Hi everyone. I’m Chris and I have been making pipes for a few years now. I have always enjoyed working with wood and started carving my own pipes during the pandemic. It quickly turned into a passion. I began posting about my learning journey on social media and was approached by Chris Kelly of Eldritch Pipes.

Chris was very generous and provided me with information on materials, gave me feedback and taught me techniques. This guidance helped me to develop my skills more quickly than I would have by myself.

I live in France and so I visited St. Claude, the home of French pipe making. It was there that I got chatting to Bruno Nuttens who kindly invited me to visit his workshop and learn from him. Bruno was himself trained by Pierre Morel and Tom Eltang. I visited Bruno at his workshop and came away not only having learned so much, but having made a great friend and mentor. I have undertaken regular visits ever since and I continue to learn from Bruno whilst developing a style of my own.

I aim for elegance in my work and do my best to let the briar decide on shaping. My pipes are therefore classic in style but I produce each pipe so that it can evolve into a product with a unique twist. I strive for precision as much as for elegance and enjoy continuing to develop my skills as a pipe maker.

So that is me and my pipe making story so far. I feel extremely fortunate to have found something that I love doing so much and I thank you for the support I have been shown so far.

Chris.