On Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, more than 100 pipe makers, collectors, dealers, enthusiasts, and friends from all over the world descended upon Tom Eltang's workshop in Hyldegårdsvej in the Charlottenlund neighborhood of Copenhagen. They gathered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Tom's pipe-making career and the 25th anniversary of Scandpipes, the notable high-grade pipe retailer run by Per Billhȁll.

When I arrived at 1:00 p.m., the festivities were well underway. Everyone there could call Tom a friend; they were people he had trained, advised, and collaborated with, and those who collected his pipes. Everyone, it seems, knew each other. The world of pipes is small, but the names are significant. From Japan, Hiro Mitsui of Tsuge and Kei Gotoh; from Germany, Cornelius Mȁnz, Wolfgang Becker, and Jürgen Moritz; from France, Bruno Nuttens made the trip. Danish makers were well represented with carvers Nanna Ivarsson, Manduela, Peter Heding, Peder Jeppesen, and many more. Pipe enthusiasts and collectors from the U.S., Germany, the UK, China, and Sweden also converged on Tom's workshop to celebrate this career milestone.

Celebrations started early and ended late. The last of us left Tom's workshop at 4:00 a.m. after watching Tom go through his scrapbook from his Pipe Dan and Stanwell days. Seriously — you gotta love a guy before spending 15 hours at a party celebrating his accomplishments (admittedly, the young, the old, the frail, and the reasonably sane had all long since called it a night).

The global pipe community holds a deep affection for Tom, and not only because of his winning personality and admirable work ethic. He has made a mission of contributing to pipe making and the success of others.

His career started in Anne Julie's workshop in 1974 when he was just 16 years old. He went on to Pipe Dan in 1977 and then to Stanwell three years later. He spent a few very hard years on the road, performing pipe-making demonstrations in German shops, but, homesick and miserable and away from home when Sara, his younger daughter, was born, he gave it up to concentrate on his own workshop. It was his first shop and was small, but he already dreamed of the workspace that would come later.

His current workshop is large but cozy, efficiently laid out, and comfortable for himself and his many visitors. It has been a nexus for the hand-made pipe industry since Tom built the workshop and opened it to the world more than 20 years ago. The world responded to his congeniality, creativity, professionalism, and mentorship. His influence has been profound.

Pipe making as a profession changed markedly in the early 2000s, experiencing a revolution beyond Scandinavia due mainly to three factors:

1. The fundamentals of Danish pipe making, pioneered by Sixten Ivarsson in the 1950s, began to dominate high-grade artisanship worldwide, thanks mainly to the internet, which allowed everyone to see what everyone else was making almost in real time. Smokingpipes, launched in 2000, became part of that phenomenon.
2. The Chicago Pipe Show. Its influence cannot be overestimated. For the first time, there was a truly global, annual pipe event where thousands could gather and exchange ideas. For pipe making and collecting, it was an unprecedented opportunity.
3. And then there was Tom Eltang. Prior to Tom's involvement with other pipe makers in the early 2000s, there was little collaboration or sharing of knowledge in the pipe world (Sixten's earlier contributions being the exception). Part of that was professional wariness and practicality. This is a largely solitary activity and until it could be unleashed by the internet (and by retailers like Smokingpipes and Scandpipes), it was just much more difficult.

Tom has hosted countless pipe makers, often putting them up in the "Eltang Hilton," a tiny pipe-themed bedroom in his workshop, and taking care of them as only Tom and his wife Pia can. He's had a hand in training dozens of today's top pipe makers from all over the world, and his influence extends far beyond them to pipe makers they, in turn, have instructed. Not only has Tom been generous with his knowledge and time, but he's fostered a culture of generosity among pipe makers that has precipitated the great flowering of high-grade artisanal pipes over the past two decades.

That's why Tom's 50th anniversary was such an important event, attended by so many who owe so much to his remarkable contributions. But it wasn't just people Tom had taught or people with whom, like me, he has a business relationship. His daughters and grandchildren were there, and also friends from his neighborhood, people from his local bar, and the accumulated relationships of a life well lived. Tom guessed that between 100 and 200 people would come. I don't think anyone actually tried to count attendees, but it was an impressive turnout.

Fifty years of pipe making is a remarkable accomplishment, but Tom has contributed far more than pipes. He has developed relationships that resonate throughout the pipe-making world. The friendships he has fostered are as essential to our community as the creativity, techniques, designs, and unparalleled workmanship that he has perfected. I was happy to be part of the festivities, to participate in the appreciation we all have for Tom's benefactions, and to experience the celebratory outpouring of affection for Tom Eltang.