Introducing the NEW 2006 Steve Monjure Designer Pipe

For the past eight years, Stephen Monjure has imported pipes and tobaccos for the US market. His love and passion for the pipe began at the ripe age of six. His grandfather was a pipe smoker and his admiration for him was immense. While visiting his "pa pa", who lived in New Orleans near the shore of Lake Pontchatrain, Stephen would often spend time in his grandfather’s office. He loved to sit in the huge wooden chair, hold his grandfather's pipes, and smell the tobaccos. This was a magical time for him and was the beginning of his fascination with the pipe.

Born on the 27th of August 1954 in New Orleans, he began smoking a pipe at the age of sixteen. Most of his friends smoked cigarettes, but the pipe was destiny for him. His first pipe and pipe tobacco were purchased from a drug store (pharmacy). He began experimenting with different shapes of pipes and blends of tobacco. Then he met Mr. Edwin Jansen, proprietor of the famous "Ye Olde Pipe Shop" located in the New Orleans French Quarter. There he was introduced to an array of fine smoking pipes and quality tobacco. He has many fond memories of riding his motorcycle several times a week after school to visit Mr. Jansen. He absorbed all he could from this knowledgeable man. His appreciation and enjoyment for the pipe was greatly enhanced and his love of pipe smoking was never stronger.

In 1976, after graduating from the University Of New Orleans with a Business Administration degree, he began a career as a sales representative with a consumer goods company. Through the many years that followed, he held various positions in sales and spent most of his time traveling all over the USA. He would always make time to visit the pipe shops in the cities where he traveled to. In 1997, after 21 years of traveling extensively, he decided that he wanted to realize his dream of importing pipes for distribution in the USA. His timing was good because the "cigar boom" was in full swing and shops were interested in expanding both pipes and tobaccos. With hard work and some good fortune, pipe brands and tobaccos were acquired. Today, Stephen Monjure, administrator of Monjure International USA, distributes pipes, tobaccos, and accessories throughout the United States. He attends all the major pipe shows and travels to visit many of the fine shops that helped him to get started in business. He also loves to attend the meetings of many of the wonderful pipe clubs. He has made numerous friends and is most grateful for their help and support. His love and passion for the hobby has grown through the years and a life long dream has been realized. While traveling for many years in his automobile, Stephen often thought about a design for the "perfect car pipe". He wanted a pipe that was easy to hold while driving, a pipe with a good tobacco capacity, and a pipe that would have its own special rack that would easily fit in the car and hold the pipe and a tamper in fine fashion. His second dream was realized with this year's Great Designers' Pipe. This design incorporates all the things he envisioned a car pipe to have - a beautiful pipe with a custom made rack that holds the specially designed "finger tamper". It is the "perfect car pipe".

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