Where does your passion for pipe making come from?
This passion kind of came by chance, in 2021, when buying a few second-hand pipes on the Internet. I had kept a few for myself and, instead of getting rid of the others, I cleaned them and sold them. I then bought other pipes, restored them, sold them and so on. For two or three years, I continued to do so with more and more passion, buying more machines along the way.
After meeting a few people, I was inducted in October 2013 at the Confrérie de Saint-Claude and on the Sunday following the ceremony on Friday, I stayed all morning in the workshop of Pierre Morel, whom I met for the first time. When I saw him working, something in me just clicked, and he taught me for a whole week some techniques to make pipes. He also quickly found a machine specifically designed to make the tenons of the stems, which he brought to me in the Spring of 2014. I was therefore able to start making pipes with pipe heads already under the shape of an ebauchon that I got from Saint-Claude. Then, I wanted to make my own pipes, and the first one I made in January 2016. Since then, I still have this passion for pipe making and it became my job.
Bruno Nuttens
How did you become a pipe maker?
I was trained by Pierre Morel who, since 2013, has always been there to help me and give me some recommendations and tips. He is always ready to share his knowledge, whether when I meet him, or when we talk over the phone, sometimes several times in a week. Pierre is the one who gave me this passion for pipe making, and he is nowadays a close friend.
Bruno Nuttens
In 2019, Tom Eltang invited me to come to his house for a week in Copenhagen in order to learn new techniques and another way to work. This was a great surprise to me, and it helped me to learn a lot. I keep an excellent memory of this trip, and I applied all the tips as soon as I came home.
Besides the fact that I was trained by masters in their field, it is very important to train a lot and spend a lot of time in the workshop. I have worked for ten years as a freelance developer and therefore had the chance to work at home. I could therefore keep my job while getting better at pipe making. Even if some days seemed long during a few years, in front of the computer during the day and in the workshop at night, I don't regret sleeping so little. And of course, my wife has always supported me.
According to you, what are the essential qualities to be a good pipe maker?
My answer may not be very original, but you need to be passionate about this work, and you always have to try to improve. Because you can always improve. Be open to constructive criticism, and listen to the feedbacks of your customers. Keep training.
I always keep in my head the following quote in Pierre's workshop: "Pas de discours, des preuves" ("No speech, proofs"). I try to follow that motto everyday.
Bruno Nuttens
Where do your sources of inspiration come from?
At first, I was inspired by Paolo Becker's pipes, who created pipes with a very thin shank. This allowed some kind of elegance. But for a pipe maker, it is not about finding inspiration. You have to find a shape (or several shapes), a style of your own. This can be difficult because (almost) everything has already been done. From there I worked on pipes with a very thin shank with a diameter of about 7.5mm and sometimes even less to create a model that I called "Twiggy". This is the shape that I work the most these days. Unlike what one might think, these pipes are not so fragile, the shank being strengthened by a stainless steel band.
Nowadays, after what I learnt and thanks to the people I met, I also find some inspiration in Danish pipes.
Bruno Nuttens
Would you like to become MOF (Meilleur Ouvrier de France, "Best Craftsman of France") one day?
If I was to become Best Craftsman of France, I would see it as a personal challenge because I know that the bar is very high, and the contest is very demanding.
Bruno Nuttens
When making your creations, do you seek pipe smokers' expectations or do you let your imagination run wild?
I propose two kinds of pipes. First of all, the "Heritage" and "Vintage Collection" series, that I make with ebauchons that come from factories or Saint-Claude. These pipes have most of the time a classic shape. And smokers always like classic shapes.
The "Vintage Collection" has however its particularities, and most of the pipes of this series have a smooth finish, with an acrylic stem that looks like amber, but also a chiselled silver plated band, that is at least 70 years old, so that the pipe has a vintage style. I have never seen anyone else using this kind of band. This allows to propose something different, that you won't find anywhere else. But the finish of the pipe and its overall design are also the signature of this collection, the shape remaining classic.
Bruno Nuttens
Then, with my series of pipes entirely handmade from raw materials (most of the time Italian briar, German ebonite and cumberland), I create custom pipes, special models that customers want. But it is still with these pipes that I can let my imagination run wild the most, depending on what I want to make.
I have other projects in mind for the near future. New series will continue to come, but I still have to work on them.
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