Smooth Bent Apple (Kikuchi) (D) Tobacco Pipe

Whenever I see a wasp waisted Acorn or double bowled Apple shape like this one from Tsuge Ikebana, I'm always certain exactly who the shape came from — Asami Kikuchi — the young carver having come into crafting pipes after completing her final year art school project on the tactile enjoyment of small wooden objects. Since the announcement of her joining the team (as a fully fledged carver) in 2013, she has most certainly come into her own, with her later pipes, especially ones such as this, obviously being an extension of her fascination with tactile experience.

- Adam O'Neill