Stanwell: Design Vibe Harsløf

[JHowell]

I'm not trying to be a dick, but her jewerly is ugly too. I was a jewler for a while, its artsy fartsy costume looking crap...IMO.

Dont take my word for it, http://www.vibeharsloef.dk/collections.html

Somebody is just determined to drive that company straight into a wall.

Jack

[Ryan]

Somebody is just determined to drive that company straight into a wall.

Stanwell?

[JHowell]

Somebody is just determined to drive that company straight into a wall.

Stanwell?

Yeah, sorry to be unclear. The jeweler is fine drifting aimlessly. I've always thought of Stanwell in terms of conservative, tasteful, Danish shapes. The Blowfish and the Nanna Ivarsson are more modern explorations in the same vein, but this latest shape looks like a complete waste of resources.

Jack

[tritrek]

This pipe reminds me of that guy who was selling pipes and staffs and wooden purses on eBay, if you remember him
Quite a shock after the Stanwell Nana Ivarsson edition pipes...

[Ryan]

Somebody is just determined to drive that company straight into a wall.

Stanwell?

Yeah, sorry to be unclear. The jeweler is fine drifting aimlessly. I've always thought of Stanwell in terms of conservative, tasteful, Danish shapes. The Blowfish and the Nanna Ivarsson are more modern explorations in the same vein, but this latest shape looks like a complete waste of resources.

Jack

I whole heartedly agree. some of the danish inspired Stannies are really great... this is unlike them, kinda confusing

[Frank]

Go for it, Jeff. That mean Oversized Ostrogoth keeps locking the good shit in the vault. It's been a good few hours without controversy 'round here. We're jonesing for more.

Frank, did I mention the olive oil and leather pants?

How's that for controversy?

I'm damn thankful there's the width of a continent between us - I certainly don't relish the idea of being pinned under oil coated lederhosen! Best of 3, I'd be dead meat!

[m.c.]

I believe it is AFTER knowing there ARE people who will like it that it is designed and produced. It is a product of profitability analysis instead of the designer's aesthetic judgement. (Does that pipe take a "designer"? ) Take my word, as I am a bean counter in the most barbarianly money-chasing place in the world. Senseless to value the aesthetics of such a thing. Just demand and supply.

That said, I hold nothing negative about people who do like this pipe. It does no harm when you get an occasional off-the-track venture or simply want to burn some money.

However, this just popped into my mind when reading this post: up to the end of the 20th century, most Chinese women tied up their feet tight in long strips of cloth from childhood to achieve a "perfect" foot size of 3 to 5 inches long in adulthood, and there were MANY men who loved those f**ked-up body parts like crazy. Damn it. Sorry for the gag if it happens to be your meal time.

[Gerrit Jan]

Well, I've send the links to Stanwell and today Stanwell answered and explained why this pipe excists....

Thank you for the feedback on the facet pipe by Vibe Harsløf.



If I had more time I would gladly participate in the debate and follow up on the thread with our arguments for the project.

I will however give you some insights as an appreciation for the interest in our products.



Since the late fifties we as a Business, and here I am not talking Stanwell but producers of pipes and pipe tobaccos have lost more than 50% of our volume.

The reasons for this are numerous and to extensive to get detailed into here. But one factor I can extract is our lack of ability as a business, to recruit and create attention from others than the traditional pipe smokers.

This is not done by creating another classic or doing the “usual” co-labs with existing pipe makers. We do that all the time and 95% of our assortment caters to this group of smokers.

If we want to communicate and develop our products we have to seek alternative co-labs with first movers such as Vibe Harsløf, who - to take this project, has had an immense impact on segments who finds a classic pipe totally boring, and looking just like all the others, and more or less are unaware that pipes still exist.

This pipe that some traditional pipe smokers find ugly and obviously sees as the development of our company as a whole, has just been shown on the catwalk in Europe’s biggest fashion fair, and as a result one of the most important lifestyle magazines last week called the pipe for this season’s new black.

Further more we are now seeing better clothing stores, just like in the fifties and sixties, that are buying into our range of pipes, again exposing the pipe to smokers from other categories, that would not normally enter a specialist store and see pipes, hence consider them as alternative smoking tools.



