Charles Cole

Wyoming Artisan Charles ColeWhen I first took a look at Charles Cole’s pipes at the Chicago Show a couple of years ago, I realized that my home state, Wyoming, had arrived – at least in pipe terms. Charles’ work really spoke to me. It is quiet. Lustrous and beautiful, it makes the most of its materials, incorporating them into the shape in an organic way. I like the lack of ostentation. There is decency in just being enough without trying too hard.

I don’t own a Cole pipe, which is not to say that I haven’t tried. The right piece just hasn’t come along yet. I’m willing to take my time. It is important to me to have a pipe that was made in my home state.

I’m not sure why I’m having trouble believing that a pipemaker from Wyoming can make a living making pipes, but there it is. A Wyoming pipemaker seems as exotic to me as a Wyoming gazelle, having grown up there.

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A Labor of Love

Thursday, advance copies of the Fall issue of Pipes and Tobaccos Magazine arrived at my doorstep from the magazine’s printing facilities in the midwest. Coincidentally, just minutes before I received a text message from Adam Davidson with a picture of the copy he had just been handed by Sykes Wilford at Smokingpipes.com.

This issue features one of my favorite pipemakers and people: Adam Davidson. I wrote the cover story about him and created the story’s and cover image, as well. The project has been a labor of love that began about a year ago with a call from the magazine’s editor, Chuck Stanion, inquiring if I would take on the assignment. I could hardly get “yes” out of my mouth fast enough. Since I met Adam and started collecting his work five years ago, my respect and affection for him have grown steadily.

I confess I struggled a bit writing this story. Adam is more than the subject of an article to me. He is a friend whose story I have watched unfold within which I have been a bit player. There were more than a few days where I found myself sitting and staring at a blank computer screen, immobilized by writer’s block.

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