Turner Pipes: a Basement Workshop in Denver

Turner Pipes is a one-person pipe bench run by American maker Simeon Turner in Denver, Colorado. The brand is known not for series production but for hand-finished pieces released in limited numbers each year; in this respect it is a typical example of the artisan pipe generation that grew in the US during the 2000s.

Founding of the Bench

Turner's relationship with the craft grew out of curiosity, not profession. Records indicate he shaped his first pipe in 2003, working on a pre-drilled ready-made kit. He is reported to have been a high school teacher at the time, with access to the benches in the school's woodworking shop, where he learned basic lathe and sanding work.

Setting up his own equipment took until 2009. From that point, production has run out of a small machine park assembled in the basement of his home in Denver. Turner first attended a pipe show in May 2010, announcing his name to the community by this means. Pieces bearing his own stamp are the product of this second period, and annual output stays within the natural limits of a one-person bench.