Sam Adebayo: Sandblasted Bent Apple with Bakelite Tobacco Pipe

Sam Adebayo's shaping style could be aptly described as flowing yet muscular. He seamlessly marries the precise line work and elegant curves associated with Danish pipe making with the robust proportions and extra visual heft of American design. This bold bent Apple showcases Adebayo's unique style, as it positions a broad, plump bowl at the fore a trim, gesturally sweeping shank-and-stem arrangement. Even though the overall shape measures less than five inches in total length, this piece offers plenty of surface area for wrapping fingers to embrace, especially around the bowl's expansive waistline. A dramatically lifted heel hoists the bowl upward and lends the design an active posture in profile that's exaggerated by the shank-and-stem arrangement's rearward curl. A crisp, dark sandblast dresses the stummel and highlights an impressive mixture of birdseye and growth rings about the bowl, while a saddle stem of salmon-hued Bakelite tops off the design and provides a touch of vibrancy to the pipe's otherwise reserved color palette.