You might notice that our lobby is looking a little greener. That’s thanks to Stem and Vine and the beautiful assortment of potted plants, curated specifically for Open Works. They’re still putting some finishing touches on their Charles Street storefront space but an assortment of their carefully selected plants are available for sale starting today in our lobby.

If you were drawn to this page for the plants and have never heard of Open Works, welcome! We’re one of the regions largest makerspaces where makers, artists, entrepreneurs, and hobbyiest can access commercial manufacturing and fabrication tools for an affordable monthly membership. We also offer a variety of workshops and classes.

I had a chance to swing by last week and chat with proprietor, Quincy Goldsmithabout what makes Stem and Vine unique and some of the exciting things they have planned.

First of all, the space is going to be gorgeous when the renovations are finished. It’s located in the historic Browns Arcade, one of Baltimore’s many charming little secrets, which winds its way between Charles and Saratoga with a lovely courtyard in-between. Inside the store there will be space for classes, events, live performances, and of course plenty of plants from around the world.

It’s what we can learn from these well-traveled plants that drew Quincy, a material scientist, from his career developing metals for the automotive industry, to botany. “The first thing I notice whenever I travel somewhere, whether it’s Sweden or Brazil or Mexico, it’s the type of vegetation you see when you fly into these different areas,” he shared. Stem and Vine seeks to bring that connection to local culture through the beauty of plant life Quincy found while traveling for the automotive industry, here to Baltimore.

“Our climates that we live in, in our homes, are pretty tropical, 72 degrees, 40-50% humidity.” Quincy explained that most of our house plants come from similarly tropical climates like Africa, Central and South America, parts of Asia, and Australia, which are also places where Black and Brown people are from. “I see this project as a way for the majority of Baltimoreans, who are Black and Brown, to connect with their cultures, but also for others to learn about the cultures of these living things that we’re growing in our homes.”

As their name suggests, science, technology, engineering, and math are what puts the STEM in Stem and Vine, and exposing people, particularly young people, to the plant sciences is also part of their mission. Quincy believes that the science of plants has a role to play in shaping Baltimore’s legacy as a city of industry. As a recent trustee of the Baltimore Museum of Industry he wants to help “tell the story of Baltimore’s industrial past, but also help to try to shape its future and a lot of that can be through the plant industries.”

Wellness is also something that Stem and Vine is hoping to bring a little more of to Baltimore. In addition to the well documented benefits ranging from mood to air quality that plants brings with them, Stem and Vine is going to be set up to have a variety of wellness programming and already have some yoga, meditation and education planned. To Quincy, their goal is to “to take these benefits that we see from plants to people that can use it, folks that are dealing with stress, post-traumatic stress, you know, stress from living in an urban environment. If we subliminally create some peace in people’s lives, I think that can only be a good thing.”

They don’t have an official grand opening date for their storefront but are aiming for some time this spring. Trust me, having seen some of what they’re working on in there, it’ll be worth the wait. In the meantime, you’ll find an assortment of plants, carefully selected by Stem and Vine and already paired with beautiful pots, for sale here at Open Works starting at just $28. Pick up a little something to liven up your space, or update your traditions and give that special someone a live plant this Valentine’s Day.

Oh, and one last thing, when their store opens, go check out these great fixtures we built for their hanging plants.

You may have seen us post about this on social media, but all throughout Black History Month and beyond we want to showcase the work of Black makers in the Open Works community. If you want to show us all what you’re making use the hashtag #BlackMadeAtOpenWorks to tag your work on social media. We also routinely profile member and member businesses, so if you’re interested you can fill out our newly updated member profile form.

We’ll be launching the Baltimore Sewing Trades Training Program this spring in partnership with SewLab USA and Made in Baltimore. Application will be coming soon. If you’re interested in a career in the sewing trades fill out this interest form.

We’re hiring! We have a community technician position open. Interested makers can apply here.

Empower Baltimore has had so many great applicants for their first cohort. which should be finalized in the next few days. Check out their launch event, A Night of Neighborhood Storytelling at Center Stage in partnership with The Medicine Show.