I'm sure Kevin will get us a insider look at the show soon but in the meantime I'll share my report.
The 2011 CPCC show is in the books. In these challenging times for smokers the show committee does a outstanding job in putting on a great show. The dealers I know had good shows even without selling out early to the foreign buyers who came loaded with cash and bought out many carvers and dealers early in the week. I heard some grumbling but I heard many more agree that a sale is a sale and that's the name of the game I guess.
I headed out Fri in the predawn mist hoping to arrive when the doors opened, hit a heavy t-storm in Rockford but arrived in St. Charles in bright humid sunshine. I walked through the pre show, a bit surprised by a few empty tables and what seemed lighter than normal traffic. I didn't see any must have pipes but I did enjoy catching up with many including Keith Moore who told me about an upcoming video project he has in the works. I've enjoyed Keith's other pipe related videos back in the day and expect this one to be a winner too. I spent most of the day in the tent visiting with many collectors including my fellow SFers daveinyork and Mike (Castello) Rothenberg.
I lined up for CPCC's famous welcome dinner with my usual dinner companions, friends from the Milwaukee Area Pipe Society (MAPS). No rubber chicken dinner here. A crisp salad, vegetable medley, pasta, almond crusted fish and med rare roast beef in a delicious mushroom sauce were offered. I managed to over do with the awesome desert selections. Fruit tarts, cakes and pies including the Key Lime, every year a highlight and the best I've ever had!
My roommate and friend John and I did our yearly top down room crawl. All in all the traffic was light but the weather had cooled off and I'll bet many were in the tent enjoying a pipe. The beer and spirits were flowing and generously offered in all the rooms. John found a pipe in Rick from Ye Olde's penthouse suite they were selling a huge estate along with their great selection. I spotted a pipe in Smokinpipes room that got me thinking.
After we worked our way down to the lobby we headed back upstairs to Chuck Rio's smoke filled room where we enjoyed the night in the company of many collectors. When the room broke up we headed back to the tent for a nightcap.
We settled in when a deadly medical situation happened at practically my feet. This fellow had barely hit the floor when two medical professionals were saving his life. Yeah, it was bad but these guys, one is a well known collector and SF member took over and dragged this guy back from the clutches of the grim reaper before my eyes. They were amazing, the teamwork, true hero's!
After a fitful couple of hours I woke up at my regular 5am I wish I could have slept in but I got up and went to the tent for coffee and a pipe. I hung out there till I drove to the Metra station to pick up a young collector who posted on T&P for a ride to his first pipe show. I enjoyed visiting with him on the short ride back to the resort. We shared a good laugh, he had posted a photo of a new bag he had bought, he got some ribbing for sporting a murse (shoulder bag) I assured him he would be in fashion at a pipe show!
I had thought about the pipe I spotted last night and decided to add it to the collection if it was still available. When I got in the show I headed to the Smokingpipes table and picked it up, a long shank Wolfgang Becker. I have a few of Wolfgang's pipes in the collection and I really like his work. Most of the collection is conservative shapes so these asymmetrical pipes are a real highlite.
For lunch I walked over to Portillo's for beef and Italian sausage sammiches. A delicious taste of Chi!
I got back to the show and watched a friends table for awhile, his table was across from Pipe Smokers Magazine I enjoyed a brief visit with Pipe Babe Cynthia, she was a beautiful and able representative for PSM for the weekend.
I did some bidding in the silent auction and won 3 tampers. Two are cool creations from studio of wood artist Ann Terp White and for the third year in a row I won Wolfgang Becker's tamper. Friend and fellow Castello collector Mike Gaffney does a great job running the auction. He is a master of working up a last minute bidding frenzy.
I attended the 4 o'clock SF meet and greet it was nice to meet Crichton and Tallman along with old friends Mike Rothenberg and Dave Welber, Neill Roan and Craig Cobine. This was a great idea promoted by Mike Rothenberg I hope we continue this in coming years I know we could have quadrupled of members who I know were at the show but forgot or didn't know about the event. I kept my chair and was in the front row for the Balkan Sobraine throwdown. Russ O of H&H "won" in what I was told later was a split decision. I bought the BS sample and will do a private throw down at home some rainy weekend day soon!
