About Hightail Studios
Hightail Studios is a handmade crafts workshop based in South Baltimore, Maryland and sometimes (usually on weekends) in Pocono Pines, Pennsylvania. While we primarily produce jewelry and glass works, we also work in other media including screen and block print.
We met when we were both stationed in the San Francisco area in 1992. Brian was a sea-loving Coast Guardsman while Nina was a Navy civil engineer for shore facilities. We shared a love of the beauty and excitement of the urban seaport environment, finding energy in the mix of the utilitarian manmade environment with the natural coastal seascape. We eventually made it back east, and while continuing in our respective careers, we began training in metalsmithing and started making jewelry out of our Baltimore rowhouse. Brian focused on chain-making while Nina concentrated on fabricated metal elements such as pendants and clasps. We had so much fun learning, collaborating and making that we decided in 2008 to form Hightail Studios as an outlet for our growing inventory.
The Artists
Nina has been creating art since the 1980s, initially with an emphasis in screen and block printing. In 2004 she indulged her longtime desire to learn metalsmithing and enrolled in jewelry classes at the Maryland Institute College of Art. After learning the basics and enhancing her skills via workshops throughout the country, she quit working for the man to establish Hightail Studios as an outlet for her and Brian's creations. She is skilled in many forms of metal work.
Brian has worked in stained glass since 1996 when he took classes from Dan Gamaldi at the Cradle of the Sun gallery in San Francisco. Upon moving to Baltimore, and inspired by Nina's jewelry work, Brian learned chainmail techniques from Patrick Ober. He has since created fathoms and yards of chains, in many patterns and styles. Creating traditional European 4-in-1 chainmail, more complex Persian and Turkish weaves, and the labor-intensive loop-in-loop styles, Brian enjoys the repetitive nature of chain making, which he finds relaxing while others (e.g., Nina) find it tedious.
What's Up With The Squirrel?
Well, it's a long story. Of course squirrels are bent on world domination and we want to get on their good side. But they are also industrious and adaptable, thriving in urban and rural environments. There is a 16th century woodcut that depicts a squirrel on a raft using his tail as a sail. Accompanying that image is the Latin phrase “vincit solertia vires” which translates to “inventiveness surpasses strength”. We feel this image and sentiment embody our story and ethic. We considered the Latin word for squirrels “sciurus” and its literal English translation "shadow tail" as a business name, but neither seemed quite right. We doodled various images of squirrels for our logo, and decided on a squirrel in motion, with his tail held high as he scurries along -- hence "Hightail". You may be able to catch sight of a squirrel on our Pocono Pines webcam.