Chicago 2024: Who's going?

[craiginthecorn]

I was busy almost the entire show with handling one thing or another, but still brought home some pipes. The meerschaum is a Celebi reverse calabash with some very nice lattice work. The billiard is a Chinese maker named, I believe, Yuan Mei. I was taken by the choices the carver made for shaping/faceting the pipe to make distinct changes in the grain pattern. To achieve it, the pipe is asymmetrical, but it's not obvious. The tiny pipe is surprisingly functional and well-made. It was gifted to me by Muxiang Pipes. I'm guessing it's intended for fishing, as there is a string necklace. The beautiful cherrywood is a GH Zhang pipe which was gifted to me by Ping Zhan, Guoqing Zhang, and Guohui Zhang. The long shank blowfish is another GH Zhang pipe which I won at the Silent Auction. Both have commemorative stamps for the Chicago Pipe Show. The stubby sandblasted pipe is Vietnamese carver whose name I cannot recall at the moment. Finally, I bought a Konstantin Shekita pipe, the proceeds of which go directly to support Ukraine. Hence, the blue and yellow adornment.

I also bought a nice little Kaywoodie from @crashthegrey, but it's not at home at the moment for me to photograph.

 

[craiginthecorn]

I got one but will opt for the atrium next year. Very oddly the renovated tower rooms have no bureaus, nightstands, closets or desks. They only have a mini shoe drawer under a clothes rod. It’s almost as if the designer had no understanding of what transient guests commonly need.

Supposedly the atrium rooms have bureaus so that’ll be my choice next time.

That minor complaint aside I liked the venue.

When we did the walkthrough, Vera Florov was saying that she was glad that our rooms weren't the updated style for the very reason you're mentioning, Jon. I really appreciated the large bureau with, I think, four drawers. I like minimalism, but geez, that sounds underdone.

 

[crashthegrey]

I was busy almost the entire show with handling one thing or another, but still brought home some pipes. The meerschaum is a Celebi reverse calabash with some very nice lattice work. The billiard is a Chinese maker named, I believe, Yuan Mei. I was taken by the choices the carver made for shaping/faceting the pipe to make distinct changes in the grain pattern. To achieve it, the pipe is asymmetrical, but it's not obvious. The tiny pipe is surprisingly functional and well-made. It was gifted to me by Muxiang Pipes. I'm guessing it's intended for fishing, as there is a string necklace. The beautiful cherrywood is a GH Zhang pipe which was gifted to me by Ping Zhan, Guoqing Zhang, and Guohui Zhang. The long shank blowfish is another GH Zhang pipe which I won at the Silent Auction. Both have commemorative stamps for the Chicago Pipe Show. The stubby sandblasted pipe is Vietnamese carver whose name I cannot recall at the moment. Finally, I bought a Konstantin Shekita pipe, the proceeds of which go directly to support Ukraine. Hence, the blue and yellow adornment.

I also bought a nice little Kaywoodie from @crashthegrey, but it's not at home at the moment for me to photograph.

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It was really great to catch up with you, and thank you for the support!

 

[AJL67]

I got one but will opt for the atrium next year. Very oddly the renovated tower rooms have no bureaus, nightstands, closets or desks. They only have a mini shoe drawer under a clothes rod. It’s almost as if the designer had no understanding of what transient guests commonly need.

Supposedly the atrium rooms have bureaus so that’ll be my choice next time.

That minor complaint aside I liked the venue.

For some reason a lot of remodels they remove anything with a drawer, a lot of Alotfs i've stayed at lately have like "Shelving cubby holes" instead of dressers so you just sort of put your clothes and things in the cubbies and there is a "closet" that is just a big cubby with a rod for hangers. I don't get it either but i suppose easier to clean rooms and people leave less things behind?

Thanks for the pictures all!

 

[craiginthecorn]

I forgot to share these in my previous post. Essentially, they're Chinese kiserus. Both purchased from Muxhiang.

 

[Said.ALTINAY]

Just thought I'd bump this in case @Said.ALTINAY or anyone else has any pics to share.

Just thought I'd bump this in case @Said.ALTINAY or anyone else has any pics to share.

Hi @brian64
Actually, I realized that I didn't have good shots from show.

 

[litup]

Hi @brian64
Actually, I realized that I didn't have good shots from show.

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I passed your table a couple times and I was intrigued by the translucent meerschaum. Can you tell me a little bit more about how or why this is different than typical meerschaum? Is it a different material or just a different quality?

 

[brian64]

Hi @brian64
Actually, I realized that I didn't have good shots from show.

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Looks like an impressive array of meers you had there Said! Glad you were able to make it...hope it went well for you. Thanks for posting the pics!

