Alex Florov

For this year's American Pipe-Making Exposition, we gave the carvers a broad scope, a vast canvas on which to play and experiment. Crafting a pipe with Calabash or reverse Calabash functionality is extremely difficult, but the most successful creative work often originates from the hardest challenges. These American carvers were up to the task, however, as this year's submissions are truly exceptional. ... Read More

It's time for another round of beautiful pipe smoking desktop backgrounds! As in previous months, we've compiled some of our favorite shots and artwork to share with you. Below you'll find eleven unique images, split between desktop and mobile orientations and available for download in two high-resolution formats. They're ready for you to use however you'd like. Feel free to download and set them as your desktop or phone background, or print them out and hang 'em on your wall. ... Read More

Introduced in 2015, the American Pipe-Making Exposition is an annual Smokingpipes tradition that showcases the work of U.S.-based artisan carvers, the style of each pipe united by a specific theme. Past years have highlighted the use of bamboo, certain finishing techniques, and aesthetic influences, and for 2021 — the 7th edition of the Expo — we return to 2017's theme: accent stems. ... Read More

An engineer by trade, Andrey Grigoriev has been fascinated with creative processes and with understanding the inner workings behind an object's function ever since his father gave him a carving knife at eight years old. As a student, Andrey began smoking a pipe in the early 2000s and was immediately drawn to the inherent balance of function and art in pipe making, carving ... Read More

It's time for another round of beautiful pipe smoking desktop backgrounds! As in previous months, we've compiled some of our favorite shots and artwork to share with you. Below you'll find six unique images, split between desktop and mobile orientations and available for download in two high-resolution formats. ... Read More

Scott Klein was a young, on-again, off-again pipesmoker, smoking the pipes his grandfather had left him when he could get them to work. He didn't know what he was doing. "I couldn't get any consistency out of them," says Scott. "One day I'd love pipesmoking, the next I'd hate it." ... Read More

The American Pipemaking Exposition has become an annual, 4th of July tradition since we introduced it in 2015. The event focuses on a central, pipe-related element that either defines or has been championed by the American artisanal pipemaking tradition, with each carver submitting a piece showcasing that theme. ... Read More

On this episode of All Pipes Considered, Shane and Kaz have a seat in the lounge as they discuss the work of skilled craftsman Alex Florov. ... Read More

We spend countless hours here at Smokingpipes extolling the virtues of briar (Erica Arborea). It is, of course, the most common current medium in the creation of tobacco pipes. However, as most know, it wasn't the first. ... Read More

Sometime back we asked a whole bunch of prominent American artisans to come up with pipes (one from each, that is) for our third annual American Pipemaking Exposition, a showcase of sorts highlighting interesting themes and happenings within the American pipemaking movement. ... Read More