Empire Glassworks - Hootie's Forest Small Spoon Pipe – 4.5" Owl Family & Mushroom Glass Pipe

The Empire Glassworks Hootie's Forest Small Spoon Pipe is a hand-blown borosilicate dry pipe worked as a forest log, with a sculpted mother owl and her three chicks perched among spotted mushrooms and green vines. 4.5 inches long, 94 grams, left-side carb. $69.99 at Angies Boutique, 838 N Broadway, Los Angeles, and in stock for same-day collection.

⚡ At-a-Glance Decision Summary

• What it is: A 4.5" borosilicate dry spoon pipe sculpted as a terracotta forest log carrying an owl family.
• Four owls. Empire describe it as a mother owl and her three chicks — gray-green bodies, oversized white eyes, black beaks.
• The best-reviewed piece in the range. 11 reviews on Empire's own store, every one of them five stars.
• Also carries mushrooms, vines and implosion marbles worked into the log.
• Left-side carb hole, per Empire's spec and visible in the photographs.
• Dry, not a bubbler. No water, no percolation.
• A penny under the maker's price. Empire sell it at $70.00; this is $69.99, and they still have it.

🧠 Our Verdict

The most figure-work Empire put on a 4.5-inch spoon, and the only piece in the range with a review record worth citing. If you want an owl rather than an owl scene, the Owl Pipe – Small does it for $20 less.

Quick Summary

Borosilicate glass, 4.5" long and 1.8" wide, 94 grams. The body is a mottled terracotta log with green vines running over it. A mother owl and three chicks sit along the top in gray-green glass with big white eyes; spotted mushrooms in brown and cream sit beside them, and implosion marbles are set into the body. Carb on the left. One pipe in the box, nothing else.

Empire Glassworks Hootie's Forest Small Spoon Pipe – 4.5" Owl Family & Mushroom Glass Pipe

Empire Glassworks theme this dry-pipe line on at-risk habitats, each piece depicting one. This is the forest: a mother owl, her three chicks, and in their words their colorful home. The owls are what the money is for — each one individually lampworked with a gray-green body, a black beak and white eyes that are comically large for the scale, perched on a log crawling with vines and mushrooms.

It sits in the same series as the Bug's Life Small Spoon Pipe and the Garden Critters Small Spoon Pipe. Browse the rest in Empire Glassworks.

Summary: A 4.5" hand-lampworked forest-log spoon pipe carrying four sculpted owls.

⭐ Who This Product Is For / Not For

Ideal For:

• Anyone who wants the most sculpted figures Empire fit onto a small spoon.
• Buyers who care about a track record — this is the only piece in the series with a substantial review history behind it.
• Collectors of the habitat series.
• Right-handed smokers. The carb is on the left, where your thumb lands.
• Gifting. Four owls with faces does a lot of work as an object.

Not Recommended For:

• Anyone who wants water filtration. This is a dry pipe with no chamber.
• Anyone who just wants an owl. The Owl Pipe – Small at $49.99 is $20 cheaper.
• Pocket carry. Four raised owls are four things to catch and snap.
• Anyone who needs an easy clean. This is the most relief on any pipe in the range.
• Anyone expecting the exact piece in the photographs. Each is blown individually.

⚠️ Known Limitations

• No filtration at all. Dry spoon — no water, no downstem, no perc. Smoke is unfiltered.
• The owls are the fragile part, and there are four of them. They stand well off the body and will meet a hard surface before the glass does.
• Hardest piece in the range to clean. More raised detail means more places resin collects. Soak, do not scrub.
• Same size as the $49.99 Garden Critters. Empire make both at 4.5" × 1.8" and 94 grams. The extra $20 buys sculpting and a review record, not more glass.
• The carb is fixed on the left. Left-handed smokers will cover it with a finger rather than a thumb.
• Small bowl. At 4.5 inches this is a one-or-two-draw pipe, not a session piece — a point more than one of Empire's own reviewers has made.

Summary: Unfiltered, the most fragile piece in the range, hardest to clean, and priced above an identically sized sibling.

🔹 Features & Benefits

• Four sculpted owls: A mother and three chicks, each lampworked separately. This is the highest figure count on any small spoon Empire make.
• Intricate figurine work: Empire's own term — owls, mushrooms and vines are worked in molten glass, so nothing peels or fades.
• Implosion marbles: Set flush into the log, with the design formed inside the glass rather than applied to the surface.
• Terracotta log body: A mottled warm brown that makes the gray-green owls and white eyes read clearly.
• Borosilicate glass: Empire's stated material — it handles repeated heat cycling better than soft glass.
• Left-side carb hole: Positioned for a natural right-handed hold.

