A Biography of Robert L. Hamon
Master glass artist, Robert L. Hamon, was born on November, 23, 1925 in the West Virginia town of Milton. His father, Okie, a glassblower and preacher, started the family glass business in 1932, along with his brothers, Otis and Orville.
Okie introduced Robert, his first-born son, to glassblowing when Robert was only ten years old. At the age of twelve, Robert became known as the youngest maker of hand blown chimneys in the world. He learned to make communion glasses and stem ware, eventually graduating to colorful decorative glass, and finally art glass.
Robert practiced his beloved trade for sixty-five years. Glass was his life. Long considered one of the country’s premier paperweight makers, Robert also made stately vases and exquisite freeform sculptures, using secret family recipes that were perfected over the decades. Robert was involved with every facet of glass making, from mixing the batch in the raw state to grinding and polishing the finished pieces. Moreover, he handled sales and marketing with the help of his wife, Veronica. For many years, he was the President of his own company.
