Jason Patrick: an American Maker Who Traded Photography for the Briar Bench

Jason Patrick is a contemporary pipe maker working in Elgin, a Chicago suburb in the U.S. state of Illinois. Though he came to the craft relatively late, he became a recognized name in short order, counted among the new generation of American makers who emerged toward the late 2010s.

The Road to the Bench

By his own account, Patrick's introduction to pipes goes back to his childhood and a grandfather who smoked one; his path from smoker to maker, however, took years to unfold. It is known that he finished his first pipe in 2019 — a date the maker's own materials also give as the craft's beginning.

Being a professional photographer gave him a ready-made toolkit on the design side. Years of habit around framing, proportion, and surface light proved directly useful in reading the grain of a briar block. By his own account he also worked for many years as a pastor, leaving that role in 2024 to devote his time to the bench.