Mitch

I was introduced to the evils of pipe smoking by my college roommate, Steve, 50 years ago!
Always intrigued by how things work and how they’re put together (I’m a retired surgeon after all). I spent years tying intricate flies for fishing, and then continued whatever artistic journey I was on by taking the next step into custom pipemaking. It gave my restless hands something to do, and hopefully keeps me out of trouble, for the most part!

Steve

One of my earliest jobs as I worked my way through college was at the Pipe Den in the Colonie Mall in Albany, New York. It was a small chain of stores that really had quite a wonderful selection at the time. I’d like to say that It was a beneficial position financially, but every week I fell for some wonderful Savinelli, or Peterson, or GBD, etc. Usually I ended every week owing them money, but I still have many of those pipes to this day! My love for pipes continued, but I was never terribly artistic, I was much more mechanically inclined so pipe restoration seemed like a natural path. I love the immediate gratification of starting with one that’s an absolute mess, and finishing with something that looks like it just left the makers hands.