So, it’s October and for the first time in a few years, I’m making Halloween pipes for open sale. It’s been a long and strange road to get here, and I want to explain just how and why I’m “re-imagining” my Halloween pipes.
I first made them 12 years ago, and at the time I was just getting started in the business and trying all sorts of ideas to see what worked and what didn’t. I had a fantastic time making them and was very proud of what I’d done, but after a few years of putting them out every Halloween and studying the costs of the things versus their labor hours, I came to the unavoidable conclusion that they were simply a deadly loss to make – Not one of them came close to covering the time investment of making them. And so, for a very long period that covered most of the mid-2000’s, the Talbert Halloween pipes went away.
Now they are back, and back in earnest. I wasn’t happy with not making them anymore because they’re the most enjoyable pipes I produce. But, they had to turn a living wage the same as anything else I make, so in the end I decided to do two things – A) Charge the prices for them that I needed to get in order to continue making them, and B) let out all the stops. Literally, go all-out and stop worrying about how much time one is taking, how much money I can get for it, etc, and just make the most awesomely nightmarish, hideously detailed, and all-around excellent Halloween pipes that I could. I believe this will more than justify their prices. Again, they’re an experiment now just as much as they were when I first created them – If the market won’t bear it, this may be the end of them. But, if they do sell, there will be more… and more. I am fully prepared to work on Halloween pipes year-round, as the inspiration strikes, and the new Halloween pipe page on our site could become a permanent fixture, if this little project is a success.
Towards this goal, this first 2012 Halloween pipe is a good bit more detailed than past Halloweens, and offers up a unique and creative internal system as well. I’ve had a new stamp made solely for the Halloween pipes… No more with just an “H” stamped after the Talbert logo. From here on, the new Halloween stamping is this:
The new Talbert Halloween pipes will offer higher craftsmanship, higher value, and (I hope) a higher and more creative artistic sensibility drawn from my ten years of pipemaking experience since the last time I carved any of these beasties for website sales. I hope you’ll enjoy the new pipes, and wish me luck in this venture. And now, on with the show!
3 Comments
Anonymous · October 9, 2012 at 1:01 am
thanks for sharing.
Trever-T · October 8, 2012 at 2:30 am
Thanks for the kind words! Whether it sells or not, I can at least be content that I did exactly what I wanted to, and produced something which I think is a genuinely original quality piece. So on that count, it's already a success. I will obviously be a lot happier if it sells, but at least if it doesn't, I won't regret keeping it for myself! The only downside would be that that would mark the end of the Talbert Halloween pipes as a series.
Pipeline · October 7, 2012 at 3:40 am
Mr. Talbert,
The 2012 Halloween Series begins brilliantly. I believe it attains your goals and avoids the pitfalls you write about on talbertpipes.com. I've not been so disturbed and yet impressed with a "theme" pipe as I am with the above. I think I shall sleep better than you. You see, I have only seen your creation, but it dwells unshackled and menacing, only a sortie of "click, scratch, and drag" from where you vainly seek peaceful slumber.
Perhaps this is the first and last 2012 Halloween pipe. Geppetto carved his Pinocchio, a real boy from blocks of wood and string. Mr. Talbert, have you made a wooden friend, soon to bite the hand that formed its life? The silence until your next post will be delicious.
Ta, ta, for now. Or, is that tare, tare?