Spoiler alert! We have a winner in our midst.

[kcvet67]

Ryan Arlen was picked as one of the winners of the American Carvers Pipe Making Competition today at the KC Pipe Show. Congratulations Ryan, you're in with some of the best in the business. Great work.
The full list is here:

http://www.gkcpipeclub.com/

 

[mso489]

Congratulations Ryan Arlen. That's an impressive list of pipe makers all around. Looks like a terrific show.

 

[morton]

I have a fair number of Ryan's pipes and have commissioned pipes from his early days until just recently. He just keeps getting better and it won't be long before I can't afford him. My last two purchases were blasted authors that are almost too beautiful to smoke. Almost.

 

[morton]

BTW, its Ryan Alden and he is lonestar on our forum.

 

[rickpal14]

Kcvet67...... I believe you mean Ryan ALDEN. I have 2 of his pipes and they are great smokers and gorgeous to boot!!! I will be getting more soon but I just felt my wallet get a little lighter now that he was one of the winners!! CONGRATS RYAN!!!!! :worship:

 

[peckinpahhombre]

Congrats to both Ryan Arlen and Ryan Alden

 

[sallow]

Congratulations Ryan. Can anyone post pics of the entries?

 

[zack24]

Ryan was setup on the table next to us. He was a very happy guy! There won't be any pics of the 7 day set until they're published. A great competition this year- a total of 56 entries.

 

[msandoval858]

Spent some time tonight chatting with Ryan. He makes some gorgeous pipes. I will be adding a few to my collection for sure!

 

[tbradsim1]

. One of his a Long Shank Canadian, commissioned 2 years ago, smoking it this morning with 965, sweet smoke.

 

[tbradsim1]

. Large Poker, I believe this is one of the first he had made.

 

[mrenglish]

Congrats, Ryan!!
All of that hard work is paying off!!
I have a poker and a bamboo apple, both are top spots in my rack.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

I was all set to buy a ticket for the KC raffle, but it was cancelled in the 12th hour.

Why was it cancelled? Seems a bit odd.

 

[daveinlax]

I was all set to buy a ticket for the KC raffle, but it was cancelled in the 12th hour.
Why was it cancelled? Seems a bit odd.

Yeah, I assume it was slow sales. I was a good idea but pretty ambitious to raise the funds at a single show. I skipped this years show but In past years I never felt like buying a ticket. 8O

 

[kcvet67]

The cancellation may have been because of the venue. Because the show was held at a casino, there was an issue with selling raffle tickets on-site and they were limited to on-line sales. All new casino games have to be approved and licensed by the Missouri Gaming Commission. Even though the raffle was run by the GKCPC, not Argosy Casino, the Missouri Gaming Commission may have decided it was not sanctioned.

 

[admin]

I already congratulated Ryan in person yesterday morning, but I will say CONGRATULATIONS here too.

 

[rangerearthpig]

Congrats, lonestar!

 

[mrjerke]

Congrats Ryan! I was lucky to get 2 pipes from him Friday night. Great guy and amazing carver. I'll post pics when I get a chance.

 

[petes03]

Congrats Ryan!

 

[lonestar]

Thank you, thank you, thank you !

I appreciate the congratulations, more than any of you know. It was great to meet so many from PM in person, I genuinely enjoyed meeting each and every one of you.

I had a blast and was floored when I heard my pipe made the set. I was CERTAIN I hadn't won, and it is Greg Peases fault! Friday night, I sat in the smoking tent chatting with him and the other judges until 4 am. They had already judged the pipes and selected the winners, but they couldn't announce the results until the next day. When I asked Greg about my pipe he couldn't tell me I won ! On top of that, he went so far as insinuating it HADN'T won ! He even told me he liked it so much he wanted to buy it, just for some icing on the cake. If he was offering to buy it, obviously it hadn't won right ???

What an ass :nana:

Not really though. This was the first time I had met Greg, but by the end of the show I have to consider him one of the coolest people I know, every bit as interesting as the blends that carry his name.

I'm still just floored that all 3 judges picked my pipe for a spot in the set!

I owe it ALL to you guys here at Pipes Magazine who believed in me and my pipes from the start, and especially to Kevin for giving us all this awesome forum. I COULDN'T have done it without you guys.

Cheers !