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The workshop of
desires
He may have been inspired by a picture in a museum or a
book. The painting depicted a Renaissance nobleman with a
proud, aristocratic bearing, a certain Ser Jacopone. The
name ‘Jacopone’ was too serious, and it was better to
shorten it to Jacopo – “Ser Jacopo: that’s what we’ll call
our company”. This was back in 1981 or 1982 and at 38
Giancarlo Guidi was at a major turning point in his life.
Born in Pesaro (central Italy) at the end of the war, Guidi
cultivated two great passions: pipes, which he had
discovered at 16, and all forms of creative expression. He
studied at the Ferruccio Mengaroni Art Institute, pursuing
in particular training in Applied Arts, which was the pride
of his city’s artistic tradition.
He then acquired further skills in majolica and glazes, a
centuries-old craft tradition in Pesaro. However, he soon
realised that his greatest creativity lay in pipes, which he
loved to smoke while relaxing.
In 1970, when he was 26, he worked for two pipe
manufacturers in the Marches.
One that had been founded in 1968 in Recanati by Igino
Moretti arising from the ashes of a company that dated back
to the 1800s; the other a company that had also been
established in the 19th century in Castelfidardo, but had
then transferred to Loreto after 1945, with the intriguing
brand name “Non canta la raganella” (“the tree frog doesn’t
sing”).
He spent some further time in the north of Italy near
Varese, the other important centre for pipe makers, He also
set up his own workshop with a few tools and simple,
second-hand equipment – band saw, disc sander, and belt
sander – with which he practiced making pipes.
However, this was not a good period for pipes, as production
was still based on traditional, obsolete standards and
companies were wary of the innovations that arrived from
Denmark.
Although eager for refreshing ideas, Guidi had encountered
few during his work experience.
Nevertheless, he had become sufficiently proficient in the
skills involved and believed that industrial manufacture of
the same traditional shapes prevented any enhancement of the
infinite varieties of whimsical grain patterns to be found
in briar.
There were others in Pesaro who thought the same.
Dissatisfied with what the market offered, and seeking
innovation, several wealthy, resourceful pipe smokers began
to consider a new type of quality Italian manufacture that
would provide them and others with more exciting pipes.
They sought a specialist, and found Giancarlo Guidi, The
result of this project was the Mastro de Paja company,
established in 1971.
Entering as a partner and director of production, Guidi
wasted no time and in 1972 the first new pipes left the
workshop.
Although he was initially an almost unknown, talented but
inexperienced pipe maker, in a few years he managed to
become highly skilled, through trial and error, eventually
becoming an internationally recognised master.
This was not only thanks to his creativity and technical
expertise, but also to the fact that he was brilliant at
finding new, promising, talented craftsmen.
The company’s quality of production was extremely high, and
even inspired the “Scuola di Pesaro”, Pesaro School of pipe
making.
The most skilled craftsmen left to set up their own
businesses, leading to more diverse products.
Subsequently, after ten years the partners began to have
different points of view concerning the future management of
the company, and when he was 40 Guidi decided to go his own
way.
In 1981 he left Mastro de Paja, and had to start anew with
his few, simple tools with which he had begun his pipe
making career.
However, this time he was highly experienced and
internationally renowned.
It was at that time that Guidi thought up the name Ser
Jacopo, or Ser Jacopo dalla Gemma, which is the complete
brand name for the company that was established in 1983.
In this period Guidi wasted no time and soon his pipes
enjoyed immense popularity.
His inventions and intuitions that had been developed while
at Mastro de Paja were developed and perfected, thanks to
his never-ending source of creativity.
He succeeded in recreating an aura of artisanal aristocracy
that very few pipe makers are able to accomplish.
Other expert craftsmen who spent some time with Guidi then
went on to the now renowned Pesaro School, However, at a
certain point Giancarlo Guidi had to stop.
When faced with certain diseases reactions can be very
different.
In this case Guidi threw all his remaining energy into
ensuring that the future management of the company would
continue smoothly after his death.
Since he passed away in August 2012, Ser Jacopo dalla Gemma
has continued to produce fine pipes, guided by Maurizio
Fraternale, formerly supplier and then Guidi’s partner.
The pipes “invented” by Giancarlo and continued by Maurizio
never cease to amaze and are instantly recognisable.
But what is the Ser Jacopo’s secret, in order to understand
Guidi’s work and legacy, his training as an artist needs to
be taken into account, which means paying close attention to
history, classical forms, connections between various
artistic expressions that all combine to make up the
features of his work.
Another point is his artistic and technical mastery when
working with different materials. Briar was the wood he
preferred to use, insisting on the best Extra Extra quality
briar plateau wood blocks, inventing exclusive treatments
for curing and aging, adapting the shape to the grain and
doing everything he could to highlight it in the best way
possible.
Then there were the gems, precious metals, horn, bone, and
exotic wood used to add countless exquisite mounts, all
different and perfect that provide a unique style to
classical shapes, which are all, needless to say, handmade.
Any self-respecting pipe maker expresses his artistry in the
creation of special series, and Ser Jacopo is no exception,
offering an astonishing range of original products:
From the older series we can mention Renaissance, 1984,
which was designed exclusively for the American market and
is an excellent reinterpretation of ultra-classical shapes;
Calabash was first produced in 1996, whose special goose
neck shape meant having to use a special drill to bore a
hole in the shank; La Pipaccia, 1996, which was inspired by
the pipes that seamen from diverse provenances smoked in the
port of Pesaro; Domina, introduced in 1996, which each year
has a new, perfectly crafted shape; Compta, introduced in
1997, perfect classical models that Giancarlo Guidi said
were the most difficult to produce.
Distinctive and famous, the Picta series is a collection of
pipes inspired by paintings by famous artists such as
Vincent Van Gogh, René Magritte, Pablo Picasso, and Joan
Miró.
The Calumet series offers four different models in very
limited numbers that recreate the shape and traditions of
the Native American pipes.
Millennium owes its name to the year 2000 and as its name
suggests you will have to wait 1,000 years to see another
masterpiece.
Iucunda has been treated with a top secret oil formula,
which provides a particularly smooth, sweet smoke.
Delecta, Pulchra, Flatus, Imago, Melolontha, Cymatium are
all names that describe the special mounts. For example,
Cymatium recalls the shape of a capital.
The Leonardo da Vinci pipes provide a cool smoke, based on a
pipe designed by the great artist and technician.
Albus et Niger are distinctive owing to the contrast between
the dark bowl and white methacrylate stem with a double
sterling silver mount.
The Historica series reinterprets an old design by Guidi in
a modern style.
The Gem series has a limited production and is still the
ultimate perfection in pipes in terms of craftsmanship and
high-grade quality briar, what makes these pipes so refined
is the precious gem set in the stem enclosed by an 18-karat
gold band.
The type of gem (emerald, garnet, sapphire, ruby and
diamond, the latter the king of this series) indicates the
quality grade.
Ser Jacopo pipes are generally produced in three finishes
(rusticated, sandblast, smooth) and various colours.
Before 1997 the mouthpiece featured a red coral dot,
sometimes enclosed in a silver band. In more recent
productions the red coral dot has been substituted by a
silver letter “J”, the exception being the Gem series which
is identified by a precious gem enclosed in a gold band.
Ser Jacopo pipes are all inscribed with the following: Fatta
a mano (Handmade) and the motto Per aspera ad astra (Success
comes through hard work).
The larger pipes are stamped Maxima, or even Maxima Maxima
for the extremely large pipes. |