The cigar dinner was a good time John and I sat with Doctor of Pipes Fred Janusek and his lovely wife Loretta, future Dr. of Pipes Fred Heim, Gary and his son Max from eBay's Second Hand Smoke we enjoyed a med rare tenderloin mashed potatoes with an artistic herb spray that was as good looking as it was delicious. Endless bottles of wine kept us merry as Merak (sp?) of BAC pipe entertained on the piano. Paul Creasy of Altadis USA and well known Richmond carver and dealer John Eels were awarded The Doctor of Pipes. The tickets include a generous cigar goodie bag with a handful of premium cigars a tin and many large samples of pipe tobacco.
Full and tired I headed upstairs to attend Neill Archer Roan's presentation on The Thermodynamics of Pipe Smoking. I read his Passion for Pipes article on this subject and was very interested in what he could do with this in person. Well I'll tell you what I'm no rocket scientist but he got his points though and I was entertained!
I never knew what was going on in a bowl of tobacco before, I learned what you see glowing has nothing to do with taste that's just getting burned it's all about what's heating up around the ember and the airflow around it.
The smoke filled room was filled by the time I got upstairs. We had a good time passing around pipes checking out what the guys brought for inspection. Some outstanding looking, massive Cooke's, Castello's and Dunhill's passed through my hands my little offerings paled in comparison. We made the tent just in time for last call and a thankfully uneventful beer and conversation.
Sunday morning I took a close look at the glass cases, good friends Fred Heim displayed his briar calabash collection John Seiler his hawkbill/donkeynut collection and Brad McCluskey's magnum collection including many Cooke's and Castello's. These are all outstanding and important collections and worthy of the honor.
Pipe furniture was of interest to me this year two really caught my eye. The wood samples and pictures of prototypes that Scott Stultz had on his table looked just like what I've always wanted to hold and display my collection I hope these make it to some sort of production. The other were unique racks made by my friend Gary Garcia of GG racks. I was very impressed with his design. I've never seen a rack like it. No putzy wiggling a pipe into place with these, just a natural cradle that works well with larger pipes. Quality craftsmanship, good prices and a great looking finish these racks look like a winner.
I walked the show for a hour or so with friend, collector, pipe writer and true student of pipes Rich Esserman. Rich has a great eye for shape and proportion, I enjoy spending time and learning from him.
We had a scheduled Pipechat meet and greet Sunday Duke, Team S&B and Airnbjorn and I had a nice visit and put some faces to names. Duke had a solid collection of Lee Erck's pipes that he brought along.
The pipe I had picked out in St. Louis and had expected to buy was not there. Back surgery prevented the dealer from traveling to the show so I will have to mail order it but later in the day I did manage to pick up a Castello Sea Rock Virgin with a red saddle stem for the collection. I was then overwhelmed by a gift from a friend. Sometime ago I had commented that I didn't have any older Castello's with a registration number in the collection. He presented me with a beautiful little 15 army mount Sea Rock that is in very good/excellent condition with super crisp nomenclature! A treasured gift and a great addition to the collection!!
We had our yearly Sunday night dinner at Pheasant Run's Harvest Restaurant. John Goldberg, Chuck Rio, Rex Poggenpohl, Mike Gaffney, Rich Esserman and I found out what lengths our cute server with short arms will go to to get my plate of breaded pork chops to the middle seat and to get us ice cream! She is a bartender who was pressed into table service on short notice with a table of men who demanded their ice cream. She was not shy and a real hoot.
With full bellies and ice cream stains on our shirts we waddled back upstairs for the big event of the weekend, show and tell! All the new pipes get passed around, some great looking higher end Charatans, Danish, Barlings were passed around but the last pipe was the highlite a very rare 1970 Sixten horn in a never before seen shape. I was very happy for this collector this rare pipe belongs in his collection and not shipped overseas never to be seen again.
