Jönsson

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Lars Jönsson

From Jan Andersson's excellent book, Scandinavian Pipemakers

Lars Jönsson is a passionate sailor and actually that interest made him a pipemaker. During a sailing tour in 1998 he decided to spend the night in Taarbeckon Sealand. In the evening he went to a restaurant, located close to the harbor, where he met a cheerful and talkative Dane. The two were sitting in the restaurant for several hours, and when Lars heard that his new friend was a pipemaker, he was surprised--he did not even know that any existed today. As Lars had been working wiwth wood all his life, his interest was awakened. The two decided to meet the following morning so htat lars could see his friend's workshop, which was situated close to the harbor. That workshop belonged to Tom Eltang.

Smooth Shield, courtesy, Smokingpipes.com

A skilled woodworker

Lars Jönsson was born in 1955, and has been working with wood his entire career, amking furniture, ornaments, towy and many other items, and he is also a specialist at renovating windows on old houses. Tom Eltang say his ability as a woodworker and asked him to make a casket for one of his 7-day sets. And in 2008, when the pipemakers in the Pipe Club of Sweden made such a set, Lars was asked to make the case that as well.

Smooth Bent Apple, courtesy, Smokingpipes.com
Rusticated Tomato, courtesy, Smokingpipes.com

After that first meeting, Lars and Tom got together frequently and used to sail together in the summers. One time when Lars was visiting Tom's workshop the telephone rang. It was Tom's friend, Per Billhall. Tom said to Per that he had a lot of pipes that needed to be rusticated, and he had some problems with that because of pain in his shoulders. Per, who now Lars, then said, "Why don't you ask Lars to do it?" Tom though it was a good idea, and having thought about it for a while, so did Lars.

A club pipe was the start

Making rustications was Lars's introduction to pipe-making. Tom was pleased with Lars's work, and , step by step, he was given more tasks, and in that way Lars learned all the various operations it takes to make a pipe. He also got much help from Hans "Former" Nielsen. Lars states how happy he is to have been taught the craft by two of the very best in the profession. Lars has mainly been working with pipes on the Sara Eltang series, but lately also with pipes in a new series called Former-Eltang. That last series is a result of a cooperation between those two pipemakers.

In 2011 Lasrs was asked to make a club pipe for the Pipe Club of Seden. Lars was hesitant at first, but after a while he accepted. He made a prototype that immediately was approved by the memvers. A hard time began as no less than 58 pipes were ordered. But it was an important step--it was the start for Lars as an independent pipemaker.

A name with a history

Lars live in a village called Lomma., located just north of Malmö. That name has a grand history when it comes to pipemaking, s the legendary Sixten Ivarsson was born there. Lars is the fourth generation of his family to live in Lomma, so it was natural for Lars to call his pipes by the name of his hometown.

The earlier mentioned club pipe was fie first that Lars designed and made all by himself. Since then, he has started to create new shapes and I am confident that in the near future, we will hear a lot more about pipes stamped Lomma Sweeden.


*This pipe will actually sit balanced upon its narrow pedestal or base. No mean feat considering the short shank and delicate stem that must counterbalance the broad, expanding bowl. This alone speaks volumes for Lars' design prowess and attention to detail as a pipemaker of the highest caliber. Photos by Smokingpipes.com

A beautful cased set from the Lomapipes website

Contact Information:

Website: http://lommapipes.dinstudio.se/
Mobil/Phone:0707-333041
E-Mail: lommapipes@hotmail.com