When introducing a hot carver to this site, I have often opened with something to the effect of ‘Unless you have been living in a cave, you are already familiar with the work of… .’. When I worked for my last employer, duties precluded my attending any pipe shows for about 5 years, I had little time to read the pipe boards, and my exposure to fine briars was pretty much limited to what we carried. Finally, in 2009, I had the pleasure of attending the CPCC and enjoyed some much needed exposure to carving talent that my store (at the time) didn’t carry. Within my first half-hour on site, I heard someone gush about Michael Parks and his work. I started to blurt, “Michael Parks? I LOVED him in ‘Kill Bill!’, but decided to shut up and see what the fuss was about. It took less than 15 minutes to come to the realization that, when it came to knowing the great American talent out there, people who lived in caves shouldn’t throw… well, whatever people who live in caves shouldn’t throw.

At the time of this writing (12/11), Canadian Michael Parks is 34 years young, boasts a formal education in the Fine Arts, and would almost be considered a grizzled veteran with 8 years of full time carving under his belt. His choice of briar and rod stock is impeccable, as are the smoking qualities of ever pipe that leaves his bench. While the same may be said of any great pipe artisan (or they wouldn’t be great pipe artisans), few can claim the staggering diversity of shapes that appear in Michael’s repertoire, and fewer still can come close to matching the perfection of execution that appears within that body work. From upright English classics, to the masculine shapes of the neo-American movement, to innovative hybrids, right on to his whimsical (and costly) Special Series, many of which remind me of the best of Trever Talbert, Michael nails every execution, every time. There are few carvers who receive my unqualified recommendation, Michael Parks is one.