J&J Pipes

J&J Pipes is the name two Californian masters, John Klose and Jared Coles, gave to the pipes they made in their shared workshop. What distinguished the brand was not a family of models or a technical innovation but the working system they adopted: a pipe was not considered finished until both of them had approved the result. The two letters in the brand name likewise stood for the founders' names, and so for this dual check.

The Two Masters' Paths

Klose spent part of his childhood in New Mexico before moving with his family to the foothills between Yosemite and Sequoia national parks. During his college years he worked at a camp near Yosemite; hand skills such as woodworking, leatherwork, and repair developed during this period. Coles, meanwhile, grew up among the orange groves of the San Joaquin Valley, was homeschooled through high school, and studied economics. According to records, his first attempts at pipe making also date to these college years.

The pair's path took clearer shape when they met Jeff Gracik, a master working in Southern California. Coles got the chance to see firsthand how a top-tier pipe is made, and shared what he learned with Klose once he returned to the Central Sierra. According to sources, the two began learning together in 2009, set up their own workshop in 2011, and continued production under the J&J name. Gracik's guidance is considered the foundation of the technical discipline visible in both masters' later independent work.

Approach to Shape

The workshop's shape language claimed to melt three distinct traditions into a single pot. The Danish school brought its fluid lines and technical refinement, early-twentieth-century English pipes their measured proportion and classic silhouette discipline, and Japanese craft sensibility the idea of not being bound to symmetry. This combination produced a broad framework that left room for freehand pieces alongside classic shapes.

Another habit of the brand was documentation. Every pipe leaving the workshop came with a card bearing both founders' signature, stamp, and the date; the details of that particular pipe were noted by hand on the back of the card. This is considered a simple but functional way of providing identity and traceability for pipes made one at a time.

The End of the Partnership

The joint brand gained recognition among collectors within a few years. But the two masters' pursuits of form began to diverge. Records vary on the exact date of the split, giving anywhere between 2015 and early 2016; what is certain is that after continuing to share the same workshop for a time, the two began producing their pipes separately, and the J&J name fell out of use. Today both masters work under their own names.

Coles's work after the partnership is known for using accent materials such as orange wood, bamboo, or precious-metal foil on briar bodies. The J&J period, meanwhile, is regarded as a formative stage for both masters. The interview with Coles on the radio program hosted by Brian Levine is among the records where this period is told firsthand.