Last summer, I was at a market in a small village called Fulltofta. This market was focused on crafts and locally produced products. It was not a coincidence that I went there, because I knew that a young man called Mathias Lundell would be there and show his pipes.

Even if it was a very large hall it did not take long to locate Mathias and his table with pipes. The interest from the visitors was very high and Mathias had to answer lots of questions. It seems like everyone in one way or another have a relationship to pipes and pipe-smokers – it may be any grandparent or other older acquaintance who was rarely seen without a pipe in his mouth. But, it is also so that many believe that this belongs to an older generation. Therefore, it is most valuable when a young pipemaker like Mathias shows himself and his pipes in a place like this, which is visited by many people.

The market was not a good place to take pictures of Mathias’ pipes, so we decided to get together a few weeks later in his home.

A Malmö resident moves into the countryside
It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon I arrived to Osbyholm, where Mathias is living with his wife Petra and their two children Harry and Lovis, six and two and a half years old. Over a cup of coffee Mathias told me a little about himself and how he got interested in pipemaking. Then we of course had to visit the workshop, which is spacious and located in the basement of the family’s charming house.

Mathias (* 1977) is a native Malmö resident and his wife Petra says that when they met, Mathias could not imagine moving from his hometown. But when their son Harry was born, he thought otherwise and began searching for suitable houses in the country. Three years ago they found this house in Osbyholm.

From cigars to a pipe
From what I understand Petra played a significant role to make Mathias interested in making pipes. He used to smoke a cigar at solemn occasions, and got a humidor as a gift from his wife. But Mathias said that he often purchased more cigars than he smoked and to have a collection of cigars might be fun, but not very exciting. Petra found that out and gave him a pipe and a can of tobacco. And, as you know, if you have one pipe you want to have more. So Mathias started buying pipes and

among other things, he bought a used pipe on Tradera (an auction site) that was in great need of renovation. While he was working with this, the idea of making his own pipes appeared. And that is the way many other pipemakers have started their careers.

Mathias started buying some pre-drilled blocks. But after a while, he made the same discovery as most others – it is more fun and you could achieve better results, if you drill the blocks yourself. Mathias is an engineer and as such he is used to handle big, heavy stuff, but working with small pieces of wood is a new experience to him.

Highest on the wish list – a lathe
Mathias has a relatively well-equipped workshop but he lacks a lathe and that is number one on his wish-list. But he also wants to have a cabinet for sandblasting. He very much wants to make sandblasted pipes and a compressor is already in place, so he is halfway to fulfill that dream. Furthermore, Mathias says that he had two goals for this year – he should make 20 pipes and he would not sell any of them. The first goal he has achieved, the second he has not been able to hold to one hundred percent – it has not been possible to withstand all requests from people who wants to buy a pipe from him. The plans for the future are that he wants to have a website of his own.

Jan Andersson