Sabina Santos: Partially Sandblasted Natural Bent Dublin with Mammoth Tobacco Pipe

One of the few artisan pipe makers from Portugal, Sabina Santos, before quitting her finance job, wished to find a way to express her creativity, and after becoming inspired by her husband's pipe smoking, she took to the craft of pipe making as a way of doing just that. For three years, she practiced and refined her skills, traveling to Denmark to study under masterful artisans like Tom Eltang, Kai Nielsen, Tao, Kurt Balleby, and Hans "Former" Nielsen. Those years dedicated to learning the craft have certainly paid off, as her work has become well regarded and highly sought after. Her style tends to hew closely to the Danish school of pipe making, often showcasing a penchant for organic forms and clean lines, but her raw talent and particular vision come through clearly above all else, as evidenced by this bent Dublin.

A broad-flaring yet sleek take on the classic shape, this piece boasts a rather dynamic silhouette, with the bowl and shank taking on opposing angles away from the transition, which acts as the centerpiece to the the overall composition. Though visually divergent, the bowl and shank bear a striking resemblance to one another, as each aforementioned aspect displays a steady outward flare, further emphasizing their disparate trajectories. The wide transition provides ample space to drape a digit, and its parabolic-like shaping accentuates the shank and stem's fluid lines. A crisp sandblast dresses the stummel and draws out mesmerizing growth rings across the bowl, save for the rim, which is smoothly polished for contrast. An accent of mammoth adorns the shank end and ties the entire shape together with stylish blue and green hues to match the hand-cut vulcanite stem.