I was raised in Virginia by the Chesapeake Bay. My mother was an antique furniture dealer and restorer and my father was a duck hunter and pipe smoker. My mother's love of fine woods and my father's love of fine briars combined in me to give me a strong esthetic for beautiful pipes.

I collected fine, high grade pipes by the best European and Japanese masters for several years before trying my hand at creating my own pipes. By collecting S.Bang, Teddy Knudsen, Rainer Barbi, Tom Eltang and later Cornelius Mänz and Tokutomi, I gained a sharpen eye for what a good pipe should be.

About the time I was beginning to carve my first pipes I was extremely fortunate to meet and befriend, in short order, Jeff Gracik, Todd Johnson and Brad Pohlmann. These three men, world class and successful pipe carvers, have been utterly invaluable in my instruction and rapid progress in pipe making. Each one of them has been kind and generous with their time and I have spend many wonderful hours in their respective shops getting a Masters level education in the art and craft of making a great pipe. All my current and future success I owe, in large degree, to their patient and unselfish mentoring and kind encouragement.

I continue to seek out and learn from the best pipe makers that I can find, endeavoring to create the very finest smoking pipes for the discerning pipe smoker and collector. Pipe smokers are great people and making them happy makes me happy.