Pipe scene in your neighborhood?

BigBalldBenny

I am interested in knowing what the pipe scene is like in different regions around the country. I am from Madison, WI and I will tell you, it is very lonely being a pipe smoker here. Either I am the sole pipe lover here or I am not looking in the right places. Please chime in and let me know if you are loving your local pipe community!

Kyohan

I'm in the Southern Indiana/Louisville KY area, and it's pretty lonely here too.

JohnLawitzke

The pipe scene is pretty good in Michigan.  We're lucky to have the legendary Paul's Pipe Shop in Flint and Arrowhead Pipe Club is based there.  There is also Furniture City Pipe Society based at Indian River Tobacco Traders in Grand Rapids.  You hear about the renaissance of pipe with the younger crowd and it is defintiely in evidence at FCPS.  There are also a few other small groups that get together around the state including Ann Arbor and Detroit.

kornfreak78

The pipe scene here where I am in Illinois is pretty lonely.  It seems far too many people around here look down on people that smoke.  So I tend to just smoke alone.  I generally watch many of the guys on YouTube in the YTPC and live vicariously through those videos.  It's about the closest I get to smoking a pipe with someone.   

Mangoandy

I'm from the West Coast (Modesto, CA). Smoking in general is frowned upon, but we have a real friendly pipe smoking community here in the Central Valley. A few older gents that like to talk about the good old days and a healthy collection of the 30-younger crowd who have just discovered a new love for pipe culture get together regularly.
It is pretty easy to find guys down at our local tobacco shop to join you for an afternoon of smoking and conversation.
Here's a pic: That's my dad in the center and our local tobacconist behind the glass counter. Great guys. - Fletch

Nevyen

Well if you ever cross the pond to MI. I live 6 blocks from the Badger's dock. Your welcome to sit on the porch or in the back yard and enjoy a bowl or to with me. I'm usually all alone.
Nevyen

crapgame

here in Mt Pleasant PA there is some pipe smokers but no organized clubs or such..just a friendly nod to each other when we pass each other fishing the creek or whatnot..

Michaelgray71

I'm with you Benny, Mount Vernon, Ohio here and seem to be the only one in my area. There's a bigger scene in Columbus, Ohio but it's and hours drive for me.

WaltCannoy

Getting pipe folk together here in Lakeland, FL, is like pulling teeth. With some effort and much early notice I can pull together half a dozen guys from around the area for a meet-up, but sometimes it seems more trouble than it is worth.

hloakes

I live in Tucker, GA, just outside of Atlanta. Unfortunately the last pipe store in Atlanta closed last month. The closest pipe store, a Tinder Box, now is about 50 miles north of me and they seem to focus more on cigars and wine than pipes. 

LizSTGLaneLtd

hloakes - Which pipe store are you talking about? Puff N Stuff in Decatur is still open to the best of my knowledge

Pataldridge

I'm from the far west suburbs of Chicago and the Chicagoland Pipe Collector's Club show was last weekend. It was kind of an overwhelming experience. I finally found an estate calabash pipe I've been wanting along with a few others. Other than that, the scene here is pretty sparse. The local shop has decent variety of pipe tobacco including a blend I created at the blending event they hosted last year.

PappyJoe

I live in Slidell, La. and the pipe scene here is pretty dead. The one decent cigar shop carries around 15 bulk blends (renamed so you don't really know what they are) and the have a few low end briar pipes for sale.

On the other hand, I'm 30 miles east of New Orleans and I am a member of the New Orleans Pipe Club. We meet once a month in Metairie, La, and we do have a few shops that sell both pipes and cigars. The best is a Tinderbox which is being forced out of its location in a major mall but there are people working to buy the shop, re-name it and move to a new location.

The pipe club usually has from 6 to 20 pipe smokers attend to share tobacco and conversation.

Stevedyh85

Currently live in Newnan, GA but I'm originally from Tucker.  Not much going on pipe-wise in my part of the world but there is a club 25-30 miles NW in Douglasville.  Know of a few pipers around ATL and north of town.

hloakes

Kristy, it was Edwards in Buckhead. I have not been in Puff N Stuff in a while but I thought they were more of Cigar store with some pipe tobacco. Maybe I need to check them out again.

kraigseder

I'm in Sonora California in the Sierra mountains so there isn't a pipe community. Luckily I have Instagram and now ThisPipeLife to talk with other pipe smokers.

thelavendergoat

Austin Texas Pipe club has a decent gathering twice a month. I have noticed there are a lot more pipe smokers in ATX but they aren't really connected into the club or social scene.

pylorns

Ditto on that brother, Austin has lots of pipe smokers, they just get out much.  Heck, one guy on reddit was raving about his new Briarworks pipe he got from Pipeworld here in Austin but I don't think was interested in coming to the club meetings.

