THE BEGINNINGS:

Welcome to Fireandice.com!

I am Jan Levine, President of Fire & Ice. My husband, Robert Levine, opened Fire & Ice in July of 1980, along with the grand opening of Harborplace in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. As a child, Robert was astonished by the wonder and amazement of the exhibits housed at Harvard University’s Peabody Museum of Natural History. This is where his appreciation and love for nature and natural history began – and I continue his passion today!

THE STORES:

Since 1980, Fire & Ice has expanded to multiple retail stores, as well as our thriving e-commerce website. Our first BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport location, which opened in May 2005, won a national award for “Best Airport Retail Store Design”.

THE COLLECTIONS:

At Fire & Ice, the collections are as varied as what you might find in open air markets in far-away lands. Art Glass, in all its wonderful forms, is arranged throughout each store, brightly representing some of the most respected and brilliant glass artists and studios in the United States and Canada, as well as around the world. Fossil specimens, petrified woods, and fascinating crystal formations stand as silent guardians of secrets of the ancient world-secrets held for millions of years. Carving, the oldest form of Man’s artistic expression, is well represented at Fire & Ice. Colorful minerals, woods and even rare fossilized bone (only legal specimen, of course) have been carved into amazing works of art by skilled master craftsmen around the world. The gems and jewels on display in the Fire & Ice stores are vibrant, and evoke the colors and textures of our planet’s rich natural history.

THE PASSION:

The search for Fascinating…Creative…Unique… took my husband and I to many lands – Bali, Thailand, China, Cambodia, Tibet, Nepal, Israel, Europe and many parts of Latin America. In our travels, we witnessed ancient metal-craft techniques, nearly lost in today’s world. We were deeply moved by an understanding of the need to preserve these traditional techniques. The desire to preserve, and thereby, support cultures threatened by modern pressures to assimilate is the inspiration that drives Fire & Ice to continue searching out new examples of Fascinating… Creative… Unique…

May you find your own jewel through Fire & Ice!

Warm Wishes,

Jan Levine

President