Xin Li: Difference between revisions

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 Beginning in 2015, Xin received hands-on tutelage in pipe-making at Yang's workshop, leaving his real estate career in 2016 to take on pipe-making under Yang full-time. Xin picked up the skills and techniques required for high-grade, artisan pipe-making quite quickly, with Yang soon allowing him to create pipes for Zhiputang. Zhiputang was originally the name used by Yang's own pipe-making, but between 2016 and 2018, Zhiputang pipes became a collaborative project between Xin and Yang. Through this partnership, Xin was able to visit Italy with Yang to learn about and purchase briar from one of its major sources, as well as having the opportunity to sell their Zhiputang pipes through the online artisan pipe marketplace PipeHub.
-Xin and Yang dissolved their partnership amicably in 2018, with Xin leaving Zhiputang to found a line of pipes under his own name. He was able to build a new workshop in the attic of his home, which allowed him to continue his career as a pipe-maker while being able to spend as much time as possible with his young son. Yang and Xin still meet regularly over drinks and pipes.
+Xin and Yang dissolved their partnership amicably in 2018, with Xin leaving Zhiputang to found a line of pipes under his own name and with his own particular style. He was able to build a new workshop in the attic of his home, which allowed him to continue his career as a pipe-maker while being able to spend as much time as possible with his young son. Yang and Xin still meet regularly over drinks and pipes.
-[[File:Xin SATX two pipes.jpg|left|thumb|Two pipes, a fig/acorn and a Dublin/horn, made by Xin in 2020. Image courtesy SATX Pipe.]]
+Xin's Zhiputang pipes show a clear Danish influence, with a recognizable debt to historic figures in this tradition. It should be no surprise that Xin credits Per Hansen and Ulf Noltensmeier of S. Bang among his favorite pipe-makers. While this influence continues to be apparent in Xin's output, the transition from Zhiputang to Xin has more recently resulted in designs that depart from the established Danish mold in a significant way. Xin's background in design and art history has given him an appreciation for a wide variety of movements and schools in the practical arts, though there is a definite minimalist impetus in Xin's approach. In 2024, when asked about his background and how it has affected his pipe-making, he stated, <blockquote>"I prefer a simpler style, with good proportions and clean lines. Those are the aspects I set out to achieve in my pipe making process. No unnecessary elements or modeling. Always with balanced proportions." </blockquote>A similar design philosophy can be found in the reflections of Danish icons such as Sixten Ivarsson and Tom Eltang, though this common idea is realized quite differently in Xin pipes, especially those produced in more recent years. On the one hand, Xin currently produces many pipes that lean into the English-French tradition, blending a simplicity of form with an unconventional color palate and other decorative elements. On the other hand, Xin also produces pipes that would be better characterized as avant-garde. The latter are still relatively simple, but the few elements that they do bring together result in designs that are nonetheless fresh and out of the ordinary, even in today's artisan scene.[[File:Xin SATX two pipes.jpg|left|thumb|Two pipes, a fig/acorn and a Dublin/horn, made by Xin in 2020. Image courtesy SATX Pipe.]]
 [[File:Xin pipes leaning.png|thumb|A unique cobra-like pipe with plateau and horn, made by Xin in 2023. Composite created from images courtesy LePipe.It.]]