Welcome to another episode of "All Pipes Considered," joined by my good friend Mr. Kaz Walters from Laudisi Distribution Group. We're back to talk about one of Savinelli's most anticipated limited-edition releases every year. And that is, drum roll please... Saint Nicholas 2024 pipes.

[Andy Wike]: Hi everybody, I'm Andy Wike and I'm here today with Kaz Walters to chat about Savinelli's Saint Nicholas 2024 pipes as we gear up for the holidays. This is the 12th edition of this series. While the shapes are always standard production shape-chart models, every year they tweak the color palette. Last year, 2023's model, was a very wintery sort of aesthetic.

[Kaz Walters]: Yes, blue, white, and silver, which was a departure from previous years. Most of the pipes from previous years were some combination of either green and white, red and white, or red and green, more what you would just assume are standard Christmas colors. And there have been deviations as far as the kind of band or stem, playing with different types of materials. Sometimes it would be a solid opaque acrylic and sometimes it would be more of a shimmery, Lucite-style acrylic.

Producing it for so many years, they were largely self-limiting to that color palette, but it's interesting to see the last two years there has been a major departure from those palettes, yet they still have this clearly Christmas aesthetic.

[AW]: Yeah, I totally agree. And I also think that's just in general, Savinelli is playing with more modern color palettes these days. We're seeing them take a little bit more risks and push the boundaries of what they've historically done, to a really great effect. Look at the Novelties and the whole Commedia Dell'arte series; those proprietary stems and accent materials are really cool. They're experimenting, playing, and iterating more.

[KW]: Novel approaches to Novelties.

[AW]: For this year specifically, as Kaz mentioned, it's more of a warmer aesthetic. So when I look at these, I think of campfires and a hearth. A roaring fire with stockings hung up by the mantle.

[KW]: Yeah, whereas last year there was more of a winter wonderland theme going on. 2024's is more cozy, like chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

[AW]: Yeah, that's a great way to put it. That's my favorite holiday song, by the way, "The Christmas Song." One day you guys will get me to sing it. On these pipes specifically, there's 15 shapes available, representing Savinelli's most iconic pieces. We have the 311 KS, the 320 KS, the 315, and the Prince. These models are all rendered in this really warm, traditional color palette. The accents themselves are twin rings of brass, sandwiched between a very nice traditional red acrylic accent. The stems this year are particularly interesting. These are unique to the line. They're proprietary stems custom cast for this year's edition. They have an amber look to them.

[KW]: They definitely represent Savinelli's classic approach to St. Nicholas, but really almost all of the stems are proprietary. That's kind of their thing. No other factory is producing pipes with this type of material. This stem in particular is very warm, and it is a vintage callback, especially with that burgundy deep-red stain. You've got a nice texture from the rustication, but the stem material is translucent. You can see through it without it being transparent.

And then, with just the echoing, undulating-like patterns from the light palette, it's definitely reminiscent of vintage amber. I think a lot of people, whether they realize it or not, have a vintage, nostalgic feeling during Christmas time, beyond just the family dynamic.

[AW]: Of course it does.

[KW]: With pipe smokers, like in shops or whether it's on their social media, around Christmas time, everybody's posting one of these really old advertisements or old illustrations from "Twas the Night Before Christmas," and Santa always has a pipe. Same thing with Frosty the Snowman smoking a corn-cob pipe, it's an identifying part of the song.

It's really cool to have a vintage aesthetic, whereas previous iterations have been more modern. This iteration manages to balance both of those things: a vintage callback with a palette that's distinctly Savinelli.

[AW]: Yeah, for sure. It's definitely a novel approach to a holiday pipe. And I think what you said about striking that balance between nostalgic callbacks and modern execution is really where this year's series excels. The traditional red accent and then the shimmery yellow acrylic stem is a really nice composition for this year. I am really looking forward to seeing how they do. I'll probably pick one up myself. Do you have a favorite Savinelli shape that you might be looking for?

[KW]: For this year it's probably going to be the 904. If I'm looking for something that's usually in my taste as far as shaping, but also like going back to the vintage, what it alludes to, I kind of want to do just one that has this most identifiable, iconic profile. And so I'm looking at the 606 KS.

[AW]: Yeah, you can't go wrong with that, that's for sure. Very cool. They'll be available in 15 different shapes, each featuring a really nice, deep red stain, a low profile rustication, and a brand new proprietary acrylic stem for this year's edition. Kaz, thank you so much for joining. We'll catch you next time with something else Savinelli might be doing.

[KW]: It's always a pleasure. Thanks.