Roman Kovalev
Born in what is now Ukraine (formerly The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic) in 1971, Roman Kovalev's Russian father soon moved his family north... way north to Nizhnevartovsk city in Siberia, where Roman remained until his most recent move to St. Petersburg in 2010. "Doctor's Pipes", at first blush, might seem an unusual choice for a pipe brand, until one finds out that Dr. Roman Kovalev was a pediatric neurologist for 16 years (smoking 5-8 bowls a day). Polyglot, neurologist, racecar builder and main team driver, owner of two distilleries, and the man who founded the popular "COFFEEJAZZ" Espresso supply and barista training, just because he wasn't happy with the local coffee... "Renaissance Man" doesn't cover it.
An aficionado of high grade briars for decades (his first Tokutomi was purchased in 1998), Kovalev's obsession with the pipes themselves was often secondary to understanding the man/woman who made it; their personality, their creative processes. Untold hundreds of pipes were smoked and countless hours of research/correspondence took place. In Roman's own words, "This process was my 'pipe school'" While Dr. Kovalev's greatest admiration tends to lie with the Japanese masters, his pipes show a staggering breadth of aesthetic. Roman's desired results from sandblasting couldn't be achieved from normal blasters, so he made a unique device/system, 100% of his own design ("Aeroblast"). In search of interesting accessory material, he purchased powerful equipment and started experimenting with dozens of polymers, eventually settling on one which uses grass, moss, nuts, and various seeds as the media for polymerization. Whether your new Doctor's Pipe is briar or strawberry wood, you are investing in something both beautiful and revolutionary. Courtesy, R. Bear Graves for Smokingpipes.com
Also read this excellent interview with R. Bear Graves: Interview: Meet Roman Kovalev of Doctor's Pipes
Courtesy, SmokingPipes.com
A beautiful made billiard with titanium alloy, courtesy, Chip Fadeley collection and SmokingPipes.com
Contact Information:
Website E-mail: docpipes@gmail.com Skype name: coffeejazznv