Carole Burns from Pipeworks & Wilke on Radio Show of Aug 4, 2015

[admin]

Our Featured Interview on The Pipes Magazine Radio Show tonight is with Carole Burns from Pipeworks & Wilke which was established in old New York in 1872. Pipeworks & Wilke is now in Montpelier, Vermont. They have their own special blends that have stayed popular over the centuries and decades, and Carole has been the blender for many years. This ties-in with Pipe Parts. In "Pipe Parts", We will get back to our summer series on the history of tobacco, resuming in the 1650s. Health warnings and no-smoking laws started popping up, but so did smoking amongst the clergy, and churchwarden pipes.

 

[huntertrw]

Kevin:
This is, indeed, good news! Ms. Burns is a treasure, and I look forward to hearing Brian's conversation with her.

 

[admin]

I'm pretty psyched about it myself!

 

[pitchfork]

I'm pretty excited about this one, too.

 

[kcghost]

My first reaction was "Who the hell is she??". A quick look around and I find myself amongst the unknowing.

 

[Perique]

Bump for Pipeworks & Wilke!!

 

[newbroom]

I listened to the program last evening and thought it was interesting and informative as usual. Carol Burns has been involved with pipes and tobacco for many years and has stories about the evolution of blends she now mixes at her place in VT dating from back when the original shop was in NYC. I didn't know much about the pipe aspects of her business, except to know that she was married to a guy who was a master at hand made pipes and well respected by both smokers and collectors.

That Carol performed the finishing aspects of his creations for many years was news and also that her catalog of blend recipes extends to a bygone era when celebrities of 'the day' patronized the original store which was also operated by WOMEN, in NYC.

Her calm and friendly manner easily translated to the typically clumsy interview process so carefully crafted by Pipe Doctor Emeritus Brian Levine.

Her anecdotes about long time customers who actually preceded her ownership of this longstanding business were fun to hear.

This is a hobby and past time that has benefited tremendously through her dedication and obvious enjoyment of it, as well as her uniquely down to earth and matter of fact approach to it.

Thanks to Brian and Kevin for producing such a great program!

One of the really ironic tid bits came when Carol was asked if there was a blend she least liked.

Do yourself a favor and listen to the show while you peruse your various internet haunts or just sit in your chair buffing stems, and you'll feel better for it.

 

[dmcmtk]

Just listened to the show, great to hear from Carole!

 

[huntertrw]

Congratulations on an outstanding interview of Ms. Burns! I truly enjoyed hearing her discuss her Pipeworks & Wilke pipe-tobaccos, and also the history of the Wilke shop in New York City. She is truly a jack (Carole) of all trades: sourcing, blending, packaging, and shipping the tobaccos, restoring the pipes which she offers for sale on her Website (Pipeworks & Wilke), and reconditioning customers' pipes. As a one-woman shop I'm not certain when she finds time to sleep, but I am awfully glad that she does what she does, and I hope that she carries on for years to come.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I will open up the Podcast tonight. Enjoyed visiting the Wilkie Pipe Shop in NYC in the 60's.

 

[anchovyd]

Great show. Like just about everyone else here, I had no idea who Carole Burns was and had never heard of the Wilke Pipe Shop. She was great. After listening to the podcast and checking out some online reviews of their blends has me wanting to pull out my credit card and order all those numbered blends that sound delicious. Also thanks for the music, nice choice.
I've been catching up on your podcasts after finding out about it a few months ago and I do have one major critique. The opening and closing music is killing me. The Ozzy isn't bad but that choo-choo train intro is grating. I get the idea of why it is there, but was that the best quality train sample you could find? It sounds like it was recorded off of a distorted AM radio in the bathroom at Grand Central Station. The other thing that is killing me is the closing song with David Lee Roth singing Happy Trails, it makes me want to drive off the bridge to crash into a watery grave everytime is starts to play. I can't get to the skip button fast enough.
Finally just wanted to say that I listen to the podcast while commuting across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in New Orleans or while on training rides on my bicycle in Mandeville, Louisiana. Great show, just get the producer to tighten up those two things.
I don't just listen to the PipesMagazine Podcast, I comment on it,

AnchovyD