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It’s hard to believe that 2013 is almost behind us. We find ourselves at the end of a remarkable year for the pipe and pipe tobacco community, and for Smokingpipes.com especially. For a pastime, passion, and industry that has only just begun to emerge from a half-century of slow, steady decline in popularity, we pipe people have been unaccustomed to good news. Nonetheless good news abounds for our little world filled with pipes and pipe tobacco, a trend we began to see hints and suggestions of in 2010 and 2011, but one that really showed itself, and undeniably accelerated, in 2013.
Artisan pipe making is experiencing an unprecedented explosion. It is most pronounced here in the United States, but it’s also happening in Europe and elsewhere in the world. Fifteen years ago, artisan pipe making at this level was seen only in Denmark and, on a much smaller scale, in a handful of other countries. Today, great pipes are being made across Europe, with Russia, Ukraine and other countries in Eastern Europe burgeoning with pipe making talent. Here in the United States, we’ve seen more new talented artisans come onto the scene in the past three years than we had in the previous two decades.
But pipe successes of small one-man/woman operations are but a fraction of the story. The great pipe factories of the world are busier than they’ve been in years. Instead of fearing the decline of future business, the factories--Peterson, Savinelli, Chacom, and others--are more worried about securing enough briar and training enough new employees to meet demand. These are good problems! There’s a vibrancy and optimism from the factories that simply wasn’t there just a few years ago.
The good news doesn’t end there. On the tobacco front, smaller boutique manufacturers like McClelland and Cornell & Diehl are experiencing tremendous growth and success, while the bigger manufacturers have been exploring new products and bringing old products--such as the huge new releases of Capstan and Three Nuns--to markets that haven’t seen them for decades.
It isn’t all about quantity, though. It’s not just about more pipes and more pipe tobacco. More importantly, it’s about quality. A few decades ago, mass-market pipe tobacco was, with few exceptions, all there was that was readily available. Today, thousands of pipe tobacco options are on offer from a variety of large and small manufacturers alike. Talking with blenders, there’s a renewed interest in developing fresh, interesting, sophisticated mixtures, catering to a new, larger group of dedicated pipe tobacco enthusiasts. Similarly, while artisan and small workshops have always emphasized quality, there have been steady improvements in the quality of pipes we’re seeing from the larger pipe factories.
So far, this little missive has emphasized renewed optimism within the industry, but none of this would be possible without new enthusiasm from pipe smokers and collectors. To reiterate, our hobby is growing. We suspected as much a couple of years ago, and that trend is now abundantly clear. More importantly, the pipe smokers that have become interested in pipes and pipe tobacco in the last couple of years are enthusiasts in a way that was much more uncommon a few years ago. They aren’t just picking one or two pipes and one or two blends, and sticking to being content with just that. They’re excited about interesting pipes and pipe tobaccos, whether new or old. Pipe smokers today are more and more like wine or coffee enthusiasts, less like regular consumers of inexpensive wines or ubiquitous grocery store coffees. Of course, the trend towards connoisseurship is hardly limited to pipes and pipe tobacco--coffee enthusiasts barely existed in the US twenty years ago either--but it has been particularly marked in the pipe world. Instead of simply smoking Prince Albert, people are enthused by the delectable creations of Greg Pease or the specialized boutique blends coming from Mac Baren, such as Old Dark Fired.
What all this comes down to is that it has been your interest in the work of talented pipe makers and tobacco blenders that has driven this renaissance of the pipe world. This past year has seen a widespread sense of optimism among makers, industry people and hobbyists that is special and new. You are driving this; your love for pipes and pipe tobacco make all of this possible.
Being the perpetually sanguine person that I am, I’ve been optimistic about the pipe world for as long as I’ve been involved in pipes and tobaccos. Yet only now am I finding that kind of enthusiasm and optimism permeating the whole of our little world. And for that, we all have you to thank.
Happy New Year!
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