Stoner lingo, it's a language of itself. While to those in the culture these things have been around forever and they of course know where they come from, for others they may not have a clue. One of the key words you will hear come up in a smoke shop or a dispensary is heady. "Hey do you guys carry Heady glass or only Chinese junk?" may be overhead at a cheap smoke shop carry glass made in china for a 5 x mark up. What they are referring to by "heady" is glass that was handcrafted by a local artisan. Dead Heads would make money to fund their way across the country on tour by selling glass in the parking lot of the shows. Now this location on the lot is referred to as "Shakedown Street". A key figure in this was Bob Snodgrass, an amateur glass artist who started to make glass pieces after chance had him stumble by a smoke shop with a glass bong in the window, something Bob hadn't seen before. He walked inside and asked who made it, the artist who made it happen to be there and from there the rest is stoner history.
Bob wasn't a deadhead himself at the start, a friend told him he had tickets and to bring his hippie bus and how he would never sell pipes like this. So he came up with a nice theme for the deadheads and ended up selling pipes, and blowing more on the spot in the lot for 2 days straight. On the final night he was able to see the band and it changed him, from then on his family traveled around selling glass on the lot. Bob invented multiple techniques that are still used to this day, fuming is a very popular one that actually allows the glass to change colors as it is smoked. Giving a very unique and desirable look to a seasoned pipe. Did he hold on to these secrets and drive up the price of his pieces? No, he shared the knowledge of vaporizing gold, silver and platinum in front of the flame. Helping advance the entirety of the glass scene in the process. This selflessness is found in key moments in the plant's history and we owe a lot to these people. Knowledge is meant to be shared not held tightly for bad motives. Along his long strange trip Bob also took on many apprentices which can be found on his website. A sincere thank you to Bob and all those who make our pipes!
Bobs Website: http://www.snodgrass.net/
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