Briarlab

Briarlab was a short-lived partnership in the US that tried to bring independently working pipe masters together in a single production space. The venture, led by Michael Lindner and Nate King, operated in Indianapolis, the capital of Indiana, and, according to records, closed in February 2017. It is remembered less for the pipes it produced than for the working model it tried out.

The Founding Idea

The venture's starting point was the most demanding part of handmade pipemaking: a master working alone has to set up an entire lathe, mill, sandblast cabinet, and dust-extraction system on their own budget. Briarlab was born from the idea of sharing this investment by setting up a shared bench accessible to everyone. Records indicate the workshop was founded in the summer of 2015; Michael Lindner, working in Michigan, and Nate King, based in Indianapolis, joined forces at that date. Sarah Steele is also said to have been part of the venture, handling sales and promotion outside production; no independent record documents this division of roles.

According to reported figures, the workshop had a floor area approaching two hundred square metres and a machine park that was extensive by the standards of the time. The founders envisioned this equipment not only for themselves: offering packages of bench time, tools, and shared experience to makers new to the trade, and even marketing their products online and at shows, was part of the plan. In this respect Briarlab was less a classic brand than an infrastructure service.