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Steven Books Opens The House of Calabash
Many of you may be fans of the pipe tobacco blends from Rich’s in Portland, Oregon. Those blends were originally created by Steven Books, who has now opened his own shop in Downtown Oregon City, Oregon, called The House of Calabash.
After a short break from the blending world, Steven has re-emerged and opened his own store where you can buy his hand-blended pipe tobaccos, pipes, pipe accessories and cigars!
As you walk into the store you are greeted with the sound of your footsteps on a hardwood plank floor, your eyes will be drawn to the old turn of the 19th to 20th century decor from floor to ceiling, your nose will fill with a veritable symphony of aromas from the hand-blended tobacco mixtures Mr. Books is so widely known for. Antique glass top counters brim with pipes and pipe tobaccos, along with some of Steven’s personal meerschaum collection on display. At the end of the store is the antique register with the familiar sounds of gears and the bell as an order is rung up. From your left as you enter you will be greeted by the master blender himself as he sits blending one of the in-house tobacco blends.
Currently running with eight in store blends that Mr. Books hand crafts from only the finest of natural tobaccos, the House of Calabash strives to meet its customers’ needs for only the best. With Virginias, Perique, Latakia, Burleys and Turkish tobaccos, Mr. Books has a broad selection to choose from. Do you have a blend your grandfather used to smoke but can’t find it or don’t know what it is? No tobacco’s secrets are safe in Steven’s hand. He can deconstruct the blends and recreate it for your smoking pleasure.
The House of Calabash will supply customers far and wide. With their brick and mortar based in Oregon, for residents of the Pacific Northwest, and Internet and phone orders for those who live too far away to walk in for their favorite tobaccos, Steven and his daughter Eva, have thought of everything to keep their clients happy, from support staff to take care of your mail order needs to literature in store for those new to pipe smoking.
The House of Calabash
214 7th Street
Oregon City, OR 97045
Phone: 503-387-5589
Fax : 503-387-3026
Ordering and Shipping 503-330-4991
Hours of Operation
Tuesday - Friday 10:00 am - 5:00 pm.
Saturday, 10:00 am. - 6:00 pm.
8 Responses to “Steven Books, Formerly of Rich’s, Opens His Own Shop”
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clanobucklin said:
Cool Post Kevin…Thanks for bringing this up for us. I am a big fan of Steven Books Blends. I had started purchasing his blends from Rich’s …only to learn that he left the store shortly thereafter. Bummer! So I stashed his blends in my Tobacco Library and thought to smoke them…sparingly. Happily I can smoke them up NOW! My personal favorites are City of Roses (now Wild Rose), Grandpa’s (now Grandfather’s), & Old Fashion 759…(Heavy English - don’t know if it will be offered). I encourage all Pipe Smoker’s to check his blends out - I rate Steven up there with Russ Oullette and Jack Peterson for quality. He is a master blender and gentleman…not to mention a heck of a nice guy. He will also custom blend tobaccos for those of us who have favorite blends that are no longer offered. Live Long and prosper Steven.
October 26th, 2011 at 1:38 pm
cortezattic said:
Thanks for the heads-up Kevin. I hope that Steven enjoys unlimited success so that I can remove my bookmark and simply take a link from the left hand column!
October 26th, 2011 at 4:05 pm
yohanan said:
Thank You for the information, I enjoy trying out new blends of tobacco, especially if pipesmagazine recommends them, I have been fortunate on where to I buy tobaccos. Before I joined pipesmagazine, I usually searched online and tried different places, I was pleased to find out that all the ones I have purchased from are either site sponsors or the are highly recommended by members, House of Calabash is on my list.
October 26th, 2011 at 5:11 pm
Chrono said:
Glad to see a new tobacconist! Best of luck to him
October 26th, 2011 at 5:35 pm
clanobucklin said:
Here is a link where you can hear Steven Books talk about his aprenticeship and tobaccos from the past.
http://houseofcalabash.com/2011/09
October 26th, 2011 at 6:08 pm
Fred said:
Good to see Steven up and in the business. I’ve enjoyed his blends for years…!
October 26th, 2011 at 7:33 pm
Funn said:
Can’t wait to call him & order some of his blends. not to mention a couple of ,no longer made blends….for him to deconstruct,and reconstruct.
Funn
November 6th, 2011 at 5:15 am
clanobucklin said:
I just ordered 7 different blends (about a quarter an ounce) for around 20 bucks to try.
November 6th, 2011 at 1:48 pm