Behind the Pipe: Liberty 503 EST. 2007

 Liberty 503 has gone through many stages to become the company we know and love today. Way back in 2003 before Liberty 503 was even an idea, Buddha Chris and Paul Long met in Portland and began to blow glass together. They worked, learned, and collaborated with each other for a couple years then parted ways in 2005. During this time Buddha decided to open a head shop in Gresham Oregon and this is where the Liberty 503 name was born. When Paul moved back to Portland in 2007 they closed up the head shop, took the name Liberty 503 and made a glass studio in Buddha’s house.

 During these years of trial and error Buddha and Paul refined their techniques and methods focusing on deep carve sandblasting to make the pipes we know liberty 503 for today. From then on Liberty has continued to make some of the deepest carved pieces in the glass industry. Once they nailed the techniques for the deep carved pipes they worked with a local friend and tattoo artist Craig Johnson to create their unique designs that they still use today. They continued to expand through the years with the help of friends and people in the industry who saw the vision and wanted to be a part of the company.

 In the passing years Liberty 503 hired Loren who took the stencil and vinyl techniques to another level. He uses vinyl in innovative ways that sets liberty apart from any other glass company. Going away from techniques that were used in the industry and carving his own path has allows very intricate detailing in the sandblasting pushing the glass to its limits. He continues to come out with more and more original designs, this has allowed liberty to hired more staff and expand their product line.

 Unfortunately in 2014 Buddha Chris unexpectedly passed away. The team stayed strong, moved operations to a bigger facility and continued to make Buddha’s dream a reality. Liberty 503 now has a large warehouse just outside Portland that is a creative space other artist and their employees can create and innovate. They strive to make high quality art and push to make Buddha's vision live on to be bigger and better than he could imagine.

 One of our customer’s favorite pipes is the liberty 503 Fumed and sandblasted hand pipe. We have them in seventeen different styles including a BWG exclusive pipe that was designed by the staff around our North West roots. These pipes are a classic spoon shape that is made with a variety of base colors ranging all over the color spectrum. They are then fumed with silver and gold giving Loren a templet to work with the vinyl stickers. After the vinyl is applied it heads to the sandblaster to be sandblasted. The vinyl is then removed revealing the fumed theme that was protected by the vinyl. It’s then oiled so the pipe doesn’t look dry and it’s ready to enjoy! All of that work for one hand pipe and they continue to push the envelope incorporating more difficult techniques in their production work. 

 The most impressive style that liberty has is the deep carve. This pipe starts with a nice thick clear spoon that is covered with two color layers of glass, this gives the pipe a 6mm plus thickness. It’s finished off with a combination of gold and silver fuming. After Loren is done with the intricate vinyl work its sandblasted 2-3mm deep and the multi layered colors gives the pipe a really cool effect. Because of the way the pipes are made every single one is unique. Just like the fumed and sandblasted pipes liberty 503 has a huge variety of styles and they continue to add themes all the time. The deep carve pipes are a true work of art and make liberty 503 different than any other glass company.

 Brothers with glass has been doing business with Liberty 503 since 2013 and are proud to have an awesome local company to offer to people all over the world. Liberty 503 offers pipes in all price ranges and continue to expand their production making pendants, bowls, and carb caps!