Tom was very young when he started working for SM Frank back in the day . I think he started off sweeping the joint as a kid and fast forward some years later had his brother in law running Kaywoodie pipe making in Tampa Florida
I had a great relationship with Tom and was very blessed to have met him . Right now , the best deal , bar none , in the pipe smoking world is the Calabresi Metamorfosi pipes that some folks have on ebay as old new stock , mostly . This was a line created back in the 90's and it replicates the Savinelli filter/no filter option with an adapter etc .. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R ... etamorfosi
Anyway , Tom was one of the nicest people Ive ever met , truly . He imported many a pipe and pipe item from Italy , including Mastro de Paja , which I was and am a fan of . He helped me get my store stocked with amazing product and had a family run business . The accessory items he carried were amazing quality and price , far beyond most every other supplier . If you were in the industry , you would have been very happy to know him . Many shops dal with Lane and folks like that , and theyre fine , but Tom had the better stuff , imo
His office was amazing and had somee of the coolst pipes I've ever seen . I sure wish there were digital cameras back then
Soon , in the future , I'll write a good amount about him
