Dan Gabrieli Pipes, I loved the interactions with him, and he really listened to what I was wanting, met my desire, and even was able to add his own aesthetic to the design. The stem work and huge stacked dublin bowl is what has me grabbing this pipe several times a week, especially when I am going somewhere with a tie and jacket. It is my absolute favorite, and I am looking forward to having one of his bulldogs as soon as I finish paying for the two prom dresses that my daughters are costing me.
Brad Rowley of Growley, I have one of his bamboo pokers and it is such an easy smoker and fits my shirt pocket perfectly. Having handled many of his pipes when he visits the Briary, I love the smallness of his pipes and his vision. He just makes them sing to me.
Skip Elliot is a friend of mine, so take that into concideration. But, for someone who has been doing this for so long, he still has that neophyte excitement about starting each pipe. And, dagnabbit he sells them before the stain is dry, so I never get a chance to buy them unless I pay for it before it leaves the lathe.
Paulo Becker, I just have three, but each and very one has it's own unique way that it wants to be smoked. I love the way he thought outside the box and interpreted the shape. I was told that his son actually had made the pipes that I have, so I loll forward to how he takes the Becker name forward.
I don't have a Walt Connoy, but I for one am not tired of the white stems. I keep waiting for one to come along in the style that I like. They just sell so dead gun fast! And while they are out of my price range, those bamboo meers make my testes tingle. Just the picture evoke pipegasms! Beautiful!!
I'm not sure where we draw the line between pipe maker and pipe company, but I do have others that stand in the middle of that line that I love. Northern Briars, Jepperson's Neerups, etc, very affordable with nice detail.
There's not a single pipe on my rack or waiting to be racked that I don't love with all of my heart. But, there are pipe makers that just don't make pipes that appeal to me. I look for someone who is easy to work with, and has a personality that appeals to me. For someone to get into such a personal experience as making pipes for people, they need to give their customers the feeling that giving then that pile of cash went to someone that deserves my months worth of scraping and saving. I am not rich by any means, so this is a big deal. I don't spend as much money on anything else. I may never own a fancy sports car or custom tailored suit, custom musical instruments, or even a computer with a OS that is even currently the latest version, but I can scrape and save and have the Ferrari of pipes. It's my only luxury. So, this is a big deal to me.
