ANNOUNCER: Major funding for "Made in Maryland" is provided by... Offering big-bank capabilities and boutique-bank care, CFG Bank supports businesses of all sizes and industries, including manufacturing, across Maryland.

We are CFG Bank.

Your success is our business.

This program is in part made possible through a partnership with Kaiser Permanente, which has been serving the Maryland community with high-quality health care for over 35 years.

The Maryland Marketing Partnership amplifies all that makes Maryland a great place to live, work, and do business in, including our bright minds, diverse population, and connectivity.

Learn more at business.maryland.gov.

Chesapeake Employers Insurance, proud to support “Made in Maryland” and the exciting future for manufacturing in Maryland.

And by... NARRATOR: Some objects are greater than their craft, blending time, care, and memory.

From Baltimore to the Eastern Shore, artisans at Salisbury, Baltimore Watch Company, and Tanglewood Conservatories shape pieces meant to be used, kept, and loved for generations.

NARRATOR: Heirlooms are more than objects.

They're pieces of family history.

Made with care and built to last, they hold memories that are passed down through generations.

The traditions of heirloom craftsmanship live on in Easton, Maryland.

Home to Salisbury, the nation's largest manufacturer of fine silver, aluminum, and pewter wares.

JOE BERNSTEIN: Salisbury's traditions come from antiquity.

The Thomas Jefferson cup, Paul Revere bowl, these are all Americana pewter-smiths that are part of our history.

Salisbury started as Kirk Pewter.

1979, the Stieff Silver Company in Baltimore bought Kirk Pewter, and it became Kirk Stieff.

A lot of the craftsmen didn't wanna leave the shore, so a group of investors started Salisbury Pewter.

There's several methods of manufacturing.

We do spinning, stamping, presswork, centrifugal casting, and all of these require different talents that have to be learned and mastered over time.

The training is done from one craftsman to another for hundreds of years.

It's handed down.

So, this is a learned skill that they master over time, and they become true artisans.

And here on the Shore, we have a strong workforce.

I love the people we work with.

When you watch some of these guys and girls spinning products or polishing, that's where the product comes to life.

Latonya, for example, she has become, through her willingness to learn different things, very important.

LATONYA BROMWELL: I went to school for cosmetology.

I thought that I was gonna do cosmetology, have my own business, and it didn't work out for my family because I'm a single mother.

So, I said, "I need a nine-to-five job."

So, I went to a temp agency.

I've never seen this type of work before, and I said, "Oh, I can do that."

And I came here in 1998, and I started in casting finishing.

As I progressed, the soldering position was open, and I said, "I could do that."

It's, it's a good job because it's good when they believe in you.

JOE: The Maryland Cup is a piece from antiquity that was designed here in Maryland.

LATONYA: This is the press department where we keep all our tooling.

We're doing the Maryland nine-ounce julep cups today, and these are the toolings that we use for the first step.

After pulling the tooling, we're here at the press department, and we take a piece of metal, we wax it, and we make sure we protect it as we do the four procedures of press.

We already formed the first one, now we're on the second one.

We're at the spinning department.

Now we're getting ready to take and spin over the product.

He's smoothing it to the chuck that's on the lathe.

He's making sure there's no roughness.

Once it's finished spinning, we make sure it's nice and straight, no spin lines.

Then we trim it, we cut it, we put the lip on it.

Then we take and put the cut checks so the base can fit on it.

So, after we take and come from the spinning department, now we gonna hand hallmark it.

So, each product that we do, it has the product's name and Salisbury Pewter hallmarked on.

So, now we're here in the soldering department, and we're getting ready to solder the Maryland Cups.

We're applying the flux to the cups on the inside and around the base of the cup.

So now what's the heat's doing, it's preheating it for me, so when it comes to me, I put the solder in, and I continue to leave the heat on the cup itself.

It's hot enough for the solder, and we can do it quickly.

And it's done.

From 7:30 to 12, I can do at least 1,000 cups on the table.

When you look at it, it makes you feel good about what you've learned how to do, 'cause this stuff is amazing.

It really is.

To me, it's amazing.

After we solder the cup, then we must wash the flux off the cup to make sure it doesn't stain and wash it off our hands.

And then we blow-dry it and put it in a dryer.

And everything's dry, it's transferred to the finishing department.

So here in the finishing department is they cut down, they emery, and they polish.

