I've been going to shows since they first appeared in the late 1970's / early 80's. Seen a LOT of pipes for sale on tables, me.
My micrometer eyeballs have been engaged for every one of them, too. (As much as they were developed at the time, anyway.)
Lately--quite lately---things have been changing in an unexpected way. The quality of pipes offered by a number of 20 and 30-somethings has blown the roof off the joint. In short, you Whippersnappers are getting GOOD.
I sat next to a "whale" collector from Germany at the Doctor of Pipes dinner Saturday night, and he agreed. (As a data point of his seriousness and experience, he was the sort of guy who flies halfway around the world just to buy pipes for himself---he was not a dealer---and has been collecting for decades. He was 65.) He offered the observation, in fact. I asked him what he found exciting at the show, and he said it was you guys. That the northern European carvers seemed to be getting complacent at the same time your afterburner was kicking in, and if the trend continued, soon he would be interested in acquiring little else.
That's it. No other point to make. It just dawned on me that some of you might like a peek behind the curtain.
Have a beer gents. You've earned it.
