Born from master-level glassblowers at the top of their craft, each of these pieces is a genuine work of art, and they may be one of a kind. These crafty blowers have taken inspiration from a wide range of subjects, from the simple honeybee to balloon animals and stylish sneakers, elevating these objects from everyday to extraordinary.
Water pipes have undergone a revolution in the past decades, from simple glass or acrylic constructions to extravagant sculptural pieces of art created by the world’s top craftsmen. These are clearly luxury items and not everyday pieces, but they represent a trend in this growing industry towards elevating the conventional and pedestrian to something unique and unexpected.
Intergalactic Sphinx
There really isn’t another way to describe this piece besides simply breathtaking. Like Voltron mashed up with ancient Egyptian symbology, the intergalactic piece takes from the distant past and far future to create something wholly new.
Rainbow Raindrop Pipe
Another pipe that looks anything but functional, this rainbow raindrop rig is all about recognizing that you can still have a good time, even when it rains. With its connections cleverly hidden by the splashing drops, this art piece looks as great on a shelf as it does while in use.
Samurai Babyhead
Capturing the human face in glass is already an inhumanly tough task, but these blowers upped the ante by topping their finely-wrought face with an intricate samurai helmet. This piece could be mistaken for just a beautiful work of art, but underneath its beauty is smokable functionality.
Bee Hive Skull
Dripping with glass honey and covered with bees, this piece is so large and complex a simple photo couldn’t do it justice. These master glassworkers encased an already intricate skull pipe in layers of honeycomb and beeswax, for your sweet and smoky pleasure.
Acid Dinosaur
This piece may seem like a child’s crayon-scribbled dinosaur toy, but its colorful outside hides the monster inside. An oil rig that can be converted for regular smoking, this color-splashed dino packs a surprisingly carnivorous punch.
Glass Cup
For stealthy yet fashionable smokers, there’s this ultra-hip glass cup pipe, blown to resemble a concession stand drink, complete with straw. Undercover but still standing out, the sweet blue-and-white geometric pattern will be sure to attract any ‘90s kids looking for a smoky nostalgia kick.
Balloon Animal Pipe
Glass that successfully looks like another material is one of the rarest accomplishments, and this piece surpasses all expectations to actually look like a balloon animal. It’s a flashy creature, a dog-like shape covered in gold scribbles, but it still looks like it could float away at any moment.
Glass Shoe
From legendary glassmaker Hoobs comes this incredibly intricate space-themed glass boot. You can’t wear this stylish piece, sadly, but you can smoke out of it! Coming complete with several large mandala pendants and a customized shoeprint design, this unique piece is perfect for the fashion-forward smoker in your life.
Icy Waterfall
This stack of melting ice cubes is functional sculpture—even though it looks like it’ll be a puddle of water in a few hours, it is, in fact, a working water pipe. Sadly it doesn’t look like it has an ice catch, so you’ll have to be content with smoke that only looks cold.
Crystal Encrusted
This pipe looks like it was unearthed from some subterranean dragon’s hoard, glittering with encrusted crystals and moulded by fire. Though it definitely looks more like a traditional water pipe than most of the pieces in this list, the artistry of its construction means you could display this in your house without qualm.