Cut down meaning they cut all the imperfections that's off, maybe the solder stained, maybe some little dirt or debris that may be on that item, and then they emery the inside, satin finish the insides, and then they polish it, and then satin the bottoms.

This is machine engraving.

What we need on the engraving, we send to the machine.

NANCY CORKELL: I'm hallmarking this silver tray, and I've set the job to it.

So, I push the button, and then it, the stylus puts whatever I've designed on the computer onto the piece.

LATONYA: This is the casting department.

We're here with Mr.

Lee, and he's our master mold maker, and he's a master in hand engraving as well.

And so, he's hand engraving our Maryland bracelet.

MR.

LEE: I start, um, to learn hand engraving in Stieff Silver Com-Company in Baltimore since 1985.

LATONYA: So maybe about 20 years to be a master in it.

It takes about five years to understand how to do it, and then to become a master when you get into engraving a lot.

And this is where Mr.

Lee is making a five-inch Maryland crab.

He's put it in the mold, so he's poured this, and he says he has to do it again because it has a little porosity here where it didn't take, and the mold wasn't hot enough.

So, the mold has to be hot in order for it to be perfect for us.

If it's not good, it goes back in the melting pot, and we start all over again.

Make it perfect.

This is our inspection station, and we have two tables.

We have one for the engraving and one for finishing.

And what she's doing is she's inspecting our Maryland Cups that we just brought through finishing department.

She's checking to make sure there's no stretch lines, no break lines, the satin finish is good on the inside and on the bottom.

Thank you, Sonya.

SONYA: You're welcome.

JOE: The reason we're here in Maryland is this is where the talent is.

We have trainees that are learning the trade now that will carry it forward.

That is vital to keeping this industry alive and keeping the craftsmanship of this kind of artistry going for the future.

So, the future for Salisbury is bright.

NARRATOR: Pewter and silversmiths craft vessels that hold ritual and meaning from one generation to the next.

Watchmakers do something just as remarkable.

They build intricate machines, transforming simple motion into something deeply meaningful.

Both demand a mastery of precision.

At Union Collective in Baltimore, the Baltimore Watch Company is turning the dial on tradition, crafting timepieces for a new generation of collectors.

ALAN TSAO: I believe a traditional timepiece has a soul, has a movement.

You see the complexity of all the components working versus on a smartwatch.

What I love about being the founder of a watch company is that we get to build some awesome things.

We get to create memories.

We get to create those stories on your wrist, something people can be proud to wear and pass down.

Every single timepiece is inspired by something Baltimore, something Maryland.

We have three main pillars of the company.

The core foundation is our timepieces that we design, that we sell directly here in our showroom.

The second pillar is servicing, repair, and warranty work for companies around the world.

The third pillar is distribution and fulfillment.

We're growing into that pillar, and we provide help to distribute to their US customers.

We have five watchmakers and technicians.

It takes a lot of discipline and passion for watches.

Our head watchmaker he's certified in Swatch or Omega.

He works on all types of timepieces, from vintage to our own Baltimore Watch Company timepieces.

EUGENE STOHLMAN: I really enjoy working on watches.

I used to own my own shop in Hagerstown called Maryland Watch Works.

My grandfather was a watchmaker.

He started his company in 1970, The Watch Pocket, in Silver Spring.

My uncle worked with him and learned from him, and then I learned from them.

As a watchmaker, you need to learn how to see things because you're looking beyond the crystal.

You're looking beyond the hands.

When Alan was first getting started, I worked a lot with him in building his legacy editions and Torsk models.

He had a vision of bringing everything in-house, and I thought that sounded really great.

He bought out Maryland Watch Works, and it's been fun ever since.

Today, we're going to be assembling the Torsk stainless steel GMT diver.

So, this is the calendar disc.

And this is the stem and the crown to test the calendar disc and make sure it is functional, as well as the keyless works and setting the hands.

Now is the fun part where it starts looking like a watch.

This guy and the dial.

You on a groove.

We're making sure that the dial is flat and flush with the movement.

Now we're gonna put the hands on.

So, first thing we're doing here is we're adjusting the depth of the hand press, making sure that we're not over-pressing or under-pressing.

Making sure the hands are parallel so that when the watch's hands are going around, they're not gonna run into each other; or cause any kind of friction.

Everything's looking good.

And now we move to the case.

