Mike called me one afternoon with surprise. We had an opportunity to now attend the 2012 West Coast Pipe Show in Las Vegas. Steve Liskey (a Indie Pipe Maker) and his future bride Jamie, had purchased a hotel room for us so that we could attend. This sounded fantastic, one small issue, This event was happening in less then two weeks. In a mad dash to make this happen, we called Mike's parents, who conveniently live in St George UT, which is on the way to Vegas.
So with the children safely left with the grandparents, we were on our way to our first pipe show ever. I did not know what to expect and Mike was more wound up then a child before Christmas. Since Mike had started TPC, a whole new universe had open up to him. At first it was factory pipes. But then....then he delved into the lesser known world of independent pipe makers. His first indie pipe was an Arley Curtz, and then another, and then a Balkovec. Suddenly TPC had a focus, the indie pipe maker. This trip was a quest to meet these idols of briar. Mike had brought TPC hats to give to all his heroes.
The show was at Palace Station. I was going to be totally lost! I knew little to nothing about the world of Indie pipe makers or who these people even were. Once again I was riding the ride Mike had put me on. We arrived and went right on into a life changing experience! I thought Mike was going to explode! He had no idea where to start, so many pipes, all in one room! And for the man who has decided that he must own one of every pipe ever made... This was HEAVEN!
Right off the bat, we meet Rad Davis and Mark Tinsky. I had heard the names many times by this point but really had never seen their work. Mike stopped and happily began a conversation. I looked around the room in the hopes of finding some other women to hang with but it seemed there were very few. The next table was another legend, Steve Morrisette. As I stood there, I was amazed at these pieces of smokeable art that had been crafted by this man in front of me. He told Mike to pull up a seat, and the pipe talk began. Steve explained that there was a whole mass of people waiting for Mike, Mr TPC, to show up.
There was this young guy making a bee line to Mike. This was Steve Liskey in the flesh. Right off the bat it was like they had known each other for years. We thanked Steve for giving us this opportunity of a life time. He took us back to his table to meet his fiance, Jamie. Sitting at the the next table was gentleman named Grant Batson. Once again I was blown away by the work of both Steve and Grant. Something was beginning to spark within me. After all the traveling I was a tired and ready to relax while Mike went off to play.
Jamie and I were hungry and so were the boys, so off we went to find some food. This gave us girls a chance to get to know one another. Jamie was this beautiful, soft spoken and polite young lady, who I was very impressed by the level of maturity she had. We both felt an instant connection to each other. This was the beginning of a growing friendship.
We returned with food, and we girls guarded the table while the boys were "networking" with all the other indies. After 3 hours of talking and bonding, I was hoping to be able to spend even more time with our new friends but they had a dinner to attend. Mike and I were planning on trying to meet up with Mike Wotman, the Ashton/Peterson rep that we had met the week before at a Cigar/Pipe event at Tinder Box in Utah. We invited Grant to come with us and accepted our invitation.
So we checked in and dropped off the luggage in the room. Mike received a text from Grant asking if it was all right if Steve Morrisette joined us. Mike was stunned, one of his favorite pipe makers wanted to come and hang out with us. So a little while later all 4 of us were packed into our truck, on our way to Casa De Fuente. Walking through the mall I came to see I was dealing with a real southern gentleman in Mr Morrisette. Upon arriving Steve bought me a cigar and Grant got me a drink. So after a smoke and a few cocktails it was time to find some food, so off to dinner we went. This was unbelievable that we had the opportunity to spend such quality time with these wonderful artisans. Then it was back to the hotel to have dessert with Jamie and Steve and then off to bed to prepare for yet another day of indie pipe madness.
Mike was in such a hurry to get back in the morning to the land of pipes, that we were actually early. But this gave us the chance to sit and have a conversation with Scott Klein. Then off into the show we went. We met Sally the Pipe Tart, and Mr. Lawdog. Jamie and I lit up our pipes and went exploring, coming across such great people as Dr. Bob, Alex Florov and the guys from JNJ pipes. The more people I met, the more I realized what a big family this all was. Here was an unique and caring community that I want to be a part of.
