re; Chicago 2008 Report (long)

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."
Charles Dickens - A tale Of Two Cities.

The 2008 Chicago Pipe Show is over. I started with the quote from Dickens, as it seems to best sum up the state of pipe smoking and shows in the world today.

The Pheasant Run Hotel was totally booked and they booked the overrun five adjacent hotels. I was told on checking in, on Wend. So, I knew immediately that the show would have a good turnout.

Jay Jones and I, when checking in were told that all the smoking rooms were in the far wings, (South Forty), so Jay and I both decide we would stay in the central tower. As neither of us could see pipe smokers on Thursday and Friday night taking a ¼ mile hike to look at pipes in a room where they could smoke. A correct guess it turned out on our parts.

Wednesday the pipe maker’s workshop started in the afternoon and I went to visit. Brian Ruthenberg was doing a great job coaching and encouraging budding piper makers. Phil Brown was there in an apron and busy working on two billiards, as was another 10-12 junior pipe makers. The atmosphere as cheery with nary a curse even though I know that some pipers must been cursing the wood or their skills by the look on their faces.

The pipe-making workshop continued on Thursday but unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to visit again, nor did I get to see the final results of their efforts. Making a pipe is hard work and getting a good finish and fit, obviously, takes a great deal of skill and experience. But a good time was had by all.

Thursday, many of us opened our rooms in the late afternoon. I had a steady flow of customers and old friends visiting all evening. We closed at 11 PM and I went down to the 4,000 square foot smoking tent that adjoined the Mega Center Hall. It was packed. The tent was great, with tables and chairs, in one section, sofas and armchairs in another; it also had a bar and a buffet. So, it was ideal for eating, drinking, smoking and general conviviality, of which there was plenty.

Later that evening an ill wind blew and a crisis developed. A legal challenge was issue by the Sate of Illinois, I believe, as to whether it was legal to smoke in the Mega Canter. The CPCC executive went into huddle and had to decide whether to chance having the show shut down on Saturday, especially with press coming, or whether to unilaterally ban smoking in the Mega Center and only have smoking in tent. They decided on the tent only. This turned out to be a wise decision. I will elaborate on this later.

I left the still packed tent bar around 12:30. Friday morning I decided as normal to just be a tourist at the pre show and enjoy looking at other peoples pipes talking with collectors, and pipe makers. So, I didn’t wander into the Mega Center till around 10 AM, and it was busy. I saw lots of great looking pipes and some not so great looking, from all over. But when it comes to pipes beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder. There didn’t seem to be a lot of buying going on but a lot of tire kicking.

Samuel Gawith had a limited edition Squadron Leader for sale, 500 tins only. This limited edition was Squadron Leader with Perique. The last time they made it with Perique was in 1921. I picked up 10 tins and returned to the smoking tent to sample it. The tent was filled with smokers but it being a tent it was not stifling with smoke. Nothing like a tent for ventilation.

Not normally being Perique fan I was a little dubious as to whether I would like it, but being a fan of the normal SQ I figured it as worth trying. On lighting up and after few puffs I found the Perique was handled just right, it was there but in a subtle way. Not overpowering but with a delicate presence that enhances the blend. Somebody at Gawith has a very refined palate.

Frank Burla asked me how I liked the tent and I told him it was great. He further asked if I found it cold and I said, “no”. He then told me they had to turn on the heat at 7 AM for some early morning breakfast smokers. Well, I guess that early it must be a bit cool but I prefer to be warm abed at that time.

Returning to the Mega Center hall I got down to the serious business of looking at pipes. I saw some fantastic work by the newer generation of German pipe makers, but more on this later. Paolo Becker was there as was Bruto Sardino and Erik, Toni, and Kai Nielsen many American pipe makers and others showing their wares.

I was actually hunting for some vintage tobacco at reasonable price but had no luck. There was a real dearth of Vintage Tins at any price. That changed on Sunday when I found 3 tins of Dunhill/Murray’s Standard Mixture Mild, 5 tins of Dunhill Standard Mixture Medium, Royal Warrant and a tin of Ashton Celebrated Sovereign, Made in England.

I have had the Celebrated Sovereign made by McClelland’s that I liked and the one now made in Germany, didn’t like as much. The original Made in England I find a bit too sweet, which I guess is caused by the “Scotch Pressed” black Cavendish. That’s part of the pleasure of our hobby the endless variety of dried leaves to smoke.

