Sesa
Sesa pipes are made by Branko Sesa (b. 1962), a pipe-maker and restorer based in Turin, in Northern Italy. Born in Croatia, Sesa moved to Turin in 1994, where he currently resides.
Biography
A former philosophy professor and hobbyist woodworker, Sesa first started making pipes in 2000. Soon thereafter, he had the good fortune to meet the Italian mastro Mauro Gilli, who guided Sesa in his realization of pipe-making as a craft and an art. Sesa’s time spent with Gilli allowed him to hone his technical skills, though Gilli made sure to never try to influence Sesa’s aesthetic decisions. Gilli also learned a great deal about pipe making through online media on the subject.
Driven by curiosity, Sesa would experiment with various materials over the years. These included materials for his stummels – such as tree heather (briar), olivewood, lemonwood, and bog oak (morta) – and for his stems – such as acrylic, ebonite, and amber. Sesa’s experiments gave him the chance to assess the smoking properties and the aesthetic affordances of the materials he would be working with. During this time, Sesa sought not only to produce pipes that smoked well, but also a distinct, personal style.
In the first decade of his career, Sesa’s output tended towards freeform and sculptural pieces; using briar, he created pipes with elaborate carvings inspired by fossils; using bog oak, he developed an approach to form inspired by boats and ships. He would also make in more simple, classically-shaped pipes when his materia prima provided particularly beautiful grain patterns. Sesa also began to attend pipe shows in the mid-2000s, such as the international pipe and cigar show, Smoke Style, in Bologna, and the Cagli Pipe Festival (Festa della pipa Cagli).
In the last decade, some aspects of Sesa’s style have changed quite significantly, while others have remained and become more refined. Sesa formerly made approximately 50 pipes per year, in 2017, however, he took up pipe-making full-time, which has allowed him to double his output. Sesa’s classically-inclined pipes now outnumber his freeform pieces, though he still produces the latter regularly, and continues to enjoy doing so. He also continues to produce maritime-themed pipes using bog oak.
While Sesa no longer produces figural pieces in the style of his earlier briar pipes, his production techniques have expanded to include not only smooth and rusticated, but also sandblasted finishes, sometimes in combination with each other.
A key aspect of Sesa’s pipe-making development has been his additional career as a pipe restorer and repairer. As he says regarding this:
“I have not met many other pipe-makers, but I have met their pipes. Thousands and thousands of pipes have passed through my hands, and when I see an interesting detail, I try to keep it in my memory, so that when I find an appropriate situation, I can try it out for myself.”
Though he holds dual-citizenship in Croatia and Italy, he considers himself an Italian pipe-maker, as it was in Italy that his education in the making of pipes took place. He is a member of Turin’s Bugianen Pipa Club.
Sesa continues to regularly exhibit his work at pipe shows in Italy and will be exhibiting at the Stuttgart International Pipe Show (International Pfeifenmesse Stuttgart) in 2024. Sesa’s pipes are currently sold at Casaro Pipe in Turin, Tabaccheria Rizzi in Brescia, and through his own website, the latter of which can be found at the bottom of this page.
Nomenclature and Grading
Sesa’s pipes are stamped with his name and an ascending number of stars indicating their grade.
Gallery
A sandblasted hawkbill, made by Sesa. Image courtesy Branko Sesa.
A small, 'coffee break' pipe, made by Sesa in 2023. Image courtesy Casaro Pipe.
A bog oak (morta) Lionfish, made by Sesa. Image courtesy Branko Sesa.
A cavalier with plateau, made by Sesa. Image courtesy Branko Sesa.
A freeform pipe made by Sesa. Image courtesy Branko Sesa.
A bog oak (morta) 'ship' pipe, made by Sesa. Image courtesy Branko Sesa.
An olivewood pipe made by Sesa. Image courtesy Branko Sesa.
One of Sesa's bog oak (morta) 'ship' pipes. Image courtesy Branko Sesa.
A pipe made in collaboration between Angelo Fassi and Branko Sesa. Images courtesy Branko Sesa.
Contact
Branko Sesa Website: https://www.sesapipes.com/en/ Email: sesapipes@tiscali.it Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100080577831653/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sesapipesofficial/