Manu of Goa is an Italian expatriate who resides at Chapora Village, in the Indian state of Goa. He is currently one of the most notable designers of chillums in the world.
The Basics
Born in Rome, Italy, Manu grew up in a squat, with few financial resources. As I understand, he studied computer science in school, but started smoking charas (hand-made Indian hashish) at a young age, and upon realizing his ineptitude for hard studies at 16, he went into the craft of ceramic chillums. A chillum is the traditional handpipe of the Hindu sadhu, a long, straight pipe used for smoking tobacco, marijuana or hashish through the hands; as hashish is the predominant cannabinoid drug on the Continent, there has been, in recent years, a fairly large market in these pipes, and Manu's business launched with relative ease. In 2004, having accrued enough money to travel, Manu went to Goa, and opened the first Italian chillum manufactory in the area (which is actually a big deal, believe it or not, as Goa is one of the party capitals of the world, and cannabis culture is huge there). He now sells upwards of 300 pipes every year, each with a price of at least $180 American, or €120. He is, at the moment, living his dream out of his Indian shop.
Patronize Manu!
I know that many people in the E2 community are not interested in the cannabis culture or tobacconism, but for those who are, I strongly recommend investing in one of Manu's world-class pieces. They are hand-crafted by him over the course of about two weeks, and can be made with any number of decorative textures and colors. A long chillum (between four and six inches) can hold a couple of grams of herb with no trouble, and hits very hard -- like a cigar (read: blunt). They are immaculately made, so they are very easy to clean, and come with a cleaning stick, a coconut mixing bowl, and a case... very worth your while if you can afford it, guys. To order a chillum from anywhere in the world, contact Manu at manugoa@chillum.it; to see some of the pieces he has already made and sold, go to the photo gallery on his website (see "References"). He is incredibly amiable, and, despite his limited English vocabulary, is extremely easy to communicate with. He should only take a few days to get back to you by email, too!
References
Manu's Website; http://www.chillum.it/index.html
A YouTube Video Featuring Manu and His Shop; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTwzq4qTBwg