PCA Magazine Fall 2019

PREMIUMCIGARS.ORG SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2019 | PCA The Magazine 61 his Raleigh, North Carolina, shop, Pipes by George, for more than 30 years. This has given him time to settle upon a business model that he believes serves the regular customers he has come to know. Just as importantly, Hoffman’s model serves him. He says onemajor problemhe has with the artisan trade is the need to play favorites. “If I carry one artisan’s pipes, I always feel like I have to carry others.” He doesn’t like the obligation of passing judgment on artists, telling some that theymake the cut and having to break it to others that their pieces do not warrant shelf space. So he prefers simply to opt out of the game entirely. “The selection offered by the artisanmakers too often isn’t the best,” Hoffman adds. “And pricing is always an issue. If the pipemaker wants $250 for a piece, then I need to sell it for $400 or $500. So it isn’t always easy to come to ameeting of minds when it winds up being better for the pipemaker just to deal directly on the internet.” Hoffman does believe artisan/B&Mrelationships might makemore sense for shops in larger urban areas, where a bigger volume of high- rolling clients walks through daily. “I get the impression that there aremore pipemakers up north than there are here in the South, and the foot traffic in big-city shops opens upmore opportunities for experimentation,” he says. Hoffman finds that his clientele of mostly college students and middle-income office workers is well served with themix of mainstreampipe brands that he sticks with. And he sells plenty— about 1,000 pipes per year—so it’s hard to argue with amerchant who has found a formula that consistently works for him. TimDavis, owner of the venerable Davis &Son Tobacconists in Wilmington, NorthCarolina, sees things similarly toHoffman. “I wouldn’t mind doingmore business with artisans,” Davis says. “I’ve had a couple locals here. But most of themdon’t want to sell wholesale when they can sell retail online. Besides, the pipe end of the business has slowed down somuch, and I think it’smainly because of online selling.” Davis continues, “I still sell an occasional high-grade, but they are generally pipes I’ve had in stock formany years. Most of the merchants I talk to don’t evenwant to carry artisan pipes anymore.” On the other hand, Waymond Gott, pipemanager at Just For Him in Springfield, Missouri, says, “We carry pipes froma couple local makers. It gives thema littlemore exposure that theymight not get online or at shows.” Skip Elliott, proprietor of The Briary in Homewood, Alabama, says, “We used to havemore artisanmakers than we do now. Some of the pipemakers we’ve done business with have gotten out of the trade ever since FDA regulations became a threat.” (Other carvers have simply begun to focus their selling outside the Americanmarket, which is made a lot easier by internet options.) But Elliott sees an upside for carvers who can win space on local shelves, even if they have to compromise on pricing. “Whenever we do an event, for instance, we get a lot of people in here, and a lot of times the artisan carvers can sell a brisk volume in one day when we have a big crowd.” DavidHuber, a successful pipemaker in Durham, North Carolina, says artisans are aware of the advantages that come withmaking a relationship work in a brick-and-mortar shop, despite the price complications. “A lot of B&Mshops have an interest, but most of themhave a fear about being able tomove pipes above a $200 price point. Still, it’s worth seeking out shelf space, even if just for sake of the greater exposure. Take, for instance, customers whomight not shop for pipes on the internet. Those buyers are still out there.” Huber adds, “Then too, working with a pipe shop helps the pipemaker save timemarketing his wares, whichmeans themaker has more time to create.” Finally, the symbolismand prestige of showing one’s work on a store shelf helps motivate pipemakers to reach an accommodating arrangement. “I really feel that brick-and-mortar shops are the heart and soul of the hobby,” says Huber, “and a lot of customers feel that way, too, and take their business to B&Mshops for that very reason, and also for the person-to-person customer support they find there. I’mnot in any shops right now, but I am definitely interested.” Whatever your own business model, there will always be a certain segment of the buying public that is susceptible to falling in love with a gorgeous handmade, sometimes when they least expect it. People withmoney who have a weakness for nice things deserve to be served, just like anyone else. At any rate, you’ll never be able to sell high- grades if you don’t stock them. Perhaps there is an artisan carver near you who rates a few inches of shelf space. You’d be doing a service for the carver, for the buying public and for the hobby at large. What’s the harm in trying? ” T H E P I P E “I really feel that brick- and-mortar shops are the heart and soul of the hobby, and a lot of customers feel that way, too, and take their business to B&M shops for that very reason ....”