Pipes

A native of the Midwest, Mark Price was introduced to the hobby much in the same way that many of us were: through his imagination as a child. A pipe rack of his father's old smokers sitting on the top shelf of a hall closet in his childhood home served as a source of constant fixation, and after much convincing, they became his toys, catalyzing his creative passion. This playful affection for pipes would later be combined with an association with respect, as he and his twin brother later took to working on a farm as teenagers — he wrote to us about how the farmer who employed them would holler across the pasture when it was time to take a break, and smoke his ever-present pipe and tell them old stories while they drank lemonade on his front porch.

The passion may have long been directed toward other outlets, as Mark has a music degree and also enjoys wood working, and has made a living in cabinetry and design, but his interest in making pipes was piqued soon after he started smoking them himself. And it is perhaps this varied assortment of "stuff" that's allowed Mark's body of work to also see such dramatic individualization from piece to piece — fusing the likes of Streamline Moderne with Japanese-school organic pliancy, and incorporating Industrial design cues alongside natural elements and textures.