Anyone who has followed my posts a bit knows that I am more than just a fan of the Nanna Ivarsson series from Stanwell.
Nanna is the granddaughter of Sixten Ivarsson, and has been looking over the shoulder of Denmark's most famous pipe maker (who was actually a Swede) since she was a little girl. Today, apart from her actual profession as an industrial designer, she is known for occasionally knocking out a few freehands that are traded in the mid to high four-figure range. So nothing that the normal smoker and collector would just put in their display case. But then there is Stanwell.
Stanwell, of whose fame not more than a sad remnant remains today, has always managed to get the greats of the pipe-making guild to produce designs for series production. Be it Tom Eltang, Jess Chonowitsch, Poul Winslow, Anne Julie, the Bang boys or Poul Ilsted, but above all, of course, Sixten and Lars Ivarsson, Nanna's father and grandfather. And so it was only logical that Nanna - if I have done the math correctly, in 2009 - also delivered four designs for Stanwell, with the simple shape numbers N1-N4 and the stamp “An Ivarsson Design”, which similarly (An Ivarsson Product) already adorned the elders' own designs.
This was one of Stanwell's last great deeds before things went downhill, because in 2010 STG, the owner of the Stanwell brand, closed the production facility in Borup, Denmark, and moved production to Italy, which led to fluctuating quality and ultimately to the decline of the brand. Anyone buying a Stanwell today is buying an estate with the coveted “Made in Denmark” stamp.
It must have been around 2011/12, when I was still at the very beginning of my development as a pipe collector, and anything over 100 euros for a pipe seemed extortionate to me. Nevertheless, the Nanna N2 appealed to me, and as it was offered by Esterval as a “discontinued model” for something around 120 euros - you can't stop shaking your head these days - I reluctantly bought it. Not that I regretted spending the money, but that was the end of it.
A few years later, I came across the N4 at Achim Frank's rather by chance, and the hunting instinct kicked in. It would be bloody great to have all four. The N3 followed a year or two later. Only the N1 wouldn't and wouldn't show up. In the meantime, I'd got my hands on each of the others several times and sold them on well, but the N1 almost drove me mad. In all that time I had only seen it once, here “Buy & Sell Pipes and Accessories” section, but since I only look in there irregularly, it was already gone. My last glimmer of hope was dashed in the spring at the Stuttgart pipe show, where Nanna Ivarsson was exhibiting in person. Naively convinced that she must still have pallets of them in her cellar, I chatted to her, but to no avail.
Until a few weeks ago. Ben from Redeemed Pipes posted a picture of about 50 pipes he had restored on FB, and I spotted a blasted N1! This time I was quicker than the others, we agreed on a price that didn't do my huckster soul any justice, but anything is better than waiting years again.
I was able to pick it up on Friday, and now the quartet is complete. I'm blown away by the quality. This isn't just a factory pipe where it's like a lottery whether you get a nice grain, they're all as good as it gets. I have almost all the finishes available across my four (smooth in light and dark, blasted in dark and black). The smooth ones have a fine contrast stain, but I think the blasted ones are even better. When you see the ringgrain, you know that they didn't just blast the worse ones.
That's all Stanwell was big for. Very big.
Nanna is the granddaughter of Sixten Ivarsson, and has been looking over the shoulder of Denmark's most famous pipe maker (who was actually a Swede) since she was a little girl. Today, apart from her actual profession as an industrial designer, she is known for occasionally knocking out a few freehands that are traded in the mid to high four-figure range. So nothing that the normal smoker and collector would just put in their display case. But then there is Stanwell.
Stanwell, of whose fame not more than a sad remnant remains today, has always managed to get the greats of the pipe-making guild to produce designs for series production. Be it Tom Eltang, Jess Chonowitsch, Poul Winslow, Anne Julie, the Bang boys or Poul Ilsted, but above all, of course, Sixten and Lars Ivarsson, Nanna's father and grandfather. And so it was only logical that Nanna - if I have done the math correctly, in 2009 - also delivered four designs for Stanwell, with the simple shape numbers N1-N4 and the stamp “An Ivarsson Design”, which similarly (An Ivarsson Product) already adorned the elders' own designs.
This was one of Stanwell's last great deeds before things went downhill, because in 2010 STG, the owner of the Stanwell brand, closed the production facility in Borup, Denmark, and moved production to Italy, which led to fluctuating quality and ultimately to the decline of the brand. Anyone buying a Stanwell today is buying an estate with the coveted “Made in Denmark” stamp.
It must have been around 2011/12, when I was still at the very beginning of my development as a pipe collector, and anything over 100 euros for a pipe seemed extortionate to me. Nevertheless, the Nanna N2 appealed to me, and as it was offered by Esterval as a “discontinued model” for something around 120 euros - you can't stop shaking your head these days - I reluctantly bought it. Not that I regretted spending the money, but that was the end of it.
A few years later, I came across the N4 at Achim Frank's rather by chance, and the hunting instinct kicked in. It would be bloody great to have all four. The N3 followed a year or two later. Only the N1 wouldn't and wouldn't show up. In the meantime, I'd got my hands on each of the others several times and sold them on well, but the N1 almost drove me mad. In all that time I had only seen it once, here “Buy & Sell Pipes and Accessories” section, but since I only look in there irregularly, it was already gone. My last glimmer of hope was dashed in the spring at the Stuttgart pipe show, where Nanna Ivarsson was exhibiting in person. Naively convinced that she must still have pallets of them in her cellar, I chatted to her, but to no avail.
Until a few weeks ago. Ben from Redeemed Pipes posted a picture of about 50 pipes he had restored on FB, and I spotted a blasted N1! This time I was quicker than the others, we agreed on a price that didn't do my huckster soul any justice, but anything is better than waiting years again.
I was able to pick it up on Friday, and now the quartet is complete. I'm blown away by the quality. This isn't just a factory pipe where it's like a lottery whether you get a nice grain, they're all as good as it gets. I have almost all the finishes available across my four (smooth in light and dark, blasted in dark and black). The smooth ones have a fine contrast stain, but I think the blasted ones are even better. When you see the ringgrain, you know that they didn't just blast the worse ones.
That's all Stanwell was big for. Very big.
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