Well, this is something I thought I’d never do-blog. I resisted this for a long time because it seemed very self-serving to me, but a few people said that they’d like an easy way to find out if something new is going to be introduced or if we’re going to attend a show, so I gave in. I don’t know how frequently I’ll be blogging, but I’ll give it a shot.
The past few months have been busy and interesting. We introduced 4 new blends, which was quite an undertaking, since 2 of them are tinned, and we haven’t released anything in a while. The tinned ones are the Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club of Boston blends- V.R. and Great Hiatus. V.R. is a pressed Virginia/Perique which is sweet and slightly tangy, and Great Hiatus is a medium English with good complexity and a nice finish. The others are in the Hearth & Home line. The first is Daybreak, which is meant to be a blend for fans of Early Morning Pipe (not a clone, but of similar character to EMP). It has been very successful at this stage. The second has been 2 years in the making- Classic Burley Kake. This is a soft cake made of 4 different Burleys and a matured red Virginia, flavored with cocoa, rum and anise. The reason it took so long is that I had to go through 32 different attempts until I could get the flavorings to come through in the taste. Once again, the response has been very positive.
Right now, I’m working on a blend for cigar smokers who want to take up a pipe. It’s a mixture of dark Burley, white Burley, maduro cigar leaf, red Virginia and a touch of Perique and unflavored black Cavendish. The first batch delivered such a nicotine wallop that I had to reformulate it. I haven’t had a nic rush in probably 10 years, but this got my head spinning. By switching up the percentages, I tamed down the nicotine and eliminated some harshness that existed in the first batch. It should be ready soon, so check the website for availability.
We’ve been in discussions internally for a while now, and I hope you will see some changes in Hearth & Home during the next year or so, but I will keep you informed right here as they occur. If everything comes together, we will bring a number of great new items to market, and we’ll be able to increase production without sacrificing quality.
I’m just about caught up with my backlog after spending 5 days at the Chicago Pipe Show. The CPCC does such a great job of putting together the world’s largest show, and I can’t say enough about their dedication to the hobby. Much has been made of the lighter sales and traffic at this year’s show, but look at what they had to deal with- no smoking on the floor of the show (but the tent they put up, which included a bar and buffet, was a great place to relax, smoke and meet old and new friends), the economy being in the toilet, and beautiful weather (which is always harmful to the turnout at a pipe show). We still did very well with sales, and we made some business contacts which will help us in our efforts to do a better job, so as far as I’m concerned, it was a very successful show.
It was great to see folks that I haven’t met with in a couple of years. The pipe smoking community is one of the most accepting I have ever been involved in, and a number of people who are well-known in the community have been so kind in welcoming me and our products that it feels like a family reunion every time I go to a show.
While I was there, I had intended to pick up a pipe, although I had no particular style or maker in mind. My normal approach is to look at estate pipes and new makers, since that’s where the bargains tend to be. Well, this show had some of the best bargains I’ve seen. So, of course, I wound up buying 4 pipes.
Jesper Klith, one of the best sources of Danish estates in the world had a neat Celius Queen at a great price, so there was number 1. A new American maker named Kevin Arthur had a number of innovative pipes that captivated a couple of the guys from our entourage. I looked at what he had, and fell in love with 2 of them. The first was a large volcano with an interesting twist grain and a plateaux bottom and a rosewood (I think) shank extension. It is already one of the best smoking pipes I own. The second is a black blast squashed tomato with a neat flared shank that is a great shorter pipe that smokes like a champ as well. Best of all, the pipes were $125 each, but don’t expect his prices to stay that low for long. Once his reputation gets around, he’ll be able to get more money for his work. The fourth pipe came from another relatively new American- Charles Cole. I saw a smallish volcano with a cumberland stem, and really liked the lines. When I picked it up and looked at it, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The grain was tight and straight at the top of the bowl, and turned into a flame grain toward the bottom, but the heel and underside of the shank were covered with some of the tightest, most beautiful birdseye I have ever seen. Once again, get ‘em now, if you can. This pipe had a price of $250, and if it had been from a more established maker, would have been well in excess of $500. I will try to post pictures of these pipes soon. I hope that we will be starting to work with some of the new carvers to sell their pipes on our site.
Well, that’s enough for now, and I look forward to your feedback.
Russ Ouellette 5/13/09