Bob Swanson was exhibiting in his Perry White pipes, named after his grandfather. Transitioning from a collector to a pipe maker. The pipes are very reminiscent of the old large Charatan Supremes. Not surprising as that what he used to collect. They looked well executed.

It was great to see Greg Clemons there again after his sojourn in Iraq. His pipe making is coming along very nicely since he started a few years ago. He tends to make larger pipes. For him it is totally a labor of love.
http://www.clemonsbr...

I looked at Peter Heddings’s pipe and thought they very well done in the classic Danish dainty pipe style(s)). I found that after 7 years of looking at Danish pipes they lacked certain freshness. Yet, they certainly have their fans. I just prefer my pipes to have a certain robustness of look.

Ian Walker displayed a goodly assortment of his Northern Briars pipes and I picked out an excellent selection to replenish my stock. In due course they will be on–line.

Many of us missed the high-energy presence of Patrick Dennis, who normally runs the pipe-making workshop, and was unable to attend, as was my right hand Chicago Pipe Show man, Al Ford. Hopefully they will make it next year. With Patrick not there his Brotherhood of The Briar pins, T-Shirts, pins and underwear were unavailable. I was hoping to pick up some of the underwear as they are really excellent quality.

On another note, it is unlikely there will be a Kansas City Show this year due to a bureaucratic foul-up, not by KPC. As Quinton Wells, who was there with his very pretty daughter, told me, “ if I can’t put on the quality of show we need, than we won’t put it on”. The good news is that Quinton feels certain he will be able to put on an excellent 2009 show.

Overall, the pre show was well attended and a number of pipe makers sold pipes, I was told. So I guess there was less tire kicking than it appeared?

Friday afternoon I met with Bill Taylor and picked out some more Ashton’s’. I also enjoy any time spent with Bill, as he is such a pleasure to deal with. We also discussed his forthcoming 25th Anniversary Pipe. A XXX Billiard, with a commemorative engraved silver band in a fitted case, a certificate number as each is stamped & individually numbered out a hundred only. The finish will be a sandblast in Pebble Grain, Old Church and hopefully a few Virgins. Price between $ 550- $600.00. Very few will be available, because Germany & Italy have committed to take so many. If you want one I suggest you email me to reserve yours. The Ashton 25Th Anniversary pipe(s) will be available in early June.

We opened our room from 4-7 PM, closed for the banquet 7- 8.00 PM and then reopened till 11 PM. We were busy the whole time. We had shipped down ahead of time many pouches of Compton’s. Half was sold on Friday and by Saturday afternoon, there was virtually nothing left. Next year I will ship down twice as much. We sold a gorgeous Shaabi on Friday night and the purchaser has already told me how well it smokes. I was somewhat sad to part with that Shaabi as I had my eye on it. But even a pipe dealer cannot own all the pipes he covets.

My wife, Lana, went off to the ladies 9 PM event where they made clocks from cigar boxes. When she came back, I was the proud owner of a piece of genuine Americana.

Friday after we closed I went down to the tent fro a while to socialize and smoke. The tent was full. I sat down with Jim Vowell and Brian Ruthenberg. Brian had just delivered a really beautiful Virgin sandblast ¼ bent to Jim. I think Brian is one of Americas’ top pipe makers, especially considering his very reasonable prices. The three of us chatted and solved the world’s problems amid much good humor. Later I had a final drink with Lee Von Erck and Ed Andrews. We discussed the sate of the pipe world. We seemed to agree that there were more pipe makers than ever before but a shortage of pipe buyers to acquire all those pipes. Nobody was complaining, just a collective observation. We all expect a bit of a shakeout among retailers, distributors and possibly even pipe makers, with the economy being what is. Time will tell. I found out more about this on Saturday and Sunday.

Part Two Of Chicago 2008 Show Report.

Saturday was show time. Like most exhibitors, I was down in the Mega Center by 8:30 to give us enough time to set up before the official opening at 10 AM. It was also to allow myself and other dealers to select our next bunch of Castellos. Marco Parescenzo laid out a mouth-watering collection of Castellos for us to choose from. It was fun deciding with another dealer who got what pipes, as no two are the same. I picked out a goodly group and went back to my three tables to put them out. Fortunately, my wife Lana had accompanied me so she was laying out the pipes while I picked.

