Since 2015, the American Pipe Making Exposition has been an annual Smokingpipes tradition that showcases the work of US-based artisan pipe makers, as they create pipes specifically for that year's theme. Previous years have focused on accenting materials or finishing styles, with last year's expo themed around bamboo, but for 2020, we took a slightly more nebulous, philosophical approach. For this year's theme, we asked carvers to fashion pipes that represent their artistic influences.

Much like the United States as a country, American pipe making is a beautiful convergence of differing ideas, styles, and voices — a melting pot of aesthetics in which the influence of other design traditions and the styles of carvers from other countries have mixed and melded to create something unique and special in its own right.

As it stands today, artisan pipe making in the United States has seen many of its most prominent and respected makers draw inspiration from Danish artisans, like the Ivarssons and Jess Chonowitsch, as well as Japanese masters, like Hiroyuki Tokutomi, who himself was deeply influenced by Danish artisan pipe making as a student of Sixten Ivarsson. Also present is the influence of old-school French and English marques and their creation of classic pipe shapes and proportional standards, upon which all of pipe making is founded.

Even further, as this current iteration of American artisan pipe making continues to grow and progress, US-based carvers have not only looked to Denmark and Japan for inspiration, but they've also influenced one another, through tutelage and inspiration. A number of more experienced artisans have opened their workshops to beginning carvers for mentoring over the recent decades, both sustaining and increasing the world of artisan pipe making while also indirectly propagating personal stylistic elements.

As a global network, the world of artisan pipe making evolves and changes, with carvers reenacting the design cues of artisans before them who, in turn, were experimenting with aesthetic elements of carvers before them. Each iteration retains a hint, a flavor, an aroma of those previous influences, all while maintaining its distinct individuality: This is American artisan pipe making as we know it today.

For this year's 6th Annual American Pipe Making Exposition, our featured artisans honor this tradition and pay homage to their inspirations. Some makers manifested this theme by emulating the styles of artisans whose work has influenced them, while others drew inspiration from iconic pipe smoking personalities and creative mediums unrelated to pipe making.

See The Pipes

Pete Prevost

Pete Prevost's submission to this year's Exposition is a personal and special pipe for Pete. It's inspired by the work of Bruce Weaver, who passed away last year and was Pete's mentor, teacher and friend. Bruce was one of the first people to help Pete begin his pipe making journey, and they became really good friends. Pete's even talked about how Bruce was there for the birth of his first child. So Pete's submission to this year's expo pays homage to Bruce.

If you're familiar with Bruce's work, this is what Bruce called his "Pipadelic," which is a play on psychedelic, and is characterized by these crazy color palettes — really vivid and vibrant colors. It's also sandblasted and evocative of Bruce's signature, micro-blasted finishing style. The shape itself is a design that Pete creates on a regular basis, but the finish and the palette are inspired by Bruce's Pipadelic.

The stem on this piece is especially interesting, because Pete actually obtained the vulcanite rods used in this stem from Bruce's workshop. So it has "a little bit of Bruce in it," as Pete said, and again it's that split stem style that we loved and saw from Bruce so often, featuring different layers of brindled vulcanite, overlapping and interlocking with each other. Pete went through and stained each individual, sandblasted growth ring with a different color to create that Pipadelic motif. Really great entry from Pete.

David Huber

David Huber's entry this year is really exciting, because it pays homage to two legendary figures in the pipe making community: Hiroyuki Tokutomi and Nanna Ivarsson. The shape itself is very dynamic, very unique; it's what he calls the Nekkikyū or Hot Air Balloon. It's sort of an homage to Nanna's Pedestal Fish, if you're familiar with that, as well as Toku's signature Vase. What's really interesting about Huber's rendition, though, is his execution and how he's merged the two forms. Where Toku might have made the bowl more Dublin-esque, Huber's really softened those lines and gone for a more Danish approach with the Acorn bowl. It's still very tall, very dynamic, but it's extremely balanced. It's actually a stable sitter, despite its sort of overarching dynamism and organic form.

The finish is really interesting, too. He's gone for a sort of partial sandblast, where most of the body is sandblasted, but he's finished the rim and shank-end smooth. The sandblasted finish is quite dark, so that contrast stained smooth finish really pops. Through it, you can really appreciate all the intricacies of the grain. Simply put, it's an excellent entry from David this year. Well done.

Abe Herbaugh

Abe Herbaugh submitted two pipes to this year's exposition. In both, he's taken influence from Sixten Ivarsson, who's widely considered to be the father of modern artisan pipe making. A lot of Sixten's techniques, styles and approaches to pipe making have influenced not just American pipe makers, but pretty much the entire world of artisan pipe making as we know it today.

