art-ist
The Art of a Cigar
T
he sleepy town of Lüderitz holds a couple of secrets among its oldtimey buildings and windswept streets. One of them is hidden in a nondescript building next to the historic Krabbenhöft and Lampe building on Bismarck Street. A red metal pipe noisily squeaking in the wind is the only sign of what you might find inside. Premium Namibian Cigars are the first and only cigar producers in the country.
For long-time cigar aficionado Brian Padwick, producing his cigars never came to mind when he and some friends started importing cases of cigars to feed their passion. His small arsenal of lovely brown fatties from all over the globe led him to open a small shop in Windhoek in 2013, called Premium Cigars for Africa. The shop not only imported and sold a variety of Cubans and non-Cubans but also acted as a local supplier to other outlets. While his wife Paulina managed the shop in the capital, Brian ran Ôa Hera Namib Backpackers and Cultural Center in Maltahöhe. With a daughter on the
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But we quickly realised Lüderitz could be the right place to start something crazy like cigar manufacturing.
