Lottery in honour of the foundation of the Pierre-G. Müller Fund.
The CIPC is starting a fund to support national-level projects (e.g., in the field of heritage). This fund, the Pierre-G. Müller Fund, will be supported for the next three years by the surviving partner of Pierre-G. Müller, Mrs. Rupp, through the donation of a unique pipe, handmade by Pierre. The funds will be made publicly visible/earmarked within the CIPC budget, meaning they can only be used for this newly established fund.
On Saturday, October 11th, raffle tickets can be purchased for €10 each (cash only) starting at 16:00 from Mrs. Reineke van Wouwe (the wife of President of the CIPC). There will be 150 tickets available and a limit of 10 tickets per person. This will operate on a first-come, first-served basis.
At the end of the gala dinner, just before the (final) party begins, the winning ticket will be drawn by Mr. Roland Hohenauer. The prize will then be handed over directly to the winner by him.
PIERRE-G. MÜLLER
About his dedication to bringing pipe smokers together all over the world and his highly esteemed talent as a pipe creator. Born in Ulm (Germany) in 1927, the Swiss jeweller and goldsmith received his first pipe from his grandfather in Ticino at the age of eleven and became a lifelong pipe enthusiast.
From 1978 onwards, he crafted one or two pipes a year in his own artistic and imaginative style, winning first prize with his very first entry in a competition organised by the Superba Pipaclub Genova, with further prizes following. Later, Brebbia invited him to design a pipe for the ‘Grandi Designer’ category and included it in their programme.
For the Pipe Academy (AIP), founded in Italy in 1984 with his involvement and later internationalised in France in 1985, he designed an anniversary pipe for its 20th anniversary in 2005, which was produced in a limited edition by L’Anatra.
As a participant in more than 100 national and international competitions, Pierre-G. Müller became Swiss champion six times and, in 1984, European champion — setting a world record time of 3 hours, 8 minutes, and 58 seconds, which stood for ten years.
From 2013 onwards, he spent his retirement as an honorary member of the CIPC and ten other pipe clubs, enjoying his pipe in Vienna (Austria). When he died at the age of 97 in 2024, he left behind more than 40 handmade pipes — highly regarded in professional circles — about which he wrote:
“Until the very end, I reserved the right to keep the pipes I made for myself, out of pure joy in creating them and in complete commercial independence. I had the great privilege of making them for my own pleasure.”
One of these special briar wood pipes is now to go to a passionate pipe smoker or pipe collector, with the proceeds going to the CIPC.
He settled in Geneva, and from 1966 onwards he took part in pipe-smoking competitions of the Pipa Club Italia, as well as in the first European competition in Italy in 1969. Fascinated by the idea of bringing pipe smokers together, he founded the Swiss Pipe Club in 1970.
Only two years later, he co-founded — together with his friends from France, Italy, Denmark, and Japan — the worldwide association CIPC. The logo he designed was selected from submissions to the CIPC and is still used today as the CIPC’s distinctive symbol. He also made his “Relax with your pipe” design available to the CIPC.
