Morel

Morel is a handmade pipe workshop that has carried the same name across two generations in Saint-Claude, the town considered France's pipe capital. The name refers both to Pierre Morel, active in the mid-twentieth century, and to his son, born in 1949; within the community the two are usually distinguished as "Père" (father) and "Junior." The brand is known for keeping alive the tradition of the one-person workshop in a town where series production dominates.

The Father: a Pipe Maker With Artistic Roots

Pierre Morel Père turned to pipe making after receiving a fine-arts education in Paris; he is known to have come from cartooning, advertising drawing, and cane-handle work. According to records, in 1961 he moved his workshop to La Coupe, on the bank of the Bienne River. He is counted among the pioneers in France of the "fait main" approach — pipes shaped entirely by hand from start to finish. The idea of leaving the briar block's outer bark visible on the bowl's surface rather than carving it away is also attributed to him; this approach sowed the seed of what would later become his son's signature.