Hosting Takeo Arita in the Shop

Recently Takeo Arita and I got together for a week-long powwow here
in my Charleston studio. Takeo is the son of Japanese pipemaker
Shizou Arita. Living and working in his high-rise Tokyo flat, Takeo
produces about 60 high-grade pieces per year. He works almost
exclusively with hand tools, relying on his father's lathe only for
stem work and decorative adornments. Takeo's architectural training
has a strong influence on his pipe aesthetic, lending his work an air
of fluidity and movement. Preferring the clean lines of his urban
landscape, Arita eschews the organic, instead striving for symmetry
and precision.

While Takeo and I share a passion to create, we approach our work
very differently. For pipemakers, watching one another work is
always a fascinating venture. I marveled at Takeo's patience and his
skillful use of a rasp, while he was overwhelmed and a bit
intimidated by my shop full of machinery and hand-made tools. By the
end of the week, though, I had him using my monstrous lathe, and he
had me dragging tiny rings of vulcanite across a piece of 600 grit
sandpaper.

All told, it was a very pleasant week, and we both picked up new
techniques to be employed in our future work. Takeo was a wonderful
guest, and I look forward to visiting him in Tokyo soon. Keep an eye
out for collaborative work between Takeo and myself. You can find out
more about these pieces by monitoring this site or by inquiring from
the contact page.