Shepherd Brothers
Shepherd Brothers Pipe Co. began in the winter of 2014 with brothers Darren and Greg Shepherd. After collecting and smoking pipes for years, they decided to try their hand at making pipes. They drew inspiration from other Virginia pipe makers, such as John Hines (John Hines Pipes) and Jonathan Lavezzo (Moonshine Pipes), as well as famed makers such as Poul Winslow and Mark Tinsky. In November of 2014, the first pipes came out of the workshop. After obsessing over the craft and honing their skills, the Shepherd brothers quickly developed a following. They used Facebook as their primary marketing tool and began selling their pipes over the Internet to pipe smokers and collectors all over the world.
All Shepherd Bros. pipes are carved one at a time and are unique. The brothers have developed a system of carving that highlights the skills and abilities that they possess individually: Greg does the majority of the drilling to the raw briar blocks while Darren shapes and finishes them into beautiful works of art. The brothers quickly "carved" a niche in the local retail markets as well, supplying high-quality handmade pipes to local smoke shops in southwestern Virginia. Their goal is to provide smokers and collectors with high-quality handmade pipes at a reasonable and affordable price.
Shepherd Bros. pipes made in 2014 and 2015 have a hand-carved mark on the bottom of the shank that reads, "SBPC '15". They use many different types of exotic woods to add stem accents, and use Delrin tenons exclusively. Their shapes and finishes are often inspired by the Blue Ridge Mountains where they live, and they strive to put the spirit of this wonderful area into each and every pipe that they craft. Their Appalachian Sunrise and Black Rock series pipes have received rave reviews from smokers everywhere. Plans of expanding their market into more collectible pieces are now in the works, and their Prestige series will be released in the winter of 2015-2016.
Contact Information:
Darren L. Shepherd Elk Creek, VA Tel.: 276-768-9187 E-mail: [1] Website: http://www.facebook.com/shepherdbrospipes