Nash Cycles - Baltimore Bicycle Works

First off thanks to VS for starting this really interesting dialogue!

I guess metal started calling my name in high school. I went to an Arts Magnet HS
where we had a full blown metal shop, not necessarily the norm for teens my age. MIG
welders, TIG welders, Oxy-Acetylene rigs, angle grinders, plasma cutters, and a giant
heap of donated steel were our course materials. I learned the basics of fabrication, and
it was at this time that I sold my first hunk of steel for the whopping sum of $450 to my
English teacher.

Fast forward to college, Baltimore is my new home and Iʼd brought along a Trek 520
touring bike that had belonged to my uncle and had once braved the hills of Scotland in
the early 80ʼs. Coming from Dallas, Tx where the automobile reigns supreme, where the
operators of said automobiles are possibly armed, and where most cycling is off road or
on dedicated paths, the sheer idea of USING A BIKE INSTEAD OF A CAR was a
foreign concept to put it mildly. I went to class on my bike, I went to work on my bike, I
went to bars on my bike, and I went grocery shopping on my bike. I really canʼt stress
the impact this had on my impressionable young mind; I was hooked and becoming a
bit obsessive. I continued working with metal in college: making displays, casting
aluminum, bronze, iron, and welding things for less welderly classmates. After receiving
my BFA in Sculpture from Maryland Institute College of Art, I was questioning how to
keep using my brain and my hands to create, while also contributing to my community
and making the rent.

Initially my trip to UBI was more of a vacation than a career move. My best girl and I
drove from Baltimore to Portland, stayed with friends, and eventually made our way to
Ashland. While I expected to be comfortable with the processes of frame construction, I
did not anticipate the joy I felt while creating my first frame. The tools were the same but
the aim was different. This object at the end of my labors was practical yet elegant and
beautiful.

One of the clearest moments of that two week period was Ron Sutphin remarking while
watching me braze the DT/HT joint, “You know, you could really do this if you wanted
to.” Iʼm sure he says that to all the girls was what initially went through my head but it
stuck with me on the long drive down California to Texas back up to Maryland. When I
got home I started buying some tools, cutting up scrap frames for tubing, toiling away
with practice joints, and building frames for friends in the basement.
Today Iʼm one collective owner of Baltimore Bicycle Works, a worker-owned retail repair
shop that houses our custom brand Nash Cycles and will soon house our production
line of hand-made bicycles. At the moment, 70% of my time is dedicated to shop duties,
helping customers, doing repairs, ordering/admin stuff, and the rest at the bench. As the
shop and our collective grows I hope to flip that ratio around and get more workers
building bikes. Our goal is to promote goods made locally and conscientiously by
making our bikes with the utmost care and attention to detail.

At 24 years old, I realize my place on the giantʼs shoulder, and itʼs an honor to be able
to share my experience albeit a brief one. Thanks for reading and Iʼm glad to answer
any questions.