American Smoking Pipe Co.: Difference between revisions

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As George had been the one trying to get me out the door the first time at the shop I did enjoy his discomfiture a bit. Being quick on his feet he suggested doing a show at a shop that was just opening that weekend in the Fair Oaks Mall , Fairfax, VA. About 25 miles West of DC. He made arrangements and off I went to John B. Hayes Tobacconist.

The farm was sold in the end of 1979 and we needed to find a cheap place to live. We had always liked the Pocono's in Eastern Pa. It was also a real cheap place to live so we packed up the shop and moved to Saylorsburg, Pa. A bucolic village that the 20th century had seemed to leave behind. At least on weekends when we looked took the rental. We moved the entire shop in a van. In our next move it took 3 of the largest U Haul trucks. As I said Saylorsburg was real quiet on the weekends, but the following Monday we found out there was a quarry located down the road . When the bog trucks rolled by our little house shook. Our shop though was inside the house in a large basement. This was a real step up in the world for us. It had a two car garage for storage and only cost $240 per month. To supplement my income I opened a karate school at the local YMCA, where I still teach today. In Saylorsburg there were few distractions and we settled down to produce a large volume of pipe making. Our business flourished and by 1982 we had saved up enough money t buy our own house. Its main attraction was a large new shop in back of the house. We moved in October of 1982. This was also the year our mentor, Jack Weinberger died.

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Change is the one constant you can count in life .Curt had carved out a life for himself. He got married and bought his own house in 1986 and learned kayaking which he is expert at today. In 1990 when I wanted to expand our business, hire employees etc. He decided he wanted to do other things with his life. In my opinion he was the premier pipe maker in the country; he had been making pipes for 20 years at this point and was ready for something new. I was surprised to say the least, but as we had been friends since the 7 th grade this was more important than our business partnership. We amicably settled our business, I retaining sole proprietorship of American Smoking Pipe Co.

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For whatever reasons the bottom of the new pipe market dropped out after 1992. We experienced a recession, anti-smoking laws stiffened, and the older pipe smoking generation was passing on and nothing was taking its place. Pipe smokers continued to smoke and need repair. They were able to smoke in fewer places and there collections became concentrated at home. They just didn't need as many pipes. Gray marketing, inflated prices by the big pipe companies also hurt new pipe sales. The interest in the used market was market was peaking as large estate collections were becoming available. Being able to smoke in fewer areas concentrated pipe smokers collections at home. Smokers didn't feel the need for new pipes as they no longer could be spread around their various habitats.

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My current interests include fly fishing, reading, and writing about pipes over the Internet via Alternate Smokers Pipes newsgroup and Pipe Digest. I see a great future in this new form of communication and it has begun to change the way I'm doing business already. I can now deal directly with customers as I could never do before. I've met many interesting people who have used computer programs to design pipes. I plan to straddle the line between retailers and direct sales by protecting a retailers local territory. Its a big country and now with the Internet, a big world! I'm sure there's room enough for me to do business without upsetting too many people. I plan to do further writings about people, stories, and experiences I've had in the pipe industry. I've collected some of my writings on pipes in a section called Musings from the workbench. If you're interested, please look for further updates. Time for a new bowl of tobacco.

marktinsky1.jpg|P&T 2006 pipe, Sunrise

marktinsky2.jpg|P&T 2006 pipe, Tanblast

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ChristopherMorley18.jpg|Christopher Morley

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With the renaissance in pipe smoking I've gone back to being a full time pipe maker. Certainly, my first love! My biggest problem is trying to wade through my list of custom order pipes. I can never seem to get caught up. Just once in a while I'd like to work on a few of my own designs! I'm not complaining business is great and I'm making pipes again. We'll have to see what the rest of the decade brings but its wonderful to have reached the point where everything I make can be appreciated and quickly sold. While I certainly haven't reached the lofty status of some of the European makers as Curt and I had dreamed of doing 20 years ago; at least nationally I do have some name recognition for which I'm grateful! Maybe the next generation of American pipe makers will put us over the top.

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