My name is Dave Graham and I am a lampworker located in Portland, Oregon. I’ve been making beads since 2001 and have really enjoyed selling to lots of fun people on Ebay.

Where did the name Farmer Dave come from? 
My neighbor first started calling me this and it has just kind of stuck. I’m what people refer to as an urban farmer. Our house is in the middle of Portland and our yard is exceptionally tiny. However, I still manage to grow tomatoes, peppers, cherries, grapes, plums, boysenberries, raspberries…..well, you get the idea. I don’t use any chemicals or bug sprays so everything is natural and organic. I learned these practices from other gardeners when I used to participate in community gardens. I also volunteer occasionally at our local Farmer’s Market – I’ve been everything from ice cream scooper…to tomato slicer…to Santa Claus!  What a great place to spend every Sunday!

My background is in design, specifically Landscape Architecture, where I have an undergraduate degree from Cal Poly Pomona in California. I got started with glass in 2000 when I was taking different classes including stained glass, glass fusing, silver smithing, and glass bead making. It didn’t take long before I realized how much I enjoyed lampworking.  I literally spent the entire first year making beads about 8 hours a day…every day!

My wife Toby designs and makes jewelry so it has been nice to collaborate on some pieces together. We had our first child, Devera, on September 11th, 2004 - - what a fun time she is!  We’ve been living in Portland since 1999 and absolutely love living here. Before Portland we lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota and New Orleans, Louisiana - - that’s where I went to school to get an MBA from Tulane University. I really miss that fantastic Cajun cooking, mmmm….soft shell crab Po Boys!

One question I get asked quite a bit is if I will make an identical set that was seen on Ebay and sell it outside of Ebay. I love to take color requests for bead sets (feel free to send me an email) but I really don’t re-make sets and I like to sell through Ebay because it’s such a nice way to keep track of things. The one thing I have started to do is sell Specials off of my website (you can click the link below) - they are all first come, first served. So if you are interested, be sure to check every once in awhile to see what’s available.

Please visit my website for more information regarding individual (1-on-1) beginning lampwork classes here in my studio.

Visit my site at:
www.farmerdavesglassworks.com