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Saturday, October 06, 2012

Talbert Halloween Pipes, Rebooted

So, it's October and for the first time in a few years, I'm making Halloween pipes for open sale.  It's been a long and strange road to get here, and I want to explain just how and why I'm "re-imagining" my Halloween pipes.

I first made them 12 years ago, and at the time I was just getting started in the business and trying all sorts of ideas to see what worked and what didn't.  I had a fantastic time making them and was very proud of what I'd done, but after a few years of putting them out every Halloween and studying the costs of the things versus their labor hours, I came to the unavoidable conclusion that they were simply a deadly loss to make - Not one of them came close to covering the time investment of making them.  And so, for a very long period that covered most of the mid-2000's, the Talbert Halloween pipes went away.

Now they are back, and back in earnest.  I wasn't happy with not making them anymore because they're the most enjoyable pipes I produce.  But, they had to turn a living wage the same as anything else I make, so in the end I decided to do two things - A) Charge the prices for them that I needed to get in order to continue making them, and B) let out all the stops.  Literally, go all-out and stop worrying about how much time one is taking, how much money I can get for it, etc, and just make the most awesomely nightmarish, hideously detailed, and all-around excellent Halloween pipes that I could.  I believe this will more than justify their prices.  Again, they're an experiment now just as much as they were when I first created them - If the market won't bear it, this may be the end of them.  But, if they do sell, there will be more... and more.  I am fully prepared to work on Halloween pipes year-round, as the inspiration strikes, and the new Halloween pipe page on our site could become a permanent fixture, if this little project is a success.

Towards this goal, this first 2012 Halloween pipe is a good bit more detailed than past Halloweens, and offers up a unique and creative internal system as well.  I've had a new stamp made solely for the Halloween pipes... No more with just an "H" stamped after the Talbert logo.  From here on, the new Halloween stamping is this:

The new Talbert Halloween pipes will offer higher craftsmanship, higher value, and (I hope) a higher and more creative artistic sensibility drawn from my ten years of pipemaking experience since the last time I carved any of these beasties for website sales.    I hope you'll enjoy the new pipes, and wish me luck in this venture.  And now, on with the show!

2 comments:

  1. Mr. Talbert,

    The 2012 Halloween Series begins brilliantly. I believe it attains your goals and avoids the pitfalls you write about on talbertpipes.com. I've not been so disturbed and yet impressed with a "theme" pipe as I am with the above. I think I shall sleep better than you. You see, I have only seen your creation, but it dwells unshackled and menacing, only a sortie of "click, scratch, and drag" from where you vainly seek peaceful slumber.

    Perhaps this is the first and last 2012 Halloween pipe. Geppetto carved his Pinocchio, a real boy from blocks of wood and string. Mr. Talbert, have you made a wooden friend, soon to bite the hand that formed its life? The silence until your next post will be delicious.

    Ta, ta, for now. Or, is that tare, tare?

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  2. Thanks for the kind words! Whether it sells or not, I can at least be content that I did exactly what I wanted to, and produced something which I think is a genuinely original quality piece. So on that count, it's already a success. I will obviously be a lot happier if it sells, but at least if it doesn't, I won't regret keeping it for myself! The only downside would be that that would mark the end of the Talbert Halloween pipes as a series.

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