Smoking pipes
by Empire Glassworks
We'll only email you about this product — no marketing.
The Mushrooms Dry Pipe is a handmade borosilicate glass smoking pipe shaped like a miniature forest floor — four bright red toadstools with white spots sprouting from a mossy tree trunk, complete with tiny ladybugs. Made by Empire Glassworks, this piece sits at the crossroads of functional smoking gear and shelf-worthy art. If you want a pipe that sparks a conversation before you even pack the bowl, this is the one.
Empire Glassworks builds every piece by hand in their California workshop, and you can feel it the moment you hold this pipe. At 160g, it has real heft — not a featherweight novelty that feels like it'll snap if you look at it wrong. The borosilicate glass (the same stuff lab equipment is made from) handles heat without cracking, and the sculpted mushroom caps, moss textures, and ladybug details are all lampworked directly onto the pipe body. No paint, no decals, no shortcuts.
The left-sided carb hole gives you proper control over airflow. Cover it while you draw, release it to clear the chamber. Simple mechanics, but the placement feels natural in the left hand — worth noting if you're right-handed, since you'll be holding the pipe in your right and covering the carb with your left index finger. It works, but it takes a session or two to feel intuitive if you're used to right-side carbs.
One honest limitation: the bowl is compact. This is a personal pipe, not something you'd pass around a circle of six. Pack it for one or two, and you'll get the best out of it. The intricate sculpted exterior also means cleaning takes a touch more care than a plain spoon pipe — resin can settle into the textured areas around the mushroom stems.
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Brand | Empire Glassworks |
| Material | Borosilicate glass (handmade) |
| Type | Dry pipe (no water filtration) |
| Carb hole | Left side |
| Height | 10.7 cm |
| Width | 5.5 cm |
| Weight | 160 g |
| Design | Red mushrooms, moss, tree trunk, ladybugs |
| SKU | HS1887 |
Complete your setup with a proper grinder — the SLX Non-Stick Grinder gives you an even, fluffy grind that packs well in a smaller bowl like this one. And if you want to keep the Mushrooms Dry Pipe looking fresh between deep cleans, a pack of pipe cleaners and some isopropyl alcohol go a long way.
Most novelty pipes have one problem: they look fun in the photo and feel cheap in person. Mass-produced silicone mushroom pipes exist for a fraction of the price, and they work fine if all you care about is function. But they taste like silicone, they look like silicone, and nobody's ever picked one up off a coffee table and said "where did you get this?"
The Empire Glassworks Mushrooms Dry Pipe is a different category entirely. Each one is individually lampworked, which means slight variations between pieces — your mushroom caps might sit at a slightly different angle than the one in the photo. That's not a flaw, it's the whole point. You're getting a one-off piece of functional glass art that also happens to smoke well.
We've handled a lot of Empire Glassworks pieces over the years, and the build quality is consistently solid. The glass walls are thick enough that you don't baby it every time you set it down, and the borosilicate composition means thermal shock isn't a concern during normal use. Compared to something like the standard Grav Labs spoon pipe — which is a brilliant no-nonsense smoker — this one trades simplicity for personality. The Grav is the pipe you grab when you just want to smoke. The Empire Glassworks mushroom pipe is the one you grab when you want to enjoy the ritual.
We've sold these since they first hit the catalogue, and the feedback is remarkably consistent: people buy them as gifts almost as often as they buy them for themselves. The sculpted detail photographs well, but it genuinely looks better in person — the glass has depth and colour variation that a flat product shot doesn't fully capture. At 10.7 cm tall and 5.5 cm wide, it fits in a jacket pocket, though we'd wrap it in something soft first. Borosilicate is tough, but it's still glass, and that mushroom cap detail is the most exposed part.
The weight — 160g — is noticeable. Pick it up and it feels like a proper object, not a trinket. That density comes from the thick glass walls and the layered sculptural work on the exterior. It sits stable on a flat surface without rolling, which sounds like a minor thing until you've watched a round pipe roll off a table at 2am.
Yes. Borosilicate glass is the same material used in laboratory glassware — it handles heat cycling and minor knocks better than standard soda-lime glass. That said, it's still glass. Don't drop it on tiles. The sculpted mushroom caps are the most vulnerable part, so store it padded when not in use.
No. This is a dry pipe — no water filtration. Smoke travels directly from the bowl through the chamber to the mouthpiece. Dry pipes deliver more flavour than water pipes, but the smoke is warmer and less filtered. If you prefer cooled, filtered hits, a small bubbler or water pipe would suit you better.
Empire Glassworks placed the carb on the left to accommodate the sculptural design. In practice, you hold the pipe body in your right hand and cover the carb with your left index finger. It feels natural after a session or two, even if you're used to right-side carbs.
It's designed for dry herb only. Concentrates need sustained, higher temperatures and a different bowl design (like a banger or nail). Using concentrates in this pipe would gunk up the bowl and the sculpted glass detail, making it very difficult to clean properly.
After every 5–10 sessions for a quick rinse, and a full isopropyl soak once a week if you're using it daily. The textured exterior traps residue faster than a smooth pipe, so staying on top of cleaning keeps it looking sharp and tasting clean.
Close, but not identical. Each Mushrooms Dry Pipe is handmade by Empire Glassworks, so there are slight variations in colour intensity, mushroom cap angles, and ladybug placement. That's part of what makes it a handcrafted piece rather than a factory product.
Not really — it's a personal pipe. The compact bowl holds enough for one or two people comfortably. For group sessions, you'd want something with a larger bowl capacity or a water pipe that can handle bigger packs.
Last updated: April 2026