After we set up and I had wrestled our overhead banner into place I found my immediate neighbors were, Bill Taylor, Baldo Baldi, Kurt Balleby and Erik Nording, who was attending his 1st Chicago show ever. So, I knew I was in good company. Then I had a little bit of time to have a walk about and see who, what, when where and why in a perfunctory way.

There were a number of familiar faces missing, especially many from the normally large Italian contingent. From the German group, Rainer Barbi was unable to make it because of a broken leg, we all missed his lively personality, (get well sooner Rainer) the irrepressible Achim Frank and the S. Bang team and Peter Heeschen. Fortunately, Rolf Ostendorff was there, one of our more lively German colleagues. I had a chance to sit down with him on Saturday and we enjoyed a drink and smoke while he gave me his new theory of who is running or ruining our world. He wasn’t totally wrong.

I noticed when I went outside for a moment that the line-up waiting to get in when the doors opened was the largest I have ever seen. That seemed to confirm my experience of Thursday and Friday nights in the room. There were a lot of collectors in town!

One group of exhibitors whose pipes caught my eye, immediately, was the younger generation German pipe makers. Frank Axmacher, Cornelius Maenz, (the most practiced among them), and Jurgen Moritz. I examined their pipes carefully and was delighted with what I saw. There was a freshness of style, superb execution and mastery of craft in every pipe. The German tradition of meticulous craftsmanship and design continues, with the younger generation.

To me the new German carvers form the next chapter in the Northern European pipe carving tradition. It stated with the Danes, (e.g. Sixten Ivarson), with new shapings and ideas, then simultaneously with much overlap the 2nd generation of Danish carvers evolved and the German carvers took these ideas in new directions and now the second generation of German carvers develop the stylistic concepts further.

I was absolutely determined that I had to have some of their pipes to offer. Also, I liked the fact that their prices were quite reasonable priced compared to the older generation of German pipe makers. Unfortunately, none of them had many pipes, as their output is limited. By Sunday, I had managed to purchase some from Jurgen Moritz. In the near future, I hope to be able to offer more pipes from these and other younger German pipe makers. Jurgen Moritzs’ are on-line at www.pipes2smoke.com

The doors opened and the collectors and pipe smokers poured in. In minutes, the hall went from empty to full. The rest of the day went by in a blur. I was busy non-stop at my tables. So, I didn’t have a chance to circulate on Saturday. The no smoking in the hall was actually pleasant as it meant the air wasn’t stifling and my skin and clothes weren’t saturated with a brown sticky muck. The minor inconvenience of having to go to the tent or outside to smoke made me, and I am sure many others, appreciate our smoke more. The CPCC made the right decision on Thursday to ban smoking in the Mega Center so the show would not be arbitrarily closed down by the, self appointed morality guardians.

What was nice to see was the ever-growing British contingent and more German collectors as well as members of the Madrid and Barcelona pipe clubs. The show and hobby has truly become international.

Saturday night after a pleasant dinner, I went down to the tent to smoke and socialize. I took with me a Honduran Punch Royal Coronation to enjoy. It seemed appropriate with so many attendees from the cigar dinner going to the tent, to enjoy a final cigar, many in tuxedos that added a touch of class to the venue. I had purchased the cigars when crossing the border because I was curious how they compared to the Cuban Punch, as the Hondurans are not available in Canada. We are stuck here in the North with, pretty much, Cubans only. It was a good cigar but lacked the smoothness, subtleties, and silkiness of the Cuban Punch’s. There is no substitute for Cuba’s’ unique climate and soil. It’s all in the leaf. I had a chance to talk with Tad Gage about this, (when I don’t remember), and he in general agreed with me. That when a Cuban cigar is right, it’s pretty hard to beat. Personally, I think it’s impossible to better them.

Sunday.

It was, as always, somewhat quieter but it gave me a chance to chat with many colleagues, pipe makers, dealer’s, distributors etc. JT Cook had as always, sold out. Other American pipe makers I chatted with seemed to be doing well, including John Crosby Rad Davis, Paul Bonaquisti, Steve Morrisette, Bruce Weaver and J. Allen. Its great to see so many American pipe makers. Lots of talent there.

The Chinese wholesale buyers who were there, came by, and cleared me out of a lot of pipes. They had also cleaned out Bill Taylor and others. There seems to be a voracious market for pipes in China. Which is all to the good. A Chinese pipe market seemed inconceivable a few years ago but what a welcome change it is to have at least one growing pipe market.

