About
During the nineties, JBD handcrafted functional glass pieces for George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Drew Berrymore, Mike Tyson, Snoop Dogg, B-Real, Nate Dogg, Exhibit, 311, Slightly Stoopid, Sublime, Tool, System of a Down, Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead,) System of a Down, EA Sports Executives, People Under The Stairs, Limp Bizkit and more. JBD pieces have been displayed at coffee shops and at art shows all across the world.
Jason has studied under leading glass artists, such as the legendary Bob Snodgrass, an American lampworker known for his contributions to the art of glass pipe-making and glass art. Harris later apprenticed under German-based Han Ittig of Wetheimer Glaskunst , a 7th generation Glassblower based in Wertheim, Germany.
In addition, Jason has studied glass blowing at University of Oregon and Pilchuck Glass School, where he learned the technique of the great Dale Chihuly. Jason has also apprenticed under celebrated glass artists Cesare Toffolo, Dick Marquis, Robert Mickelson, Karen Willinbrink, and Charles Lowrie.
Jason’s refined techniques are incorporated into each and every Jerome Baker pipe, bubbler, and bong. The Baker team became famous throughout the nineties for creating sophisticated glass pieces made with high quality Borosilicate glass, a material intended for the science industry which heats and cools to extreme temperatures without cracking.
By the turn of the 21st century, JBD was the biggest functional glass manufacturer in the world.
Harris has contributed significant innovations to the art of glassblowing. A favorite Jerome Baker technique entails fuming the glass with .9999 fine silver to give the glass the appearance of a mirror without a background.
For the first time, cannabis smokers experienced pieces which would change color the more they were used. JBD also pioneered a deep depression for a piece’s bowl—the place where the cannabis intended for smoking goes—which allows heat to travel upwards so users could take larger hits.
In 2003, Jason became the focus of an investigation by the FBI called Operation Pipe Dreams, an American nationwide investigation in 2003 targeting businesses selling drug paraphernalia, mostly marijuana pipes and bongs, under a little-used statute.
Jason’s award-winning glass art business suddenly ended when Jason was arrested alongside 55 other individuals including actor Tommy Chong.
Jason moved to Maui where he would create fine non-functional glass art for tourists, as well as high end luxury work under the brand name Maui Glass Designs.
Alongside American glass artist Charles Lowery, he even created and presented the Dalai Lama with a non-functional glass work of art named “The Sphere of Consciousness,” and led by artist Charles Lowery, blessed by his holiness.
During this time, Jason was the subject of a documentary about American glassmaking called “Blown Away.” In 2011, he was also the subject of the documentary “Degenerate Art.”
In 2012, after Colorado’s recreational cannabis legalization, Harris re-launched the original Jerome Baker Designs, dedicating the brand to creating the same high end artwork for which it had been known. Jerome Baker established the Las Vegas Dream Factory at its headquarters in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada.
From his own studio, and with updated techniques, Harris once again explored the boundaries and limitations of functional glass art—this time with a permit from the City of Las Vegas.
In 2018, Jerome Baker and Lowery created the world’s biggest bong, known as ‘Bongzilla.’ Crafted at The Martin Blank Studio in Seattle, Washington, Bongzilla garnered JBD nationwide press coverage in Newsweek, Seattle Times, and more. Leafly produced a mini-doc about the experience called “Redemption Bong.”
Jerome Baker Designs produces premium, American-Made functional glass. The collection is represented globally; in the USA, Germany, Spain, Australia, Canada, and elsewhere.
Jason Harris was recently named one of the Top Ten glassblowers in the United States, and over the years JBD has taken home nearly a dozen High Times cannabis awards for excellence in glass.