The room went late and goodbys are hard but we know we will all meet again in a smoke filled room sooner or later. 8O
The 2011 CPCC show is in the books. In these challenging times for smokers the show committee does a outstanding job in putting on a great show. The dealers I know had good shows even without selling out early to the foreign buyers who came loaded with cash and bought out many carvers and dealers early in the week. I heard some grumbling but I heard many more agree that a sale is a sale and that's the name of the game I guess.
I headed out Fri in the predawn mist hoping to arrive when the doors opened, hit a heavy t-storm in Rockford but arrived in St. Charles in bright humid sunshine. I walked through the pre show, a bit surprised by a few empty tables and what seemed lighter than normal traffic. I didn't see any must have pipes but I did enjoy catching up with many including Keith Moore who told me about an upcoming video project he has in the works. I've enjoyed Keith's other pipe related videos back in the day and expect this one to be a winner too. I spent most of the day in the tent visiting with many collectors including my fellow SFers daveinyork and Mike (Castello) Rothenberg.
I lined up for CPCC's famous welcome dinner with my usual dinner companions, friends from the Milwaukee Area Pipe Society (MAPS). No rubber chicken dinner here. A crisp salad, vegetable medley, pasta, almond crusted fish and med rare roast beef in a delicious mushroom sauce were offered. I managed to over do with the awesome desert selections. Fruit tarts, cakes and pies including the Key Lime, every year a highlight and the best I've ever had!
My roommate and friend John and I did our yearly top down room crawl. All in all the traffic was light but the weather had cooled off and I'll bet many were in the tent enjoying a pipe. The beer and spirits were flowing and generously offered in all the rooms. John found a pipe in Rick from Ye Olde's penthouse suite they were selling a huge estate along with their great selection. I spotted a pipe in Smokinpipes room that got me thinking.
After we worked our way down to the lobby we headed back upstairs to Chuck Rio's smoke filled room where we enjoyed the night in the company of many collectors. When the room broke up we headed back to the tent for a nightcap.
We settled in when a deadly medical situation happened at practically my feet. This fellow had barely hit the floor when two medical professionals were saving his life. Yeah, it was bad but these guys, one is a well known collector and SF member took over and dragged this guy back from the clutches of the grim reaper before my eyes. They were amazing, the teamwork, true hero's!
After a fitful couple of hours I woke up at my regular 5am I wish I could have slept in but I got up and went to the tent for coffee and a pipe. I hung out there till I drove to the Metra station to pick up a young collector who posted on T&P for a ride to his first pipe show. I enjoyed visiting with him on the short ride back to the resort. We shared a good laugh, he had posted a photo of a new bag he had bought, he got some ribbing for sporting a murse (shoulder bag) I assured him he would be in fashion at a pipe show!
I had thought about the pipe I spotted last night and decided to add it to the collection if it was still available. When I got in the show I headed to the Smokingpipes table and picked it up, a long shank Wolfgang Becker. I have a few of Wolfgang's pipes in the collection and I really like his work. Most of the collection is conservative shapes so these asymmetrical pipes are a real highlite.
For lunch I walked over to Portillo's for beef and Italian sausage sammiches. A delicious taste of Chi!
I got back to the show and watched a friends table for awhile, his table was across from Pipe Smokers Magazine I enjoyed a brief visit with Pipe Babe Cynthia, she was a beautiful and able representative for PSM for the weekend.
I did some bidding in the silent auction and won 3 tampers. Two are cool creations from studio of wood artist Ann Terp White and for the third year in a row I won Wolfgang Becker's tamper. Friend and fellow Castello collector Mike Gaffney does a great job running the auction. He is a master of working up a last minute bidding frenzy.
I attended the 4 o'clock SF meet and greet it was nice to meet Crichton and Tallman along with old friends Mike Rothenberg and Dave Welber, Neill Roan and Craig Cobine. This was a great idea promoted by Mike Rothenberg I hope we continue this in coming years I know we could have quadrupled of members who I know were at the show but forgot or didn't know about the event. I kept my chair and was in the front row for the Balkan Sobraine throwdown. Russ O of H&H "won" in what I was told later was a split decision. I bought the BS sample and will do a private throw down at home some rainy weekend day soon!
