Yorgos Mitakidis

Yorgos Mitakidis is a young, extremely talented carver from Greece. Born in Thessaloniki, from an early age Yorgos exhibited a talent for the arts, including painting and music. While studying Agricultural Technology at the University of Thessaloniki, Yorgos bought his first pipe and tobacco, a nostalgic tribute to a childhood friend of the family who often smoked a pipe. One of his first jobs, was working with a friend who made traditional bagpipes. This gave young Yorgos experience with workshop equipment and machinery, which he took to quite naturally.

After the completion of his university internship, Yorgos began making pipes. In 2017 he put together his own workshop and has, since then, been creating marvelous smoking pipes, most inspired by the classic English tradition.

An experienced carver will tell you that the old English shapes are deceptively difficult to master. On such a simple composition, mistakes stick out like a sore thumb. But this is precisely where Yorgos shines. He is one of only a few carvers making hyper-traditional English shapes, peppered with more contemporary designs that remind us of the late Paolo Becker.

Using premium German ebonite and excellent Mediterranean briar, Yorgos keeps his compositions minimal, and when pipes feature an adornment, he prefers to utilize natural materials such as horn or bamboo, although recently he has been incorporating silver and brass. Yorgos’ shaping is precise, his sandblasts craggy, deep, and crisp. Each pipe is stamped with his name, track number, and year of production.

We are extremely excited to offer Yorgos’ work at Blue Room Briars. We expect him to continue to improve his craft, and collectors should keep a close eye on him as he progresses. We expect great things.