Origin Story

Black Swallowtail Studios was created in honor of, Ellen Rose, the grandmother of our CEO and Founder, Erik Massimino. When Ellen Rose passed away in April 2020, Erik decided to move back home to help his family with the very difficult process of losing a family member during the middle of a nationwide pandemic lockdown. During the grieving process, Erik decided that he wanted to honor his grandmother by combining what she represented with his own professional experiences. This was the spark that led Erik and his team to build a one-of-a-kind community resource that would be dedicated to empowering not only professionals, but all creators and creative dreamers to achieve their media dreams.

The journey began by searching for the right location in Erik’s hometown of Eatontown, NJ. Over the next 20 months, Erik and his team faced one of the hardest challenges of their life - building a company from nothing in the middle of a global crisis. With hard work, passion, dedication, and the help of friends and family, they overcame supply and transportation shortages, contractor issues, permit delays and many other adversities. Although the process was challenging, it was also extremely rewarding to create Black Swallowtail Studios into what it is today. 

From ripping out the filthy carpet with our bare hands moments after signing the lease to putting our name on the door, Black Swallowtail Studios was truly built from the ground up through love, passion, hard work, sweat, blood, and tears. We are so excited to have you become part of the Black Swallowtail Studios story, where you can build your own legacy, as well as be part of ours!