Yang Kun: Sandblasted Bent Dublin with Olivewood (Four Footprints) (2233) Tobacco Pipe

Prior to becoming a pipe maker, Yang Kun worked in the Chinese television and film industry as a makeup artist. In 2010, a friend showed Kun a book of pipes that were designed by Sixten Ivarsson, and Kun immediately become fascinated with pipe making as a craft. In 2012, Kun quit his job in the entertainment industry and transitioned to pipe making full-time. Along the way, he studied under artisan carver Hongjian Qiu, who taught Kun about the fundamentals of pipe making, such as drilling, draft hole funneling, and contrast staining.

This bent Dublin is an excellent example of Kun's style, which tends to marry the traditional with the organic. The bowl here is fairly traditional in terms of its build, though it possesses a touch of extra stoutness around its insulating walls. The rim, however, is quite organic, displaying an undulating curvature that dips toward the fore and rises at the flanks. The rim also showcases patches of plateau that are juxtaposed against smoothly polished sections of briar. From the low-set transition, the shank ebbs into an olivewood accent whose warm hues immediately capture the eye. The olivewood acts as a bridge between the stummel's terracotta hues and the stem's more reserved jet-black tones. A crisp sandblast dresses the stummel and unveils rippling growth rings that radiate in unison with the bowl's flare, adding further visual intrigue to this already stylish design.