Specifically, Sixten's use of bamboo and horn have been really impactful in today's era of pipe making ̬ particularly the use of alternative materials as elements of design rather than just functional aspects to a pipe. So, for his entry this year, Abe fashioned two Peewit shapes, which are famous Sixten designs and essentially slender variations of an Acorn. They're identical more or less in shape and size and even have similar asymmetry in terms of the bowl shape, but Abe has sandblasted one and left one smooth, and then he's fitted one with a Bamboo accent and the other with a Horn. The horn accent emulates that kind of bulbous look that Sixten popularized, and that's a design cue that Abe's experimented with frequently over recent years, really dramatizing that bulbous form, but in this one, he takes it back to how Sixten would have done it. Very special thank you to Abe for these two pipes.

Micah Redmond

Micah Redmond's entry into this year's exposition pays homage to the work of Lars and Nanna Ivarsson, as well as Jess Chonowitsch and other Danish high-grade artisan pipe makers. Specifically, it's a tribute to the Fish shape that we see from Jess and Nanna — and from Lars as well, obviously — and the use of the teardrop line which that shape incorporates. The ridge line travels down the side of the shank and up through the bowl, adding a touch of asymmetry and contrast to the composition — specifically contrasting the hard line of that ridge with the supple curves of the Egg-shaped bowl.

It's a design often seen from Danish artisans and it drew Micah in when he was beginning his pipe making journey. What he really liked about this design cue is how it added asymmetry and forced the smoker to view the pipe from multiple angles. You couldn't just look at it in profile; you had to turn the pipe to fully appreciate what the artisan was trying to accomplish. So he's presented this rendition here, and it's a great homage to that Danish design and those artisan carvers who inspire him. Thank you, Micah.

Scott Thile

Scott Thile's entry this year is quite unique, because he didn't send us just one pipe, he sent us two; he sent us a whole set. And that's great, because it afforded him a chance to show off this unique shape. An homage to one of his inspirations in pipe making, these two shapes are inspired by Brad Pohlmann's iconic John Bull design. Scott has appreciated this shape for a long time, because it's sort of the perfect amalgamation of soft elegant lines and sharp transitions. There's a lot of beveling on these — a lot of juxtaposition and play on curve, line and plane.

Moreover, this two-pipe set afforded Scott a lot of room to experiment with grain orientation. So you get a lot of these planes on which you can show birdseye, or you have this strong, reverse taper, this flare, that is really well-suited to showcasing ring grain. Both of these shapes really do that really nicely. Scott has finished them both in a partial sandblast with the top polished smooth and stained, so the birdseye really jumps out at you. Both pipes are accented with a broad accent of Ivorite, which really pops against the black stems and the darker palettes in the pipes themselves. Furthermore, he's also submitted a little nice hardwood stand that the pipes can rest in; it matches the color palette and sort of pays homage to Scott's appreciation for hardwoods in general, as well as the neat sort of tamper that suits the pipes as well. So it's a really nice, complete set, perfect for fans of Scott's Bulldogs or even Brad's Bulldogs. Thank you very much, Scott!

Ryan Alden

The theme for this year's American Pipe Making Exposition is Influence, and some carver's took that more personally regarding a specific carver who has inspired their work, while others thought of the theme in a more broad sense of design traditions that have inspired American pipe making as a tradition. Ryan Alden took the latter approach with this piece, combining elements of English, Italian, and Danish pipe making all into one design. This fusion is something that he explores regularly in his work, and so it fits in well with this year's exposition.

The shape itself is a classic Lumberman, evocative of classic English pipe design, but the proportions are ramped up a little bit, which calls to mind Italian pipes.Then the smooth rim, sandblasted finish and boxwood accent all kind of nod to Danish pipe making. So it's simply a great piece from Ryan, both recognizable in his style as well as celebrating and paying homage to the design traditions that came before American pipe making really took off. So, thanks Ryan.

Bill Shalosky

Bill Shalosky's entry into the American Expo this year is just a beautiful classic shape. This makes a lot of sense, because Bill has been heavily inspired by the classics throughout his pipe making career. To Bill, these classics are not just simple and practical and functional, they're the foundation of the entire art and craft of pipe making. Bill pays homage to this classical foundation here, particularly classic English and French pipes from the turn of the 20th century.

This particular shape is inspired by a design from an old BBB catalog, as well as a vintage Sasieni shape from Bill's personal collection. Along with those inspirations, Bill's added his typical flair through an awesome Fordite accent, as well as a beautiful, almost patinated Boxwood mount. The Billiard shape itself is really classical; it embodies the traditional ratio of shank to stem. The sandblast is really great, as well. It's really craggy and old school, but the actual grain orientation is damn near perfect. There's birdseye on one side, birdseye on the other side, and a broad swath of vertical ring grain right through the center. It's a great little classic. Great job, Bill, on this one.

