Happy Smoking I hope you enjoy the photos.

From Start to Finish:

Amazing!

From his web site:

Art has always been part of my life.  Drawing with first crayon and paper as a toddler, pencil and paper as a child, and later with paint and canvas as a young adult I was regaled with stories of my grandmother and grandfather, both amateur and passionate artists, and my famous cousin, Andy Warhol.

Perhaps it was blood, but I am convinced it was simply a passion for the creation things—new things, strange things, beautiful things—that ultimately led me to buy two  blocks of briar and pre-formed stems during my first year of graduate work in the field of theology.  Guided by what little snippets of information that could be gleaned from books and the internet I completed my first pair of pipes with borrowed tools on the wooden floor of my in-laws’ home over Christmas break.  They were not very good, but I was falling in love.

I had made several pipes with the helpful guidance of Tyler Beard’s online pipemaking tutorial, he informed me that he was beginning a forum in which pipemakers could gather to share information.  This was the beginning of what is now Pipemakers’ Forum, an active online community that is home to all interested in the process of pipemaking.

The following summer I was introduced to Todd Johnson, who generously invited me to his New Haven workshop to teach me about hand making pipes.  The rest, as they say is history.  His lessons took, and I have been making pipes ever since.  Upon the completion of my studies in theology in 2006, I have made pipes my sole vocation.

As with any artist, we are influenced by the world surrounding us.  At the beginning designs are inherently mimetic as one explores the medium and designs to which he has been exposed.  I am no exception to this process, and am grateful to those whose work has been so influential to the development of my style.  I remain an avid student of pipe shapes, consciously studying and being inspired by the work of Jess Chonowitsch, Lars Ivarsson, and Bo Nordh in Scandinavia, Cornelius Maenz in Germany, Todd Johnson and Jody Davis in the United States, and Hiro Tokutomi, Kai Gotoh, and Takeo Arita in Japan.  Nevertheless, my work remains my own.

Pipe design is a careful calculus of influence and originality within a fairly restricting medium.  It is my desire to continue exploring new territory, simultaneously paying homage to the great artisans of the past and present.  As collectors and enthusiasts, you are part of the story as you enjoy, encourage, and collect my work.

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Ron Fairchild has always loved to work with wood as you can see in the below images. His wood-working takes him beyond pipes and into other areas of the craft. His first influence was James Upshall. Ron loves to travel all over the world.

We sat down with Ron for a bit and got a few words out of him. Sit back, relax and enjoy the read about a man said to be one of “America’s Treasures”.

David Migdal (DM): What makes a good pipe in your opinion?

Ron Fairchild (RF): The briar has to be good. It must be cured properly.

DM: How many pipes do you make in a year?

RF: I’d say about 75-80 pipes a year.

DM: Are you aware of any differences between American Pipe Culture and European Pipe Culture

RF: American pipe culture is missing the availability of  the best briar and really good tooling. They have more of that in Europe.
Europe has much more of a history in pipe making than Americans do so they have that to their benefit. I do not sell to the European Market. I am not planning on doing any marketing to them. I do pipes because I enjoy it. I don’t want the pressure of too many orders. You carve pipes because you enjoy it and you want to keep enjoying it by not making it feel like a job and having all its pressures.

DM: What gets you in the mood to carve? And what goes through your head while you are carving? Music – what kind? Radio – what kind?

RF: I am always thinking about carving. Its always running around in my head. I am not really thinking about much when I carve. I am just hoping I don’t hit a sand pit. I just keep working and ignore distractions. Especially when I am trying to stamp nomenclature, sometimes you can get a double image.

DM: Is there a time when you know you cannot or will not carve because of factors other than your health? Perhaps when your stressed or angry? Do you do anything to ‘get away from it all’ and if so, what do you do?

RF: Whenever I am upset I stay away from carving. If you don’t have the right frame of mind to cut glass, your better off not doing it, because its going break. If it feels good, I go and do it. When you don’t have the work pressure things go smoother.

DM: How often do you go outside the normal boundaries of pipe design? Do those ‘weird’ / ‘different’ designs ever make it to a retailers window or do they stay locked in your drawer for your eyes only? Do you have a picture of any of these ‘weird’ / ‘different’ designs that you can share with us?

RF: I’ve always stayed within the boundaries of traditional pipe design. Some people would carve oak leaves on pipes, I never felt inspired to try anything like that. The freehands as well. You cant turn a freehand bowl, either oval or flat on one side or whatever, even blowfish’s etc…I don’t want to bother with it, it takes longer and I just don’t like it.

DM: Who would you love to see, smoking your pipe, in their mouth?

RF: I would like to see Rick Newcombe smoke one.
He seems so knowledgeable. He buys high-grade pipes from what I can tell.
I would even like him to stop by my table. Ben Rappaport, Frank Burla.  Those guys would help my brand by sticking one of my pipes in their mouth.

DM: Do you have any close relationships with any other carvers?

RF: Mike Butera worked with me for a little over a year when he first started.  He started out working with Tampers. Only later did he get into pipes. Then 2 years later he started winning awards. He was a quick learner. We both learned from each other when we worked together.

DM: How would you judge a pipe in your hands?

RF: Process is a big part of the consideration. Pipes should be judged by how well it is finished, how smooth it is inside the bowl. You have to look and see if the drilling is correct and how well the stem work is done. Is the pit flush? If it’s a round shank, will it be a round shank if you turn the stem upside down? I myself focus on technical perfection rather than artistic expression.

DM: I really like your curves on the top of some of your bowls, you also balance it out by giving the end bit on your stems a little downward twinge too – how did that come about?

RF: I saw some pipes made that way & I liked it. Ardor maybe, I don’t remember. I like the slightly canted Dublin look. You can almost see the tobacco when you light it up. I thought it was neat.

DM: Whats the strangest material you have worked with, perhaps out of fun or just to experiment? What were the results?

RF: Bamboo was a little tricky at the beginning but now it doesn’t give me any problems.
On Morta and Olive Wood, its just a different element to market. It helps make a pipe sell but I don’t work with that. Briar in lay in a stem, I was one of the first Americans to do it.

DM: Whats the hardest pipe making stage for you to complete?

RF: Years ago I had problems getting my stems flush with the shank. I don’t have that problem anymore.

DM: How long does it take you to make one pipe?

RF: It takes me 10-12 hours to make one pipe. I can get one turned and drilled within 2-3 hours.

DM: Do you fight with a balance between high production and high quality?

RF: I want it to be the highest quality I can produce. If I would add some production goals it would impact that personal desire for high quality. I don’t have that problem.

DM: Do you smoke? What do you smoke?

I smoke Virginia’s, some Latakia and some aromatics. Occasional Burley.
I like McCrannies Red Ribbon.

DM: Have you ever hurt yourself carving? ever been injured in the work shop?

RF:  I cut myself on a bandsaw before. That’s pretty much it.

Want Ron Fairchild to make you a pipe?

Contact him by:

Email: r.fairchild@sbcglobal.net
Phone: 281.864.9139 – USA, Texas, Houston
Web-site: www.FairChildPipes.com

A description from the pipe maker:

“A simple pipe full of class and character. The shank is accented with a boxwood extension, and the two-toned effect it creates adds to the simple elegance of this pipe. A minor pit in the wood at the base of the shank/bowl transition keeps this pipe from being a part of the connoisseur line. It is quite light, so it will rest easy in the teeth.”

This pipe sold to a gentleman in Texas in 2009. (that’s me)

Length: 6″

Height: 1.875″

Chamber Diamter: .75″

Chamber Depth: 1.4″

Weight: 1.2 oz