Cigar Weekly Interview with Arlin Liss, craftsman

March 2004 -- Arlin Liss is the proprietor of Arlin Liss humidors. Recently Rod Gwinn (Niceash) of Cigar Weekly received the exact humidor that Steve Saka reviewed and that has caused much controversy in Cigar Afficionado. Rod contacted Arlin to get some background on his business.

NiceAsh: I just received in the mail a desktop humidor handmade by Mr. Arlin Liss. Mr. Liss has been making humidors for the last 10 years. At first glance you wonder how something that looks so nice could be used to store something like cigars. The material is a burl wood and you can visually see the attention to detail. Click here for the First Look ^TM review and pictures of the humidor.

Cigar Weekly: Please give us a little little background, how did you get started in the humidor business?

Arlin Liss: I have been building humidors for about 10 years, since moving to Virginia. I started out making custom furniture and then had a customer that was interested in having a humidor made out of some exotic wood that he had. I built the first one and it turned out pretty good, so I built a few more. My business is mainly custom humidors built to customers specifications. I try to offer something that no one else does.

CW: How many do you build a year?

AL: I build about 15 to 25 yearly depending on the size. It took me 10 months to build one cabinet for a California customer. He had very specific measurements to fit it into a spot in his home. On average it takes about 1 week to build a desktop humidor.

CW: Arlin, I notice that on your site most of your humidors are made with exotic woods. What's the most challenging wood to work with?

AL: I would say that it would have to be Ebony. The most exotic I work with would be the quilted maple. If finished properly, the quilted maple gives off an almost holographic effect, it is really quite impressive.

CW: What's next for you and your business?

AL: Well, I will keep innovating my designs and I try to incorporate past customers ideas into new projects. I strive to provide a quality product for all my customers and I will continue making humidors as long as I can.

CW: Well, I would like to thank Arlin for taking some time to talk with me today. Following this interview is a CW review of one of his handcrafted humidors.

Find out more: CW First Look Review
Arlin Liss Website