Now that said, we've got a good group of guys and our meeting before last we had around 18 people show up.

CharleneSTGLaneLTD

hloakes, theres also "up in smoke" in tucker Ga right on 29 that has a good variety of pipe tobacco!

Anthony

Hello

To any of you that live in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago, I thought you would like to know, that Arlington Pipe & Cigar shop. Has a new owner Chris, I met him yesterday he is very nice, and looking to make a good shop great. We talked about possibly a pipe club there, ( he has a great lounge there). Anyone who might be interested talk to him about it. Also lets wish Hank a great retirement as he leaves, for a well deserved rest. The shop is on Northwest Highway in Arlington Heights IL.  

thewanderingdude

Not much of a community here in Bakersfield, Ca where i'm at. I try to be involved with community through other means like Instagram and have made quite a few friends through it. From what i've seen, this place has the makings of a great community

mgvsquared

I'm right along with PappyJoe and the New Orleans Pipe Club. I live in Kenner and the pipe scene here is definitely small. Tinderbox is the place to go, but like Pappy said, that will change in the near future. I usually frequent Don Juan's, but they don't really cater to pipes. They stock some bulk blends, most aromatics, and the tins are pricey. I want to support them, but unless you're smoking or buying a cigar, there's little reason to enter the shop.

pylorns

Toby has been super busy with his own issues - how has that effected the NOLA pipe club @mgvsquared and pappyjoe?

Kirbyb

I have a local cigar store that sounds similar to most, 95% cigars with a few pipes and tobacco blends. The place is very welcoming to all so I try to give them as much business as I can. The owner is happy to stock anything I'd like, in fact she handed me a catalog to select some blends for her next order. I would love to be part of a local pipe club, maybe I'll have to nut up and try to start one.

mgvsquared

@pylorns Yeah, I heard about some of the issues Toby is dealing with. Hope I get to meet him soon! I'm pretty new...maybe as of October I think? I've made most of them since...we skipped April due to the Tinderbox annual meet up. I think the last one was pretty sparse, less than all of us expected. Still nice to hang out and talk tobacco. Would love to see more members though. Eukie has been spearheading getting emails sent out for the monthly meetups. 

I heard great things about the New Orleans Pipe Show, so I'd love to see how we could get it rolling again. Toby was the driving force behind it and I don't think it'll happen this year unless some magic happens. 2017 is still expected to happen though, from what I understand.

PappyJoe

@pylorns I've been with the pipe club since Nov. 2014. On average I would say we have between 10 and 12 members a month show up for meetings. This last meeting we only had six people show up but we had two things going against us - the weather was bad and it was the first night of the NFL draft. I think the fact that it had rained all day may have deterred some people from showing up.

piperdave

I am located near Cincinnati, OH and other than my brother
and I there are not many pipe smokers to be seen. We do have a pipe club that meets
up once a month at a local tobacconist in Florence, KY called Straus. The club
is called CAPS (Cincinnati Area Pipe Society) they have a face book page https://www.facebook.com/CincinnatiAreaPipeSociety
 we used to have a good turnout but
lately numbers have diminished I think due to the weather being nice and
everyone having families. I have on occasion seen another pipe smoker in
traffic and found myself elated. I wanted to pull over and start a conversation
but that doesn’t work well at 65 MPH. I did received compliments in public when
enjoying an aromatic blend though; that was promising until they told me I smelled like their Grandpa.

Jaynaff

I'm about an hour north of Dallas, TX. There are several pipe clubs in Texas, but none close enough for me to easily meet with. I'm hoping to get a club together in my own area. I use the Nextdoor app to connect with our large neighborhood. I did a poll through the app recently and there were about 3 guys possibly interested. So, the next step is inviting the guys over to enjoy a bowl and a tasty beverage or two when I get the time. On average, I rarely encounter other pipe smokers as I go about life. 

TDSchiraldi

Columbus, Ohio, home to the NASPC show! We have a thriving community of pipe smokers and some of the best local brick and mortar shops anywhere! We are fortunate to have such notable personalities as Premal Chheda, Jesse Jones, Tim West and even The Pipe Tart herself call Columbus home! Pipes and Pleasures, Barclay's, and The Tinderbox at Karric Square all have indoor (grandfathered) smoking freedom and I have spent time in the workshop at Smoker's Haven watching Jesse make pipes and spent hours discussing them with Jesse and Premal. The Tinderbox is my favorite shop due to exceptional staff, a large selection of pipes of both the new and previously cherished varieties, a substantial stock of tinned and bulk tobaccos, and a smoking lounge. What more could a man wish for?

Abreathawayfromglory

@mangoandy what shop is that I will be down in Modesto for a few weeks in July looking for a good shop to hang out at 

Mangoandy

@abreathawayfromglory
Ed Crosby, Tobbaconist and Outfitter

2625 Coffee Rd Modesto Suite T