I am glad that smokers take interest in our brand and want to spend the time discussing it and the pipes that we proudly produce and

in fact I believe that it is reassuring us in our strategy when the pipe can cause these relatively emotional reactions from our core clientele.



We intend to stay in the business and therefore we will keep doing these small projects to create rings in the water where it would otherwise be still. And off course our main focus will as always be high quality pipes that are true to our roots and heritage.



With the best pipe smoking regards



/søren







Best Regards



Søren Lundh Aagaard

Managing Director

[Nick]

You know, if the stem weren't so out of whack, it wouldn't be all that bad. Maybe even kinda nifty. As it is, the pipe is kind of growing on me.

I did like the jewelry, and I like the idea of pushing the design envelope. But the stem on that piece really messes with the flow. Still, I keep looking at it, thinking "Hhhmmmmm."

edit: Really cool that Soren posted

edit 2:

Honestly, with a different looking stem, this'd be pretty cool.

[JHowell]

Well, I've send the links to Stanwell and today Stanwell answered and explained why this pipe excists....

Thank you for the feedback on the facet pipe by Vibe Harsløf.



SNIP



Søren Lundh Aagaard

Managing Director

Well, okay then. Good luck to them. I hope it works. It's difficult to imagine the man on the street having a positive reaction to this pipe that he would not have to a more traditional shape, but maybe he'll think, "Vibe Harsløf? It MUST be cool."

Jack

Jack

[Ryan]

Well, okay then. Good luck to them. I hope it works. It's difficult to imagine the man on the street having a positive reaction to this pipe that he would not have to a more traditional shape, but maybe he'll think, "Vibe Harsløf? It MUST be cool."

Just because Calvin Klein designs clothes doesnt mean he should design a pipes...I feel the same about Vibe.

This pipe is seriously going to flop.

Ryan

[KurtHuhn]

From the tone of the reply, it really seems to me that the goal is to draw in fashionable young folks, some or most of whom don't actually smoke anything (legal), and get them to buy pipes as fashion accessories and bragging rights. Whether or not they ever get smoked is seemingly secondary to being fashionable by owning a thingy designed by so-n-so - no matter how devoid of actual artistic or even simple aesthetic merit it may be. Note the part where there's mention of the pipes being featured in fashion boutiques.

There's a market for everything. And these are clearly not being marketed to your typical pipe smoker. I dare say, these aren't even being marketed to pipe smokers at all.

Stanwell's goal with this seems to be to generate buzz and interest. Which, if it works, is good for pipe makers of all levels, I think.

[Frank]

Honestly, with a different looking stem, this'd be pretty cool.

It certainly looks a bit better with the stem following the bevel lines of the shank.

Stanwell's goal with this seems to be to generate buzz and interest. Which, if it works, is good for pipe makers of all levels, I think.

They're definitely trying to appeal to a market other than the everyday pipe smoker/collector. Good luck to them - if it works, the custom pipemakers can jump on the bandwagon. It doesn't matter who pays the piper (oooh, a pun!! ) just as long as they're paying, let them call the tune.

[FredS]

As much as I hate to admit it, the thing that brought me around to pipe smoking was a romantasized image of my grandfather and other gentlemen of his age with a pipe in hand. It was kind of like - and this is the part I don't like to admit - a fashion accessory. At first, the image of pipe smoking mattered to me as much as the act itself. This Stanwell has just taken the "fashion accessory" concept of a pipe to a different level.

I don't like this one, and I can't imagine what kind of metrosexual dude would smoke such a thing, but I can understand their marketing concept.

[Leus]

Well, that answer is a really thoughtful one. I buy it.

(What I wouldn't buy even if I had the money is that pipe. But that is already covered by whats-his-name answer.)

[Sasquatch]

+1 Leus.

Good idea to make a ripple. That's cool, if you have the resources, and if it attracts some "non traditional" people to the pipe smoking world, that's great, especially if they are rich and like to buy ugly pipes. I have many in my garage. (Ugly pipes, not rich people.)

But that "jewelry" - wow. Fine line between high art and ugly shit?