Making sure there's no dust inside the case or on the underside of the crystal.

This is the movement retaining ring.

This is going to keep the movement from moving inside of the case.

Alright, we're going to test the timekeeping of the watch.

Put it on our timegrapher.

This guy is basically an EKG of the inside of your watch.

This has a really good beat error of 0.0.

The amplitude is at 270.

That's doing pretty well.

Next, what we are gonna do is add the rotor.

Check it once again for dust, hand alignment, date change.

We have a completed Baltimore Watch Company Torsk Diver.

So here we have our water testing and sealing position.

This is a tool to close and open case backs.

We're going to seal the Torsk Diver with a suction cup back.

Sealed.

Water test.

It's going to do a rest one-bar test and then do a deep 10-bar test.

Good to go.

A water tested passed Torsk Diver.

We're gonna take the Torsk and put it on the winder.

We're gonna leave it on for about a week to make sure that it is keeping time, the automatic is functional, and that no dust has cropped up.

ALAN: When I was 10 years old, my parents gifted me my first orange Fossil watch.

Loved that thing.

My favorite color is orange.

I was like, “What is this awesome thing on my wrist?” That's what started it all.

And one night, my wife, she's studying for the bar.

She's looking at, over at me on the computer.

I'm about to buy another watch.

She's like, "Alan, Alan, you gotta stop.

Stop buying so many watches.

You could just start your own watch company."

That really started the whole thing of start designing timepieces.

And my background has always been marketing and design, but it was an easy transition to product design, just because I love watches.

Growing up, my parents, they have a dry cleaner, so I always was in the world of, of small business.

My dad, he was the one in the back.

My mom was the personality.

And I saw the uniqueness of personality and creating connections and relationships, and the importance of that.

And what we're trying to create here is community first, while also creating unique timepieces.

I designed this facility so that there's a place to be you, and talk about watches, and how special this is.

Being able to establish ourselves as a manufacturer of timepieces changed my life for the better.

NARRATOR: Horology is a time-honored craft that demands precision, patience, and mastery.

Qualities that closely parallel the heritage craftsmanship behind fine conservatories.

It remains rooted in skilled hands, deep material knowledge, and a commitment to creating work that lasts for generations.

In Denton, Maryland, Tanglewood Conservatories reflects the same dedication to craft, transforming thoughtful design and meticulous construction into elegant spaces made to be lived in and enjoyed.

NICOLE YOUNG: At Tanglewood, we specialize in luxury glass architecture, from conservatories, greenhouses, to the more ornate decorative cupolas all over the world.

We've gone as far as China and Africa.

ALAN STEIN: In the very beginning, conservatories were conceived and developed to house exotic plants in places where the climate was too cold to have them outside.

NANCY VIRTS: Originally, they were never glass on the roof.

They just had glass on the walls.

They had these great showings of botanical gardens, and they were on grand estates.

STEIN: And so, in the early days, architects were free to develop their own style, and they did, from the Palm House at Kew Gardens, the Schoenbrun Palace conservatories.

From Pittsburgh, the Phipps Conservatory to the Rawlings Conservatory in Baltimore.

The original conservatories and the conservatories today are used in much the same way.

NANCY: Where you can step into a space that you can smell the smells, the warmth, and you can reconnect with our nature.

STEIN: That spirit of innovation that was alive and generated those buildings is still present today.

In the early days of Tanglewood, we were making purely wood conservatories.

The very first steel conservatory that we built was beautiful, and something in me just kind of resonated with that.

We've worked hard over the years to develop processes where we can do unique creations in a way where it's efficient enough so that we can operate a, a successful business, which we have for 30-plus years.

NICOLE: Being a part of that is really exciting.

So, we're a team of just over 30 from office to shop to install.

Andrew is our senior associate for global sales and design.

He actually started on our shop floor and has moved his way up and now into sales and design.

ANDREW RUF: My dad was a furniture designer.

He had a shop in our basement, and so I learned CAD growing up.

He would hand a part to me and say, "Draw this in all three dimensions."

And I wouldn't have thought that that would create an opportunity for where I am now, but it did.

I actually went to college to be in a professional golf management program.

Then I realized the golf business wasn't for me.

A few years later, I'd interviewed at Tanglewood.

I never expected to enjoy sales as much as I do.

The best part of being in manufacturing for me is that I'm able to take someone's vision all the way through actual finished product and them enjoying themselves in that space.

