He pursued a career in design, particularly graphic design, and would end up applying principles from it when he became a pipe maker. Luiz has a wide array of connections and influences, but his work adheres most closely to the Danish functionalist style, albeit with cues taken from his home country, such as accents of cow horn. Luiz's contribution to this year's Expo is a Poker, and indeed a partially sandblasted one, but the piece resists designation much further than that. Simply put, its finish is one-of-a-kind.

Luiz sandblasted diamond shapes into the birdseye-flecked bowl, leaving behind smoothly finished channels in between for a shape akin to the pattern of a woven basket, similar to those traditionally made by the indigenous tribes of his home country. The diamond motif covers the entirety of the tall, muscular walls of the bowl and offers an intriguing touch to the fingertips from the heel up to the wide, smoothly finished rim. In another aesthetically pleasing nod to Brazil, Luiz backed up the bowl with a mushroom-shaped accent of jupati — the spotted wood of a towering species of Brazilian palm tree. The accent holds a black stem of vulcanite which tapers lightly from a single expansion ring. We've seen partial sandblasts before, but nothing quite like this. The care Luiz took to balance sandblast and smooth and protect one from the other as he crafted this piece is simply outstanding, and his deep interest in the culture and flora of Brazil elevates it even higher.