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Hello and welcome to
DOTTERPIPES virtual showroom!
My name is Domagoj Telisman and I'm the person behind
Dotterpipes pipe brand.
The name Dotter was coined
from the first letters of my name and surname,
and it is sort of a nickname
that has been with me for a long time. Lots of
people know me by that name so it seemed only natural
to
attach it to my handmade pipes.
I have always been
very passionate about pipes and it soon became
more than just a hobby to me.
Ever
since I started smoking my dad's old pipes in
1997., I felt there is something more to it than
simple
pipe smoking.
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I started with handmade
pipes in 2006., after an amazing beach encounter with a
German pipe maker Norbert Riemer. I stumbled across Norbert
while he was working on one of his pipes on the beach.
He was more than friendly as he spoke to me about pipes,
pipe making, briar, about shapes, etc... Those 2 hours
with him simply flew by in most interesting conversation.
That experience changed my view about pipes, pipe making,
pipe smoking and so I became deeply interested in making
my own pipes. Just to mention it, I got the pipe Norbert
was making during our conversation as a gift from my wife
for the following Christmas. It has been one of my dearest
pipes in the collection, and certainly the pipe with the
most interesting story!
Immediately after that summer vacation ended I started
learning and soaking up every bit of information from the
articles I'd found on the Internet. I had spent many hours
looking at workshop photos from other pipe makers, trying
to see what kind of tools they use, what kind of machines
they work on and how they make certain things on their
pipes. I am self-taught, having learnt mostly from my own
mistakes and successes at first, and later from the correspondence
with senior pipe makers, who have become dear colleagues
and friends to me.
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After I had made my first 30 pipes,
which have been smoked only by me, I started stamping
my pipes with the DOTTER
stamp.
Lots of my pipes were gifts to my dear pipe smoking friends,
mostly from the Piperson Pipe Club, which I'm also a
member of. Their comments on my pipes have been valuable,
as
much as their advice on design and engineering.
Shortly after, I started selling my own handmade briar
and olivewood pipes.
Being a graphic designer, I've always
loved doing creative stuff, and I've always tried to
express myself through
different materials and media. I've learnt that expressing
my creativity through pipe making is something that
relaxes and fulfills me.
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Nowadays, I have a small workshop
in Zagreb - the capital of Croatia and I'm a full time pipemaker. I am constantly trying
to improve my work
place with new tools and new creative solutions.
You may see
many of the details in the photo gallery in WORKSHOP section.
I use mostly briar, bog oak (morta) and olivewood
in making pipes, sometimes strawberry
tree
or some other
materials. My pipes come in smooth, sandblasted or rustic finishes.
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For the time
being, I don't grade my pipes, each one only has my name
on it.
Being
a great
perfectionist,
I wouldn't put my name onto something that I'm
not completely satisfied with. For that reason,
I don't
have a grading
system and I guarantee that every pipe with a
DOTTER stamp on it is a pipe made of excellent material
and best possible
artisanal work.
Now and then a very special pipe comes to life and those rare pipes are stamped with little image of a pine tree, or BOR - as we call pine tree here in Croatia. So, pipes with BOR grade are the highest possible grade I have for now.
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Pricing has been set individually per each pipe,
depending on the material quality, finish, rarity
of materials
used, etc.
Dotter's pipes have found their satisfied
owners all over the world.
Thank you for your visit,
hope you will enjoy spending some time in my
virtual showroom!
Domagoj Telisman
Dotterpipes
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