The Briar Workshop 3, Plateau Freehand Briar Pipe, American Estates

Description

The Briar Workshop was an integral part of a new generation of North American pipe-makers in the second half of the 20th century, and helped create a new American hand made pipe movement. Originally based in Vermont, USA, The Briar Workshop was founded by Jorg Jemelka and Eliot Nachtwalter. Over the years, Jemelka and Nachtwalter were joined by pipe-makers such as Finn Andersen, Brad Pohlmann, J. T. Cooke, and Carole Burns. As the name implies, The Briar Workshop was not a factory, like much of American pipe production up until this point, but a workshop, where artisans could hand make distinct pipe designs not found in factory catalogs.

This pipe is a rather beautiful freehand-style bent Dublin, perhaps with some Danish influence to it. The pipe has quite clearly been shaped in order to bring out the natural flame grain of the briar it’s made from, and its maker has done so expertly. The pipe has then been lightly stained a golden brown hue, making sure not to obscure the grain patterns underneath. The bare plateau rim is very much ‘icing on the cake’ here, as the flame grain all around the rim rises up to the top of the bowl, where this patterning is handed off to the jagged surface of the rim. All in all, it’s an impressive piece, and one that testifies to the capacity of a pipe to not only be a functional tool, but a bona fide work of art.

The stamping, for all you American pipe fans, reads as follows:

THE BRIAR WORKSHOP
3       STOWE, VT. USA
DESIGNER PIPEMAKERS

Details:

Length: 5.2″

Bowl Width: 22.3mm

Bowl Depth: 1.75″

Weight: 1.7oz / 49g