Enricoro (Enrico Marola)

Enricoro is the pipe brand of Enrico Marola, who works in the town of Vercelli in Italy's northern Piedmont region. The name is born of the fusion of the master's own name with "orologiaio," the Italian word for watchmaker: Marola's principal trade is watchmaking, and pipemaking has remained a second pursuit running alongside it for years. The brand's emblem reflects this dual identity too; a brass watch-movement bushing is used as the logo.

The Founding of the Bench

According to the record, Marola's acquaintance with briar began in 1998, following an encounter with Bruto Sordini, founder of the Don Carlos bench. In the early years production remained entirely at the hobby level; Sordini's guidance was also largely limited to recipes given over the phone. According to the same account, Marola completed his basic equipment and settled into more regular work in 2007, and formally registered his activity in 2010.

In the same interview a few masters' names are mentioned: help is said to have come from Vilma Armellini of the Armellini bench for disc shaping, and from the experienced maker Luigi Crugnola for bench work. A week spent in 2010 with Swedish maker Ronny Thunér is also said to have been one of the turning points where he pulled his technique together.

Workshop Setup

The Enricoro bench's equipment is considered modest: a column drill, various bits, a disc grinder, and a set of files. Since Marola does not use a lathe or a copying machine, measurements vary from piece to piece; the rough shape is taken on the disc, while proportion and line are established with the file and successive grades of pumice and sandpaper. Because this method is slow, annual output stays low.

The briar used comes from timber workshops the master selects himself. There is no pre-drawn list of shapes; the decision is made by looking at the block's grain and its condition on the day. The repertoire consists largely of classic shapes, and Marola says he chooses these molds for their functional simplicity while still leaving a small personal touch on each one.

Surface finishing follows the same restraint. Staining is kept light enough not to hide the grain, and natural-based mixtures are used for polishing rather than heavy synthetic coatings. In the master's own words, the aim is not an object for display but a pipe that smokes dry and trouble-free, built for everyday use.

Position

Enricoro belongs less to Italy's large workshops than to the tradition of one-man artisan benches. Its pipes have reached collector circles abroad as well as in Italy; sources mention the United States, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, France, and India among the countries reached.