Sandblasted Acorn with Bakelite Tobacco Pipe

Though his renditions of this Acorn are somewhat few and far between, this shape is a signature design from Sam Adebayo. The profile has always reminded me of the famous BoDog Bulldog rendition from Bo Nordh — popularized by Geiger and seen as Vermont Freehand's NorseDog as well. While Sam's piece is considerably more curvaceous, devoid of the others' hard lines, it features a similar style of pinched transition and flaring, forward-urging bowl. As such, the profile is incredibly sleek and dynamic, an aesthetic supported by Adebayo's shaping of the stem base, whose defining line is tilted in alignment with the silhouette's forward momentum. This particular example is dressed in a warm, inviting tan blast, with the heel marked by perfectly oriented birdseye from out of which emanate ripples of ring grain up the bowl. Sam is a carver drawn to colorful palettes and often utilizes bakelite as an accenting hue. Such is the case here, as the stem's vivid blue turquoise offers a striking, modernist complement to the more traditionally colored stummel.