Gunnar's attack

For those of you in Europe, the following is the kind of "help" that I receive from my so-called colleagues. Frankly I am sick of their arrogance.

Here is my conclusion. I will make no more pipes until something sells from the website. If a pipe sells and I am still in the pipe business, I will make another pipe. The price will be higher. If I run totally out of money before anything sells, which will be around the start of the weekend, I shut down the pipe business permanently and my customers can buy from Gunnar and his ilk. The following is from Gunnar:

"Hello Random,

I sent you an email in early June, I believe, explaining my interest in your work and what I thought was a major -at this point it sounds fatal- misunderstanding you harbor about your pipes and the world of artists and collectors in general.

As a fellow artist there are some benefits to producing good work. One of which is commentary and critique from people who like your work.

Consider this you free Bitch Slap. Extras will cost, so I suggest you straighten up.

First off stop whining in your blog. It sounds pathetic and, well, whiney. No one like a whiner.

You wrote:

It had been my hope that the Blackwood line would be met with more enthusiasm. Granted most will prefer a smooth stem, but the stem can be replaced for a low cost and the result will still be an outstanding smoker. I could have chosen to make a lower priced line with factory stems. But because of the stench of sulphur present when working any kind of vulcanite I will not touch it with a stick, and acrylic is an open invitation to breakage. A quick polycarbonate stem with good internals is much better in my opinion.

This paragraph explains more of your extreme lack of understanding -something you readily admit to. That's good. If you know and accept you don't understand maybe you will now be willing to listen.

First off as I said in the email, the Blackwood line MUST be stamped with your name. People can buy no-name pipes at shops for $40 something. Pipes with no names are basket pipes. Why should they buy yours for $100 something. Collectors what to have something they can share and talk about. A no-name pipe is not one of those. If the maker thought it was so good why is there no name of any kind? And now you say you've never even smoked one yourself?? That is insane. How can you sell something that you don't even know how it will feel in the mouth after an hour of smoking; how it will look after a week of smoking? I believe one reason bits are smooth is for cleaning purposes. How is one supposed to clean those groovy (tee hee) bits after a month

Now you think it's about the rough stem -which is in fact the whole reason you gave that line the name- and you suggest that for a low cost it can be replaced. That is sooooo backwards and inside-out it's not even funny. The whole point of the thing is it's made from special materials, has special internal engineering, has a special tenon and is made by Random. In that one sentence you just took away all the reasons to buy your pipe. I like the way you finish off the paragraph by insulting not only every-other pipe maker using vulcanite or acrylic but also every pipe collector who has pipes with vulcanite or acrylic (and that's pretty much all them). Yet you just said to replace your original bit. With what?

That brings us to your second very real problem. Power (gasoline) v. Money and Time. If you are finding that you do not have the time/power to complete your pipes to get them on line and sold, you must figure out a way to make them faster so you are using less power per. That brings us back to the Blackwoods. They must be stamped by an artisan in order to sell for artisan prices. Simple hypothetical: Two Blackwoods of about equal size. One is stamped "Blackwood by Random" one is not, no name whatsoever although in the text/advertising it is stated. Which do you think will sell for a higher price in store, at a show or on ebay? How about if they are estates of 5 or 10 years old?

So to sum up; One: You must add nomenclature to the Blackwoods to make them more valuable to the collector and casual smoker. Two you must figure out new or different techniques to make all pipes faster. If it means to stay in business you must use a sanding disk, or something similar, than that's what you'll have to do to keep doing this. What's more important to you? Your elaborate and time consuming techniques or making and selling pipes? At this point, at least for now, it sounds like you can only keep one.

I really like your work and am very interested in your materials and techniques, as I said in the email. I am saddened to hear of your frustrations in the blog. However you really need to hear this and accept whatever you can from it.

I imagine we're talking, pipes in hand, as we walk through the surrounding forrest...

Good luck,"