MarTelo (Gustavo Cunha)

MarTelo is the pipe workshop run single-handedly by Brazilian designer Gustavo Cunha. The brand name comes from the Portuguese word martelo, meaning "hammer." Production continues at a limited number of pieces per year, with each pipe shaped individually; as a result, rather than a fixed model catalog, the work consists of independent, one-off pieces. The workshop is considered one of the most internationally recognized among the small number of contemporary makers in South America.

From Furniture Design to Pipes

Cunha's relationship with wood began long before pipes. He grew up in Diamantina in the state of Minas Gerais and is said to have trained his hand around age fifteen making traditional bows and arrows. He completed his university education in design, specifically furniture design. His first serious attempt at pipes came after graduation, while working for a furniture manufacturer where he had access to a machine shop: freehand experiments not bound to a mold, distantly recalling classic English shapes.

The event that set his direction was his visit to the workshop of Danish master Tom Eltang in the final months of 2013; according to the record, this meeting took place in October. After returning to Brazil, Cunha purchased the necessary bench and equipment and moved into full-time pipe making in April 2014. Both Pipedia and the brand's own promotional text agree on this date; some interviews state the transition occurred in May.