There were a few Japanese retailers there as well. They came by my table and wanted to buy one pipe for more than 50% less than the marked price. I found that really odd behavior. Maybe they don’t know what costs are?

By Sunday afternoon, I realized that there were a fair number of new and/or younger pipe smokers who I had not seen before. The next generation. I find this most heartening. As there is a new generation of pipe makers in the USA and Germany it makes sense that there is a younger generation of pipe smokers coming into the hobby, as well.

As the show began to wind down in the afternoon, I had a chance to circulate and learn more about the state of the pipe world. I was told that RD Field is transitioning from pipe distribution to belt buckles! At the end of the show I was told by a knowledgeable CPCC member that two dealers /distributors, he would not be more specific, wouldn't be back next year as they are closing down and two other exhibitors also would not be back for similar reasons.

I think it is a combination of a few factors. One there are fewer places to smoke, hence somewhat less demand from pipe smokers, two, the internet has certainly affected bricks & mortar stores especially the smaller ones that cannot afford to keep a significant inventory of quality pipes. The internet has made the role of the pipe distributor less and less important. This has the benefit of lowering prices for the pipe collector/buyer. The same as has happened with books being sold by Amazon. Pipes are, especially in the higher end, being sold with less distance, (mark-ups by middlemen), between the pipe maker and the consumer. All to the good for the collector.

Some would argue that distributor has an important role in promoting and introducing new brands or makers to the market. And distributors are the biggest advertisers in Pipes and Tobacco magazine, but we live in a changing world. P&T will adapt, I am sure. There has never been more artisan pipe-makers nor has it ever been easier for the collector/smoker to find quality pipes because of the Internet. The internet itself is a marketing tool. I believe that anything that makes quality pipes cheaper and more accessible for collectors is good.

The third factor is EBay. It has made the estate market available worldwide. The down side of EBay, is that as they have pointed out, all collectibles, including pipes, have been steadily declining in their selling prices over the past five years. A question of supply exceeding demand for estates, I presume. The risk is that EBay may destroy some of the market for new pipes. Especially with some major EBay sellers, trying to buy, new pipes, direct from the makers. A pipe maker who sells directly to an EBay seller is likely to destroy his own market.

A number of exhibitors told me that they did not have a good show; but with so many variables, it’s hard to know the why of a pipe show. I know that Castello, Chuck Levy of Iwan Ries, the German pipe makers, Tony Soderman, who I did not have a chance to have a good talk with, but we promised to catch up in Milwaukee, and myself had a good show amongst others.

One thing that is constant, collectors are continually revising and changing, their collections and brands go in and out of favor. By and large, there are not many collectors who really want 300 pipes from the same maker, not that there is anything wrong with this, but I think variety is the spice of life.

The CPCC guys told me, on Sunday, that more people attended the show than every before, somewhere around 3 - 4,000 attendees in total. So there were certainly enough pipe collectors, for an exhibitor to have a good show.

One pipe colleague pointed out that he thinks that collectors are far more knowledgeable these days and sophisticated in their tastes. Years ago, he said, guys kind of bought in volume at the show, but today many collectors have built their collections, thinned out what they don’t want and are looking for very specific pieces. This to me makes a lot of sense. Or as another collector put it, “how many standard Billiards do you need”.
Overall, I think that while the pie, over here, isn’t getting any bigger the selection of quality pipes easily available to the smoker is better than ever.

Sunday night, the New York Pipe Club gang was having a rollicking good time in the tent. Some were attending their first Chicago and were obviously enjoying it. They were treating everyone at their table to drinks. Overall, it was very busy show and I never had a chance to have a chin wag with Skip Elliot, Derek Green, Premal and many friend and colleagues who were there.

Throughout, Thursday – Sunday night, the tent was full and lively all the time. Hats off to the CPCC to have had the foresight to set up the tent.

All attendees thanks should go to the CPCC executive for the Herculean effort they put into making Chicago the greatest pipe show in the world, open to the public. A special thank you is in order, to Linda and Craig Cobine who each year put in a lot of time and effort to make the annual Friday night ladies event a continuing success. If the ladies are happy than the men are. Last but not least, to Frank Burla who has made his labor of love into a full time job.

Be Well
Smoke Well
Best Maxim

"All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire"
Aristotle
Greek critic, philosopher, physicist, & zoologist (384 BC - 322 BC)

Maxim Engel