Author: Mark Irwin

If you’ve not read Master of Pipes James Foster’s report of the Chicago Show at Pipesmagazine, this year’s show drew more than twice the crowd of last year, and the fun and number of tables and pipes could be seen. Nervous about the new book’s sales, I so rarely got up from our table to move around that I might not have brought home any souvenirs at all had it not been for friend Ken Sigel sitting on my right and Glen Whelan of Peterson sitting on my left. And I have never, ever, seen so many estate and new Petes at a Chicago show.  You pity me, right? Right?! C'mon guys. (These were on the Danishpipes table across from us.) Well, probably not, but it was crazy how many amazing Petes there were.  How did I see them if I couldn't get away from the table? Three reasons:  Lance Dahl, James Walsh, and Dan Chasin.  About every 10 minutes one of them would walk up and say, “Hey, lookit what I found in the waste basket” (Dan) or “Mark, did you get any of those Silver Cap Naturals Glen Whelan was handing out gratis just a minute ago?” (Lance)  or, "Hey Mark, does Wal-Mart mind if I use their grocery cart for a bit? All these Petes are getting heavy!" (James). But enough of them! They’ll be back in force next week with Ken Sigel to share out just a tiny fraction of the spectacular pipes they brought to the Pete Geek Meet. Kevin Kilmer, Justin Feavel, Master of Pipes Tom Kuhn, and Adam Floyd Gigi caught four Pete Geeks in a classic shot telling what the show is all about.  I want you to notice in particular the multi-generational nature of what pipe smoking is increasingly about. Kevin has clearly finished his verdict and is waiting for Tom to fact check by using the famous PPN blog.  While this is Justin’s first Chicago show he’s already got an amazing collection of 999s (see below) and like me is passionate about the 309 / 4s.  Tom Kuhn was awarded Master of Pipes at this year’s show and vlogs at Pipes, Tobacco & Whiskey, while Adam Floyd you know from his acclaimed Get Piped show as well as his own Peterson collection, which he brought with him to last year’s show. Amu Torres To me there is a very rare breed of people who come to to the show who aren't simply fanatical hobbyists and not there to smile and sell widgets but who are there on behalf of the industry and yet somehow also wholly  passionate about pipes.  That would be people like Amu Torres, Mid-West sales rep for Laudisi Enterprises, whose infectious joy for pipes and for Peterson pipes is so great they wear it on their sleeve—as you can see here, in their rendition of the Sherlock Holmes Baker Street.  They’re a graduate of Moody Bible Institute (I subscribed to Moody Monthly all through high school), which…