Trey Rice Pipes

Texas carver Trey Rice is part of a new generation of pipe makers that share several things in common: a willingness to learn from the veterans, a Renaissance mentality, and a heck of a lot of natural talent. Trey's interest in pipes was piqued after a camping trip with friends where sitting around the fire he tried a pipe, decided he liked it better than cigars, and since he was on a tight college budget, thought he'd try to make one himself.

Trey works full time as an architect, and believes one reason he was so drawn to pipes are the similarities between his profession and his hobby. Both require extraordinary attention to detail, while balancing the need for a functionality and aesthetic beauty. Trey's influences range vastly, but we like to think of his work as solidly American, neo-Danish, with a healthy dose of the classic English aesthetic thrown in to taste. Some of the artists Trey notes as being particularly influential include Paolo Becker, Rad Davis, Tom Eltang, Chris Asteriou, and Micah Cryder among others. 

Trey has kept his pipe making fairly traditional, choosing to work mostly with briar, ebonite, and an occasional piece of bakelite, although recently he has been experimenting with silver to great effect. He enjoys making his own interpretation of some of the classic shapes including princes, bulldogs, and lovats.

In addition to making pipes, Trey is, as his wife affectionately dubs him, "a serial hobbyist." Some of these pursuits include duck hunting, home brewing, and golfing. We think this well rounded group of hobbies and interests lead nicely into Trey's pipe making. All are easy skills to learn but hard to master, and Trey has his mind set on mastery. We hope you enjoy the works of Trey Rice as much as we do.