Laudisi Ireland, the parent company of Kapp & Peterson, Peterson of Dublin, and Smokingpipes.eu, has today announced the release of a newly redesigned website dedicated to the Kapp & Peterson brand, the oldest continuously operating briar pipe factory in the world. A complete catalogue and light e-commerce website, www.peterson.ie aims to elevate Kapp & Peterson's online presence while educating consumers and retailers alike through detailed taxonomy and historically accurate information. The platform is now positioned as the first and only place on the internet to definitively catalogue everything Kapp & Peterson produces, even when currently unavailable. It represents the complete current understanding of the Peterson brand.

Customer service is the keystone of our business, so when we started receiving inquiries from European customers about the possibility of a Smokingpipes website in their own languages, with quicker European shipping, we took notice, and for the past two years have been working to establish a European branch.

I stand outside the Comfort Inn in Romulus, Michigan, leaning against a concrete column smoking my pipe and watching it rain. Having departed from the Smokingpipes.com Representative Office in Chongqing, China at 11.30 a.m., I now have an overnight layover in Detroit. My eyes are so dry that they seem to make a scratching noise when I blink. I soon have company — a lady in a Myrtle Beach sweatshirt who came out to smoke a cigarette. She and her family are headed to the beach for a late season vacation. She says a storm is brewing in the Atlantic that could possibly hit South Carolina. Unconcerned, I say, "I'm sure we'll be fine." After all, such warnings are routine in August and September.

"I pity snails and all that carry their homes on their backs." In recent days, this quip from Tolkien's Frodo Baggins has brought a smile to my face more than once. We here at Smokingpipes.com, along with our sister company Laudisi Distribution Group, have been engaged in the challenging task of moving to a new home, a 30,000 square-foot office space and warehouse to be precise.