Scottie Piersel

Scottie Piersel, famous for her pencil-shanked pipes, or "Scotties," sent us a set of three pipes for this year's submission, all inspired by Bing Crosby. It's really interesting that she chose to pay homage to not just another craftsperson who came before her, but an icon, a pipe smoking icon who many of us grew up watching. Essentially this is a set of three Bing pipes. "We Three Bings," as she refers to it. It's a captivating mix between more traditional color palettes and more contemporary, avant-garde cues.

Also, they feature Scottie's relief contrast finish. Unlike a regular contrast finish, which is just contrasting colors combined to create a high contrast effect, Scottie's relief contrast finish is actually achieved by combining sandblasted and smooth-sanded finishes. She's also included a large burl pipe stand, complete with magnetic golf balls to hold the pipes in place, another tribute to Bing.

Scottie has made a quite a few these Bing shapes or rifts on the Bing shape in the past. One of Scottie's customers was also kind enough to share three examples of pipes that came from Bing's personal collection, from Crosby's personal collection, which she used as references. It's been fascinating to see her experiment with this idea, culminating in this set here. The perfect mix of contemporary and more traditional approaches to the form.

Sam Adebayo

Sam Adebayo's entry into this year's exposition, like Pete Prevost's submission, pays homage to the late Bruce Weaver, a brilliant carver who passed away last year. Bruce had a deep impact on Sam, specifically in Sam's early stages as a pipe maker. Sam talks about a forum that he followed online, on which Bruce would often post pictures of his own pipes. Those images, and those pipes specifically, really inspired Sam as a young pipe maker, and as he was getting into pipe smoking.

Specifically Bruce's use of bakelite, as well as certain shapes like Lovats, Cutties, Belges and Billiards. So Sam has paid homage to Bruce with this piece: A Billiard that borders on Lovat proportions, with a slightly longer shank and a shorter stem, which Sam's fashioned from bakelite. Something we would often see from Bruce as well is this contrast in color palette that Sam has utilized here. The stummel is sandblasted and stained dark, which really draws focus then to the toffee and caramel hues of the bakelite stem. Bakelite's also something that Sam uses prolifically in his own work, so it's a good kind of crossover between his style and Bruce's signature cues. Thanks, Sam.

Yeti

Micah Cryder, the man behind the Yeti brand of pipes, has submitted to us for this year's American exposition the first ever Cavalier Blowfish that he's made. Micah has been a pupil of Todd Johnson, who worked with Hiroyuki Tokutomi, and this piece is another great example of the senior members of the American pipe making movement passing on their knowledge: Bringing back techniques and ideas from their travels abroad, from working with the masters, and really incorporating those teachings into the American school and the American approach to pipe making by teaching it to other younger carvers.

Micah mentioned that this pipe represents something special to him, because it was Tokutomi's and Todd's versions of the Cavalier Blowfish that peaked his interest in pipe making in general. To Micah, the shape represented the sort of freedom and artistry behind the pipe making craft, a shape that elevated the practice from simply a craft to equal parts craftsmanship and artistry.

What we really love about this piece in general is that it's clear that it's inspired by both Tokutomi's and Todd's renditions. It combines Todd's more streamlined version of the shape with some of the more intricate facets and slight asymmetry that characterize Tokutomi's work. That said, the overall color palette is something that's iconic to Yeti, or at least easily associated with Micah Cryder's work. Todd Johnson's work with expanding color palettes and using different color stem materials has definitely been influential for Micah as a pipe carver. This piece is just a really beautiful example of sort of all of those elements coming together to create simply a stunning pipe.

Adam Davidson

Not only has Adam Davidson been an employee of Smokingpipes for well over a decade, but he is an influential American artisan in his own right — an artisan with many signature shapes to his name, such as the Fig, the Amoeba, the Almond, etc. These are shapes that have influenced his fellow Americans and pipe makers around the world.

Adam, if you know him, is mostly inspired as a pipe maker by the works of the great Japanese masters, particularly Hiroyuki Tokutomi and Kei Gotoh. So for this year's American Exposition, Adam has made a set of two pipes that are heavily influenced by those two Japanese masters: A Blowfish Fugu that pays homage to Tokutomi, and another Fish-style Egg, influenced by Gotoh. The interesting thing about these two pipes is that they were actually based on pipes that Smokingpipes carried in the past.