There's nothing better for me.

That's why I do this.

STEIN: A very important feature of our sales process is our design.

ANDREW: So, part of the design process is where we work through two-dimensional drawings to develop a different concept.

This is just one option of maybe eight or nine different versions.

Once we fine-tune that, we can then take this, go over to a 3D model format, and then present renderings for the final product.

STEIN: Once design is complete, then the project moves to our engineering department to prepare the design for production out in our shop.

ANDREW: So, as we move into manufacturing, we will then convert the final design over to shop drawings.

The shop drawings are actually the way that we communicate how we're gonna build the conservatory.

We have a 40,000-square-foot facility here where we build and construct all of these projects.

The very first step is milling.

Initially, the materials come in.

We stage them over on the racks.

Tim, who is working on a project for us right now, will take that rough material, process it.

There's a series of different machinery that he uses to prep the material.

This is the planer that he's using right now.

He'll also use a rip gang saw.

Now that we have a blank from milling, we are able to take this over to the next phase of the process, which is CNC.

James here is gonna actually take this blank that we have and create a curved trim for a hip rafter, and we will see this again in construction.

We've arrived in assembly, and this is where we put together all of the different components that we made in milling and in CNC.

Things like window sash, window frames, pilasters, they all get put together here and then sent to the back shop for final construction.

We have now reached the metal fab department where we process all our metal sheet goods, things like aluminum, which you see here, or copper sheets.

We take these and put them into final shapes that are required for our specific projects.

Construction is the culmination of all the work that we've done before in milling and in CNC.

You'll see that some of these parts already have been painted, so this still needs to go through paint, and then it'll come out and actually into the construction area and get test fit.

Once everything has been test fit, we disassemble, and then we ship it out to the site, and our crew is gonna arrive on site, then we can begin our installation.

STEIN: I have a background in both construction and architecture, and when I finished my degree at University of Maryland and I went to work as an architect.

I missed the hands-on building side of the trade and decided to go back into the field where I could both design and create the final buildings.

I met Nancy shortly thereafter.

NANCY: My background is actually fabric art and also music conservatory.

Alan exposed me to architecture, educating me about these glass structures.

NICOLE: So, I've been here about 11 years.

I started as an intern.

I was pursuing an accounting degree at the time and then started looking into more of the marketing.

I ended up double majoring because I loved it so much.

STEIN: Building a manufacturing company has enabled me to have the opportunity to pass my love of both design and building, creating things, onto a whole other generation.

NICOLE: Preserving the legacy of conservatory architecture is why Tanglewood exists.

STEIN: So, we're very hopeful that we can be part of building the next generation of heritage craftsmanship.

NARRATOR: Craftsmanship endures at Salisbury, Baltimore Watch Company, and Tanglewood Conservatories, where the hands that build inspire the generations that follow.

RYAN FINI: My brother and I are not, not originally from Maryland, but, uh, we grew up in New Mexico.

My brother was studying cello at Peabody Conservatory, and funny enough, he, he started getting interested in, in bow making.

And after visiting him a few times in Baltimore, we kind of fell in love with the city.

And after working together for, for quite some time, it was clear that, that we, we had a, a common goal of essentially starting our own shop where we specialize in making fine instruments and bows.

AARON FINI: He did violin, I did cello.

He did violin making, I did bow making.

Two completely separate fields, two different techniques, different woods from different cultures.

Violin making comes from the Italian school, whereas, as, as bow making comes from the French school.

However, they share the same language, so being able to bounce ideas off of each other, it's been absolutely invaluable.

And being able to, to work with my, my brother, I wouldn't have it any other way.

NARRATOR: Major funding for "Made in Maryland" is provided by... Offering big-bank capabilities and boutique-bank care, CFG Bank supports businesses of all sizes and industries, including manufacturing, across Maryland.

We are CFG Bank.

Your success is our business.

This program is in part made possible through a partnership with Kaiser Permanente, which has been serving the Maryland community with high-quality health care for over 35 years.

The Maryland Marketing Partnership amplifies all that makes Maryland a great place to live, work, and do business in, including our bright minds, diverse population, and connectivity.

Learn more at business.maryland.gov.

Chesapeake Employers Insurance, proud to support “Made in Maryland” and the exciting future for manufacturing in Maryland.

And by... ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