By Greg Ellison

(April 7, 2022) Hoping to spread positivity and warm memories, blown-glass artisan Jeff Auxer referenced visions from Italy to create “Berlin Love Locks,” a trio of large gate-like panels outside his studio and gallery on Jefferson Street.

“Love Locks,” a long popular romantic tradition for couples in Europe and elsewhere, are padlocks typically inscribed with initials and secured on fences along bridges at scenic locales worldwide.

Auxer was unfamiliar with the practice before traveling with his wife, Hilari, for a month-long jaunt across Italy in 2016.

“All over Italy there was bridges that had these locks on them,” he said.

Photo by Greg Ellison
Early adopters are planting memories along “Berlin Love Locks,” a trio of metal panels crafted by glass artisan Jeff Auxer located behind his studio on Jefferson Street across from Pop’s Kitchen By Denovo’s at 15 Gay St.

Intrigued, Auxer said the memory slowly bubbled into a concept he wanted to pursue to give a shot of love back to the town and its citizenry.

“I thought Berlin would be a very cool place to do a public art installation like this [and] with other negativity in the world, I thought now was an ideal time,” he said.

Berlin is a designated Arts and Entertainment District by the Maryland State Arts Council.

“It’s an art-friendly community,” he said.

Auxer designed and constructed the five-by-five foot metal panels inlaid with geometrical designs and mesh sections capable of supporting hundreds of locks.

“I welded a few panels together and put some mesh behind them for different size locks,” he said.

Nestled behind Jeffrey Auxer Designs, Berlin Love Locks is located across from Pop’s Kitchen By Denovo’s at 15 Gay St.

Auxer hopes the site grows into an attraction that offers a unique means to create Berlin memories.

“You can put a special message, initials or your families’ name on it,” he said.

Anyone can participate in the locked-down sentimentality.

“It’s something people can return to every year or whenever they visit,” he said. “If they’re local, when they drive by it will make them smile.”

Regardless of where home might be, Berlin Love Locks provides a common ground for securing a lifetime remembrance.

“It’s something that families, couples, individuals or visitors to the town could do for free essentially,” he said. “You have to buy a lock or bring one from your house.”

Auxer, who opened his studio in 2009, intends for the art installation to swell over the years.

“Since I own the building, it’s not going anywhere and I’m not going to cut these locks off every year,” he said. “I’m just going to let it go and if it turns into something, cool.”

Recognizing that lock sites he marveled at in Italy grew in stature over multiple decades, Auxer intends to photograph the Berlin installation annually to chart progress.

“The panels took a while to make, but I have room for two more,” he said. “I’m hoping at some point I can put more of them up.”

Although the venture serves no direct benefit for business, Auxer wanted to channel a creative means to reciprocate the support provided by the Town of Berlin and Economic and Community Development Director Ivy Wells.

“It’s something I could give back,” he said. “I’ll be open 13 years on April 9.”

In addition to establishing a social media presence, with associated hash tags #berlinlovelocks #makenewmemories, Auxer also envisions Berlin Love Locks resonating with participants in his annual classes on creating hand-blown glass Christmas ornaments.

“We did over 1,500 of them in six weeks with two to three people on average per ornament,” he said. “That’s 3,000-5,000 people I brought to Berlin just to make ornaments.”

Auxer also hopes to partner with nonprofit We Heart Berlin to create a lock-focused fundraiser for other ventures, such as the long-sought skate park or other community enrichment ideas.

“Whatever works for people,” he said. “The idea was to just create something that would bring everyone together.”

With more than 20 locks placed on site during the first week, Auxer hopes the location will have a significance that spans generations.

“If a couple puts a lock on there and in 20 years they come back to Berlin,” he said. “Now they have a child and they’re like, ‘Look what your mom and dad did 20 years ago.”

Auxer said comparable to displays spotted earlier in Italy a “love lock” site was recently chanced upon during an excursion to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.

While crossing a suspension bridge over the Shenandoah River, the couple were delighted to discover an array of steel-encased memories left by outdoor enthusiasts.

“We went up there and, sure enough, there was locks all over it,” he said.

With the idyllic setting providing perhaps the final ounce of inspiration, Auxer recognized he would have to overcome the limitations of topography.

“We’re lacking the bridge over the river part, so I had to make something,” he said.