Since 2005, Adam has been able to see firsthand the shipments of pipes that we've received from both of these great masters, and they've heavily influenced his work. One other thing about this set of pipes is that the stemwork and the shaping in general on both are contrasting examples of organicism and the playful nature of the shaping championed by these two Japanese artisans. Across the pipes, you'll find slightly harder lines here, softer and more rounded curves there, but these elements offer such a balanced juxtaposition, together with really interesting stem work. Adam was able to work with both of these masters when he visited Tokyo in 2015. These craftsmen have definitely influenced his work across the board, and these two pipes are just wonderful examples of the style.

Jared Coles

For this year's American Exposition, Jared Coles has submitted a shape of his own called The Stallion. Heavily influenced by the work of Japanese master Hiroyuki Tokutomi, Jared picked the shape for two reasons: Firstly, the Japanese school and Tokutomi specifically were instrumental in inspiring Jared to become a pipe maker in the first place, and secondly, because the set of elements in this pipe — the playful asymmetry, the way that the partial sandblast is handled, the shank treatment, all of those things — embody what Jared describes as the sort of "wild and free character" of Tokutomi's work specifically.

The other interesting thing about this piece is that Jared himself has never worked directly with Tokutomi, but he is a student of Jeff Gracik of J. Alan pipes, Todd Johnson, and also our own Adam Davidson. All three of those American pipe makers, who we consider to be sort of the Senior Craftsmen in the American Movement, have all worked with Tokutomi. So it's really interesting to see how far reaching influence can be, not only from a carver looking at the work of Tokutomi for years, but also working with people who have also studied with the master. It's fascinating to see how influence spreads across the entire world, from the other side of the globe to the American guys. And the piece itself is just a beautiful example of several of those elements in this pipe.

J. Alan

Jeff Gracik of J. Alan pipes has been extremely influential to a lot of carvers, both in the United States and worldwide. He's among the people who have absorbed the teachings of the older masters from around the world — Tokutomi in Japan, Gotoh in Japan, Jess Chonowitsch in Denmark, Nanna Ivarsson, etc. — and passed that knowledge on. A lot of the work that we see from the younger American carvers now is directly influenced by those carvers who came before them, the carvers who actually traveled the world to bring back a lot of those influences and who have, since, actively taught a lot of the other people who currently emerging.

So this pipe really encapsulates that phenomenon. It's directly inspired by a Sixten Ivarsson shape, and aside from the stellar execution, it was actually crafted from briar sourced directly from Jess Chonowitsch in Denmark. The bamboo, likewise, was sourced directly from Tokutomi in Japan. Both of those carvers were obviously pupils of Sixten Ivarsson. Jeff wanted to create a pipe that really embodied all of his influences — not just the guys in Denmark, not just the guys in Japan, and not just the descendants of Sixten himself, but really everything together. So everything from the engineering, which Jeff learned directly from Chonowitsch, to the materials themselves, to the shape being one of Sixten's originals, it's just an excellent example of that historical and global influence, elevated by a traditional color palette and a very detailed sandblast.

Todd Johnson

Last and certainly not least, we have our 2020 American Exposition entry from Todd Johnson. For those who have followed the last couple of these expositions, you all know that Todd is no stranger to pushing the boundaries, not only in his work on a daily basis, but specifically for these expositions. Todd is a student of the Danish school. He's worked with Hiroyuki Tokutomi and he has worked with a lot of the Danish masters. He's also one of the sort of godfathers of the modern American school. Early on, he was able to work closely with Tom Eltang and Chonowitsch, with Lars Ivarsson, and bring those skills and that knowledge back to the United States, where he taught it to a bunch of younger carvers who came up after him.

Todd's been instrumental in shaping the American school and the American aesthetic. Yet he's also a student of the culinary arts and a big fan of molecular gastronomy. And as his influence for this year's expo, Todd has chosen to pay homage to the master chefs who he's looked up to for years. What he's presented with us is a Smokable Plate of Duck Breast. All the various accoutrements and objects on the plate he has made from materials that are also used in pipe making, basically, using things like epoxy and resin. We have a demi glaze, a bed of potato puree, snow pea puree, asparagus tips (which are actually made from bamboo), bakelite pieces of truffle shavings, and other things like that. There are a lot of elements incorporated into this piece, resulting in a truly unique concept for a pipe set, one that we never thought in a million years we would get a chance to describe. It's a beautiful piece and definitely outside of the box.

Thank you again to all of the carvers who participated in our 6th Annual American Pipe Making Exposition, and thanks to everyone for helping us celebrate Smokingpipes' 20th Anniversary. For more information about any of these pipes, be sure to visit our 2020 American Exposition page, where you can see detailed photographs and descriptions of all of this year's entries.