Just bought myself a Rolando Negoita pipe.
Rolando Negoita was born in Transylvania, Romania, and teaches Metalsmithing and Product Design at Parsons School of Design in New York. He is also a pipe maker.
He is constantly inventing shapes and rarely makes pipes of classic shapes.
His sandblasts are wonderfully intricate, and his rustication seems perfectly natural.
Negoita says “My pipe making passion started back in Romania. While it was possible to smuggle tobacco in the country, pipes were not available on the market. Briarwood was only a dream. I overcame these hurdles by becoming fascinated and starting to experiment with burls of all kinds. My early pipes were made of cherry and rose hip burls. These arduous beginnings led to an ever-growing appreciation and love for natural materials and especially wood.”