Trypis Pipes (Phillip Trypis)

Trypis Pipes is a small-scale pipe workshop that Greek-born Phillip Trypis founded in Canada. He is reported to have entered the trade cutting blocks at a briar mill, and to have kept up a long production career after settling in Canada; a profile written in the late 2000s puts this span at over forty years. His name is associated both with his own brand and with Brigham Pipes, where he worked for many years.

The Brigham Years

Trypis's best-known role is as production manager at Brigham. This information rests on a single primary account, according to which he ran the factory's pipe production during a period when the company's annual output exceeded fifty thousand. This meant something quite different from a workshop job of individually hand-shaping pieces — it meant organizing the flow of mass production, briar supply, and quality control. Even after leaving to start his own business, Trypis's tie to the company was not fully severed: he continued importing briar and turning tens of thousands of bowls for Brigham. Brigham is considered to have functioned as a kind of master's school in Canadian pipe making, with several names who trained there going on to become known under their own names — and Trypis stands foremost among them.