Summary: Four lampworked owls plus mushrooms, vines and marbles on a 4.5-inch borosilicate log.

🔌 Compatibility & Requirements

• Type: Dry hand pipe / spoon pipe. Nothing attaches and nothing detaches — no joint, no removable bowl.
• Dimensions: 4.5" long × 1.8" wide, per Empire Glassworks.
• Weight: 94 grams.
• Material: Borosilicate glass.
• Carb: Left side of the bowl.
• Maker's part number: 2269.
• In the box: One Hootie's Forest Small Spoon Pipe. No case, no tool, no accessories.
• Age restriction: Sold to adults 21 and over only.

🛠️ How to Use

1. Pack the bowl lightly — a loose pack draws better than a tight one on a dry spoon.
2. Hold the log body in your right hand with your thumb over the carb on the left.
3. Light the bowl and draw with the carb covered.
4. Release the carb to clear the chamber.
5. Tap the ash out rather than digging at it. The glass around sculpted detail is thinner than the body.
6. Set it down on its flat underside, never on the owls.

🧴 Care & Maintenance

• Soak in isopropyl and coarse salt. With this much relief, soaking does the work and scrubbing does the damage.
• Give it longer in the soak than any plainer pipe, then rinse thoroughly with warm water.
• Use a pipe cleaner through the stem and carb rather than forcing a brush past the owls.
• Do not shake it with loose salt inside — that is how raised figurines come off, and there are four of them here.
• Do not go from a hot soak into cold water. Borosilicate tolerates thermal shock better than soft glass but does not enjoy it.
• Store it where nothing can fall on it. The sculpting is the first thing to break and cannot be repaired.

Summary: Long iso soak, no scrubbing, no salt-shaking, and store it somewhere protected.

📊 Comparison

Three of these are the same size. Empire make the Hootie's Forest, Bug's Life and Garden Critters all at 4.5" × 1.8" and 94 grams. The price difference is sculpting and demand, not glass.

Summary: If the owl family is the appeal, this is the one. If you want an owl, or just the best-reviewed piece, the Owl Pipe and the Beehive are both $49.99.

💬 Common Questions & Answers

Q: How many owls are on it?
A: Four — Empire describe it as a mother owl and her three chicks. They are spread around the log, so you will not see all four from one angle.

Q: Why is this $69.99 when the Garden Critters is $49.99?
A: Honest answer: not size. Empire make both at 4.5" × 1.8" and 94 grams. The extra $20 buys the owl family — four separately lampworked figures, the highest count on any small spoon they make — and this is their best-reviewed piece in the range. Both are a penny under Empire's own prices.

Q: I just want an owl pipe. Is this the cheapest option?
A: No. The Owl Pipe – Small is $49.99 and in stock here. This piece is a forest scene that happens to have owls in it; if the bird is the point rather than the scene, save the $20.

Q: Where is the carb hole?
A: On the left side of the bowl, which Empire specify and which is visible in the photographs. Hold it in your right hand and your thumb falls onto it.

Q: Is this the big Hootie's Forest pipe?
A: No — this is the 4.5" small, Empire's part number 2269. There is a 5.5" version at $119.99, and ours is sold out.

Q: Does it hold water?
A: No. It is a dry spoon pipe with no chamber and no downstem.

Q: How do I clean around four owls?
A: Soak it in isopropyl and coarse salt, longer than you would any plainer pipe, then rinse with warm water. Do not shake it with loose salt inside and do not scrub around the figures. This is the fiddliest piece in the range to clean and it is worth doing properly.

Summary: Empire's part 2269 — a 4.5" dry spoon with four sculpted owls, mushrooms and a left carb.

🛒 Pick It Up Today in Chinatown

In stock at 838 N Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90012 — walk in and we will put it in your hand. For the same forest-floor theme at $49.99, the Garden Critters Small is the same size for $20 less, and the Beehive Pipe is Empire's most-reviewed small spoon. Browse the rest in Empire Glassworks or all our spoon pipes.

✅ Authentic Empire Glassworks

Authentic Empire Glassworks borosilicate glass, part number 2269, hand-lampworked as an individually crafted art piece from their habitat dry-pipe series. Empire publish no GTIN for it, so no barcode is asserted. Priced at $69.99 against the maker's own $70.00 retail price. Angies Boutique has traded from 838 N Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90012 since 1990, and this one is on the shelf for same-day collection. Sold to adults 21 and over only.