Holm, Preben: Difference between revisions

When he started to sell his pipes to Lane Ltd. under the Ben Wade label, he caused a hype fairly beyond comparison. Especially in the U.S., as most of his pipes were sold there.

1983-84 Preben Holm wrote an autobiographic article which was published frequentely online and in print media (e.g. T.P.S.E. in 1994; see Book II page 670-673). This is a most interesting piece of history and, furthermore, one of the rare authentic documents.   

Already at an early age I became interested in pipes and in pipesmoking. After school I worked as an errand-boy in my father's shop which was a provision shop with 3 departments, one dealing with pipes and tobacco, one dealing with wine, and another one selling magazines and cigarettes etc. When starting as an errand-boy I was 12-13 years old, and it did not last any length of time before the pipe department roused my curiosity, and it was there I spent my time when there were no goods to be delivered. My father was somewhat mean, and he only paid me a sixth of what I could earn somewhere else, but this, I think, was very sound. On the other hand I earned a lot of good tips, and this money I saved carefully and deposited it in the bank. Though at that time I did not know what I should save the money for it proved to be very important later on, because this became my "initial capital" in the pipetrade.

My father was altogether a very wise man, and one of the things he did, and which I appreciate to-day, was to prohibit the smoking of cigarettes, but on the other hand he did not mind my smoking the pipe already at the age of 13 - 14. When I was 14 years old I got tired of going to school, very much to everybody's amazement, as it was considered a matter of course that I should study in order to acquire a superior education. However, I was very tired of school, and therefore I asked my father to be allowed to leave the school. No doubt he was rather disappointed, but he did not want to force me into anything, and we agreed that I should begin a commercial training in his business. It was, especially to begin with, a mixed job as some hours each day I still worked as an errand-boy at the same time receiving a good training within the retail trade. Part of that education was that I had to go to a commercial school where I, no doubt, learned things by which I benefited later on.  

One day while making the rather traditional hand-carved pipes as we had to in order to come by some money, I took a fancy to make something completely untraditional at that time. From the very beginning I had only worked with the finest Bruyere that could be provided, and on the whole it all had very pretty grain patterns, and that gave me the idea to try something novel. Contrary to what was done so far I started to form some of the pipes according to the grain pattern, and out of this I got some quite particular models. Thus having experimented a little while I had a very smart specimen, at least I thought so. At that time I received about 30,00kr. for a pipe from Pipe-Dan, and I remember that I first went and showed my father this special pipe. He was very impressed, but when I told him that I wanted to go to Pipe-Dan and ask 500,00 kr. for it he seemed not really to believe me. Anyway, I did it. Pipe-Dan studied the pipe and said. "By Jove, it is nice to see something novel". He paid the 500,00 kr. and told me that I was welcome to make some more of them. However, there was naturally a limited market for pipes at such a price, and it was not long before he could not buy any more of them. Anyway, I continued to make them in addition to the ordinary hand-carved ones. I began also to let the raw bark-top be part of the design.

I then got the idea that it would be fun to see where all the pipes were sold, and therefore I decided to travel to St. Thomas. St.Thomas is indeed a tourist island, visited by tourists from all over America, and it was these tourists who bought my pipes in Lon Schwartz' shop. During my first visit I stayed in the shop for 2-3 weeks and had ample opportunities of talking with pipe-smokers from everywhere in America. That really gave me a lot of impulse. Then I returned home and continued working with the new inspiration. That was repeated 3 times within the first year's cooperation with Lon. I could simply not have had any better starting point, because the taste changes quite a lot from one place in the U.S.A. to another, but here came, as mentioned, pipe-smokers from all the States. It was wonderful to feel how something one oneself enjoyed making really was accepted.  

Lon Schwartz still wanted to buy all the pipes I could make, and new markets began to be added. Japan was the next one. People there seemed to be more interested in the design and the quality of the Bruyere than in the price. Due to my always being very careful with the purchase of raw material and only accepting the very best, no matter what is the price, we very quickly acquired a very good market in Japan. Very soon new markets turned up, among others most countries in Europe showed great interest, and we once more increased the production.  

In earnest it now began to demand much time of me, because I soon learned that it was not easy just to increase the production as by no means I wanted to compromise regarding the quality, but little by little I managed. My small workshop on the 4th floor in the city of Copenhagen wa snow too small. I was by now 21 years old and had six journeyman. Therefore I decided to move to a much bigger place in the outskirts of Copenhagen. However there now arose problems with the U.S.A. Lon Schwartz still bought as much as we could spare him, but it had slowly become too much for his shop in St.Thomas, and he could not really make up his mind whether he should renounce with the monopoly in the U.S.A. or whether he should establish a wholesale business that covered the American market. Finally he decided to stay in St. Thomas, and to renounce with the monopoly the rest of the rest of the U.S.A.  

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After a while, when delivering Snug Harbour both hand-carved and serial produced pipes problems occurred. The sale was a great success, but that, of course, caused a bigger need of capital which Snug Harbour could not supply. One day when three invoices that were fallen due were not paid we had another large shipment ready for the, and therefore I phoned the manager and was told that there was no more money on the account. I have had a presentiment that it was going this way, and fortunately we had such great success on the market that several of the most important firms in the U.S.A. had shown interest in cooperating with us. After many calls and discussions of the situation with some of the friends I gradually had got in America I deduced to pay messrs. Lane Limited a visit.  

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Last year I engaged an export seller so that I do not need travelling so much but can devote myself to the production, which really needs much time, and in which by the way I also take the greatest interest. The quality of Bruyere which we use is very expensive, and I examine myself each block. From these I pick the very best ones which are about 5 percent. These 5 p.c. I work up myself like 20 years ago, using some of my best people to do the rougher work while I myself do the molding and the finish. During the work at least half of the lot is taken away because of various faults in the wood while the rest ends as Preben Holm private collection. Those approximately 2 p.c. of our total production I put my signature on with a good conscience.

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[[Image:Holm_PC404.jpg|right|thumb|TseHa's "Privat Collection 404"]]

Poul Winslow about Preben Holm: "Preben was a genius. Maybe a bit wild, always flying from idea to idea and impatient for results. But could he turn a pipe! Some of the most extreme free-hands came out of our workshop in the '70s, and whatever his critics say, they sold like crazy, mostly in America. And when it came to finishing, he was the best in the business."

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