I was just reading an interview with/about him the other day and tried reaching out to him for a pipe. I actually checked my email a few times today and yesterday in hopes to see a reply. I don’t think I’ll see one. Double darn.
He made that decision some time ago. There is a sale of part of his pipe collection on the Vermont Freehand site. Some really nice pipes with an interesting history are available and prices have been reduced.
He stopped a few months ago. I had commissions with him that he couldn’t complete and which I fully understood why he couldn’t but our pastime is poorer for his withdrawal.
Steve Norse at Vermont Freehand started selling some of JT's pipe collection earlier this summer and announced JT's retirement then. I don't remember how I heard about it.