As the day wound to an end there was a touch of sadness that we would all be feeling, to have to say our goodbyes. Something inside me sparked. This was no longer just my husband's ride, this was now our ride together. I wanted to have a voice. It had seemed, to me at least, that there was not enough women here. That a woman smoking a great pipe was some how taboo. I wanted to change that. I now had a deeper understanding of why it was that Mike was so involved and a little obsessed with the pipe world. So at last it ended, and tears were shed as we said our goodbyes to all these new and wonderful friends.
No sooner had we left did the idea of TPC for Women start stirring in my head. I first started talking to Mike about it on the drive out of Vegas. And then to Jamie, who I was now talking to everyday. Back in Salt Lake I was discussing it with my best friend Kenn. I felt that Jamie and I could be a voice for all females who were involved in the tobacco pipe world, whether they wanted to be there or not. We wanted a safe haven for those just starting out with pipes but inclusive enough for the lady pipe maker. First would be our own blog and then maybe even a facebook page.
So after 3 months of planning and talking and brainstorming and pipe smoking we were ready to conquer the world of women pipe smokers. The blog was up and running when out of the blue... Mike couldn't sleep, got up at 3:30 in the morning and surprised me with a TPC for Women facebook page! Ready or not, we were off and moving forward.
So here we are over one month in. Amber was brought on to add another facet of women pipers and a voice from the YouTube community. So along with Jamie's insights about knowing first hand of being on the pipe makers end. And with me being the wife of a crazed pipe collector and the rock star of TPC, we had covered a lot of angles. Our on going mission is to assist all and anyone who is interested in this amazing and diverse world of pipes and tobacco. Already this has been an incredible experience and we are amazingly grateful for all the love and support this community has shown us. We only hope that we can live up to your expectations. Thanks again pipe world and you will be hearing again from us soon.
Puff on my piper friends
-Tracee, Co-founder of TPC for Women
As the day wound to an end there was a touch of sadness that we would all be feeling, to have to say our goodbyes. Something inside me sparked. This was no longer just my husband's ride, this was now our ride together. I wanted to have a voice. It had seemed, to me at least, that there was not enough women here. That a woman smoking a great pipe was some how taboo. I wanted to change that. I now had a deeper understanding of why it was that Mike was so involved and a little obsessed with the pipe world. So at last it ended, and tears were shed as we said our goodbyes to all these new and wonderful friends.
No sooner had we left did the idea of TPC for Women start stirring in my head. I first started talking to Mike about it on the drive out of Vegas. And then to Jamie, who I was now talking to everyday. Back in Salt Lake I was discussing it with my best friend Kenn. I felt that Jamie and I could be a voice for all females who were involved in the tobacco pipe world, whether they wanted to be there or not. We wanted a safe haven for those just starting out with pipes but inclusive enough for the lady pipe maker. First would be our own blog and then maybe even a facebook page.
So after 3 months of planning and talking and brainstorming and pipe smoking we were ready to conquer the world of women pipe smokers. The blog was up and running when out of the blue... Mike couldn't sleep, got up at 3:30 in the morning and surprised me with a TPC for Women facebook page! Ready or not, we were off and moving forward.
So here we are over one month in. Amber was brought on to add another facet of women pipers and a voice from the YouTube community. So along with Jamie's insights about knowing first hand of being on the pipe makers end. And with me being the wife of a crazed pipe collector and the rock star of TPC, we had covered a lot of angles. Our on going mission is to assist all and anyone who is interested in this amazing and diverse world of pipes and tobacco. Already this has been an incredible experience and we are amazingly grateful for all the love and support this community has shown us. We only hope that we can live up to your expectations. Thanks again pipe world and you will be hearing again from us soon.
Puff on my piper friends
-Tracee, Co-founder of TPC for Women