 

[craiginthecorn]

I passed your table a couple times and I was intrigued by the translucent meerschaum. Can you tell me a little bit more about how or why this is different than typical meerschaum? Is it a different material or just a different quality?

Me too. I was eyeing a small billiard with a very short bamboo extension with the highest translucency rating. I looked at it a couple of times. I had already blown my budget, though. It's not a material that I was familiar with and something that is now on my list for the future.

 

[AroEnglish]

I was busy almost the entire show with handling one thing or another, but still brought home some pipes. The meerschaum is a Celebi reverse calabash with some very nice lattice work. The billiard is a Chinese maker named, I believe, Yuan Mei. I was taken by the choices the carver made for shaping/faceting the pipe to make distinct changes in the grain pattern. To achieve it, the pipe is asymmetrical, but it's not obvious. The tiny pipe is surprisingly functional and well-made. It was gifted to me by Muxiang Pipes. I'm guessing it's intended for fishing, as there is a string necklace. The beautiful cherrywood is a GH Zhang pipe which was gifted to me by Ping Zhan, Guoqing Zhang, and Guohui Zhang. The long shank blowfish is another GH Zhang pipe which I won at the Silent Auction. Both have commemorative stamps for the Chicago Pipe Show. The stubby sandblasted pipe is Vietnamese carver whose name I cannot recall at the moment. Finally, I bought a Konstantin Shekita pipe, the proceeds of which go directly to support Ukraine. Hence, the blue and yellow adornment.

I also bought a nice little Kaywoodie from @crashthegrey, but it's not at home at the moment for me to photograph.

View attachment 304001 View attachment 304002View attachment 304003View attachment 304004View attachment 304006View attachment 304007View attachment 304008View attachment 304009View attachment 304010View attachment 304011

The Chinese pipe makers are the ones that really make me miss not going and it was great to hear that @brianlevine moderated a panel that focused on pipe making in China. The pipes you got from them are all quite charming, especially that first one.

 

[Said.ALTINAY]

I passed your table a couple times and I was intrigued by the translucent meerschaum. Can you tell me a little bit more about how or why this is different than typical meerschaum? Is it a different material or just a different quality?

Hi @litup ,
Translucent meerschaum is a rare type of meerschaum with unique marble-like or dotted patterns which become more evident as the pipe is smoked.
Its unique composition and formation create a translucency that makes each piece visually distinctive.
We classify translucent blocks as A+, A++ and A+++ according to their pattern richness and distribution.
The absorbency rate may be slightly higher, but this is not very noticeable while smoking.
I can say that it differs only visually from a normal meerschaum pipe.
So if these visuals does not excite you, you definitely do not need to go to these budgets.


Some of translucent meerschaum samples from my instagram:

ꜱᴀɪᴅ ᴀʟᴛɪɴᴀʏ on Instagram: "Enjoying my translucent #meer with new ebonite stem"

203 likes, 15 comments - altinay.meerschaum.pipesJune 4, 2023 on : "Enjoying my translucent #meer with new ebonite stem".

www.instagram.com

ꜱᴀɪᴅ ᴀʟᴛɪɴᴀʏ on Instagram: "#Meerschaum #Patina"

115 likes, 4 comments - altinay.meerschaum.pipesMarch 25, 2021 on : "#Meerschaum #Patina".

www.instagram.com

ꜱᴀɪᴅ ᴀʟᴛɪɴᴀʏ on Instagram: "Before & After photos of my own favorite pipe after end of year maintenance #patina #perfectpatina PS: As i see Facebook & Instagram seriously reduces quality of photos during upload. So you can see original photos on http

154 likes, 9 comments - altinay.meerschaum.pipesJanuary 1, 2020 on : "Before & After photos of my own favorite pipe after end of year maintenance #patina #perfectpatina PS: As i see Facebook & Instagram seri...".

www.instagram.com

ꜱᴀɪᴅ ᴀʟᴛɪɴᴀʏ on Instagram: "Billiard Spigot Meerschaum Pipe made of Translucent Meerschaum Block A+++ ᴀʟᴛɪɴᴀʏᴘɪᴘᴇꜱ.ᴄᴏᴍ Premium Block Meerschaum Pipes . . . . . . . . . . . #altinaymeerschaum #altinaypipes #altinay #meerschaumpipes #smoke #handmade

120 likes, 1 comments - altinay.meerschaum.pipesNovember 21, 2017 on : "Billiard Spigot Meerschaum Pipe made of Translucent Meerschaum Block A+++ ᴀʟᴛɪɴᴀʏᴘɪᴘᴇꜱ.ᴄᴏᴍ Premium Block Meersch...".

www.instagram.com

 

[litup]

Very cool. Thanks for the explanation and the links to the Instagram pictures.