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Pipe summit with Barbi and Mänz

A gathering of German high-graders and collectors in Leipzig next June promises the luxury of undiluted briar gossip. Online vendor and initiator Heiko Jahr says he's not aiming for a mega-event, such as the scheduled European Pipe & Tobacco Show in Cuxhaven a few weeks later. But Jahr's list of participators is already looking impressive, with Rainer Barbi and Cornelius Mänz certain to attend, as he stresses.

"I'm very confident that Wolfgang Becker and Bertram Safferling will be there, too," Heiko adds. He and the Leipzig Pipe Club also plan to invite Paul Becker, Peter Klein and the Brandts (father and son). Foreign influence looks set to be restricted to Austria and Switzerland, with invitations to be extended to Peter Matzhold, Roman Peter, Franz von Matt and other carvers. The public, needless to say, is free to attend in unlimited numbers.

Heiko's deliberately cozy approach foresees a maximum of 20 exhibitors at the show - carvers, professional vendors and collectors selling their estates. The contrast to Rolf Osterndorff's plans for a large, three-day Euro show in August is blatant. Heiko wishes Rolf well, but thinks that any impetus for American-style pipe events in Europe must stem from grass-roots efforts, rather than big commercial onslaughts.

It's interesting to note that both Heiko and Rolf conduct much of their business online. Some experts say that enthusiasm for consumer-oriented pipe fairs is pretty much restricted to Internet vendors in Germany. They caution that the established brick & mortar retailers see no reason to cart their goods halfway across the country in order to display them in 3D - an effect they achieve every day in their shops. Sceptics add that traditional dealers are also far from keen on having carvers interact with the public on neutral turf. They fear a weakening of the strong ties between producers and the retail sector.

(November 5, 2003)

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