Description
Boston pipe maker, Todd Brugman, is an in-house pipe maker at LJ Peretti Co. Prior to that, Brugman learnt the art and trade of pipe making in a classical way. He spent many years studying and apprenticing at LJ Peretti Co. where he made his professional debut. His pipes, both with classic and contemporary attributes, have been a breath of fresh air. The community has noticed, and he’s been working day and night to keep up with the demand!
Here we have a Paneled “Brandy” pipe with Brugman’s usual contemporary and timeless spin on a classic shape; exquisite shaping making a uniquely beautiful pipe.
Executed in Brugman’s unique melting pot of a style, this contains 200 years of western pipe making influences. There is a uniqueness to the flow of the sharp geometric lines, something typically only seen in the Danish school of pipe making, yet the overall silhouette and lines come together to form a pipe that harkens more of a neoclassical Italian pipe; especially seen in the geometric heel and the tapered shank. This is a perfect example of a Brugman pipe, as it perfectly balances inspirations throughout the history of western pipe making, and creates a dynamic and unique pipe that is contemporary yet still holds a classic and timeless ascetic.
Brugman choose to finish this pipe with a contrast stain, albeit a unique contrast stain technique he does by building up layers of light stains of varying hues. This give depth and visual texture to the grain via all the different tones in the grain.
Brugman typically sticks to classic stems colors and materials, but adds classy touches such as a black vulcanite stem with an ox horn inlay or a classic Cumberland swirl stem. In this case, Brugman made the stem out of tortoise shell lucite(acrylic), and dispite it not being a classic stem color, it works, as it not only matches this pipe perfectly, it retains a classic and timeless look, making for a unique and dynamic pipe composition.
A paneled pipe is often regarded as one of, if not the most difficult English shape chart pipe to make, so they aren’t the most common, yet Brugman makes a lot of them in his unique approach that has an organic nature to the contours of the pipe. A plateau Brandy is quite rare, especially a bent one, as this is 1/4 bent; one rarely, if ever sees a bent paneled pipe, yet despite the intrinsic uniqueness of the shape, the pipe, again, is brilliantly executed with a timeless look.
In regarding Brugman’s overall process he states:
“I want to show how beautiful this block of briar was… I just reveal the pipe from the briar, and do as little or as much as it takes to show the blocks intrinsic beauty.”
Sometimes less is more, and clearly Brugman put the details in this pipe that can be appreciated up close, as well as it’s well thought out silhouette/overall composition; he always balances the micro and macro in his work, another unique hallmark of a Brugman pipe.
Brugman drilled this pipe perfectly, he states that a good pipe is first a “precision instrument, can it become a work of art, then when smoked, and only when smoked is when it becomes a pipe.” A pipe cleaner will easily and cleanly run from the mouth piece to the bowl, and the draft hole is perfectly centered at he bottom.
Brugman has been making a name for himself in the pipe making world, as is no surprise, as clearly Brugman is “painting with his own brush.”
Pipe specks:
Materials: Briar & Tortoise Shell Lucite/Acrylic
4 7/8″ long, 1 7/8″ tall, 36 grams