The cigar dinner was a good time John and I sat with Doctor of Pipes Fred Janusek and his lovely wife Loretta, future Dr. of Pipes Fred Heim, Gary and his son Max from eBay's Second Hand Smoke we enjoyed a med rare tenderloin mashed potatoes with an artistic herb spray that was as good looking as it was delicious. Endless bottles of wine kept us merry as Merak (sp?) of BAC pipe entertained on the piano. Paul Creasy of Altadis USA and well known Richmond carver and dealer John Eels were awarded The Doctor of Pipes. The tickets include a generous cigar goodie bag with a handful of premium cigars a tin and many large samples of pipe tobacco.
Full and tired I headed upstairs to attend Neill Archer Roan's presentation on The Thermodynamics of Pipe Smoking. I read his Passion for Pipes article on this subject and was very interested in what he could do with this in person. Well I'll tell you what I'm no rocket scientist but he got his points though and I was entertained!
I never knew what was going on in a bowl of tobacco before, I learned what you see glowing has nothing to do with taste that's just getting burned it's all about what's heating up around the ember and the airflow around it.
The smoke filled room was filled by the time I got upstairs. We had a good time passing around pipes checking out what the guys brought for inspection. Some outstanding looking, massive Cooke's, Castello's and Dunhill's passed through my hands my little offerings paled in comparison. We made the tent just in time for last call and a thankfully uneventful beer and conversation.
Sunday morning I took a close look at the glass cases, good friends Fred Heim displayed his briar calabash collection John Seiler his hawkbill/donkeynut collection and Brad McCluskey's magnum collection including many Cooke's and Castello's. These are all outstanding and important collections and worthy of the honor.
Pipe furniture was of interest to me this year two really caught my eye. The wood samples and pictures of prototypes that Scott Stultz had on his table looked just like what I've always wanted to hold and display my collection I hope these make it to some sort of production. The other were unique racks made by my friend Gary Garcia of GG racks. I was very impressed with his design. I've never seen a rack like it. No putzy wiggling a pipe into place with these, just a natural cradle that works well with larger pipes. Quality craftsmanship, good prices and a great looking finish these racks look like a winner.
I walked the show for a hour or so with friend, collector, pipe writer and true student of pipes Rich Esserman. Rich has a great eye for shape and proportion, I enjoy spending time and learning from him.
We had a scheduled Pipechat meet and greet Sunday Duke, Team S&B and Airnbjorn and I had a nice visit and put some faces to names. Duke had a solid collection of Lee Erck's pipes that he brought along.
The pipe I had picked out in St. Louis and had expected to buy was not there. Back surgery prevented the dealer from traveling to the show so I will have to mail order it but later in the day I did manage to pick up a Castello Sea Rock Virgin with a red saddle stem for the collection. I was then overwhelmed by a gift from a friend. Sometime ago I had commented that I didn't have any older Castello's with a registration number in the collection. He presented me with a beautiful little 15 army mount Sea Rock that is in very good/excellent condition with super crisp nomenclature! A treasured gift and a great addition to the collection!!
We had our yearly Sunday night dinner at Pheasant Run's Harvest Restaurant. John Goldberg, Chuck Rio, Rex Poggenpohl, Mike Gaffney, Rich Esserman and I found out what lengths our cute server with short arms will go to to get my plate of breaded pork chops to the middle seat and to get us ice cream! She is a bartender who was pressed into table service on short notice with a table of men who demanded their ice cream. She was not shy and a real hoot.
With full bellies and ice cream stains on our shirts we waddled back upstairs for the big event of the weekend, show and tell! All the new pipes get passed around, some great looking higher end Charatans, Danish, Barlings were passed around but the last pipe was the highlite a very rare 1970 Sixten horn in a never before seen shape. I was very happy for this collector this rare pipe belongs in his collection and not shipped overseas never to be seen again.
The room went late and goodbys are hard but we know we will all meet again in a smoke filled room sooner or later. 8O
