Jerome Baker Designs is a

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

based company in the

cannabis industry The cannabis industry is composed of legal Cannabis cultivation, cultivators and producers, consumers, independent industrial standards bodies, ancillary products and services, regulators and researchers concerning cannabis and its industrial deriv ...

formerly known as Jerome Baker Designs, and for having created the largest bong ever created at 24-feet high and 800 pounds. The bong was so large it had to be created in parts and assembled at the Cannabition, where it was put on display at “Bongzilla,” the gallery opening of Jerome Baker Designs’ Las Vegas Studio during which “The Mega Bong Series" was unveiled. Baker started his career in glassblowing in 1991 by paying

Bob Snodgrass Bob Snodgrass is an American lampworker known for his contributions to the art of glass pipe-making and glass art. He began lampworking in 1971 while learning from and working with Chuck Murphy for a few years. Snodgrass purchased his first to ...

for lessons to learn glass. Since then, he has created

blown glass Glassblowing is a glassforming technique that involves inflating molten glass into a bubble (or parison) with the aid of a blowpipe (or blow tube). A person who blows glass is called a ''glassblower'', ''glassmith'', or ''gaffer''. A '' lampworke ...

artwork for celebrities, rock stars and sports figures. In 2003, the company's founder, Jason Harris, who is considered by

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one of the top 11 glass artists who changed the cannabis glass art game, was arrested by federal law-enforcement officers in a sting operation called Operation Pipe Dreams for making and distributing paraphernalia. Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong was also arrested in the operation. Harris did not serve time, though his assets were seized. Jerome Baker Designs had been a leading cannabis glass company throughout the 1990s and early 2000s prior to the arrest. The company was founded by Jason Harris, who started his career in glassblowing in 1991 by apprenticing with

. Since then, Harris has created

artwork for celebrities, rock stars and sports figures, including celebrity rapper

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, for whom Jerome Baker teamed up with Nastee Glass to produce a $18,000 nug jug capable of holding one pound of cannabis flower. Harris is featured in Degenerate Art, a 2011

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

by American pipe maker Aaron Golbert on the art and culture associated with glass pipes used for smoking

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

World's Largest Bong

Jerome Baker made the world's largest bong (“Bongzilla”) in 2018, finishing it over the 4/20 weekend. The piece, which was assembled at the Cannabition museum in downtown Las Vegas Arts District, looms 24-feet high and weighs 800 pounds. The blow, which was not open to the public, happened in a studio rented by a group of renowned glass artists in South Lake Union April 19 to 22. Harris, who designed the glass blowing program at the

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, called the environment while blowing the piece “an intense dance of blood, sweat, tears and laughter.” To hit “Bongzilla”, reported American weekly magazine

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, “someone will have to stand at the top of a staircase as a partner below lights the weed with a blowtorch and sends smoke curling through the massive pipe.” Harris called the bong “a giant metaphor.” The bong was a classic design of a shaft and a bubble. The glassblowers added uranium to the glass to produce a bright green glow.

Operation Pipe Dreams

U.S. Marshals and undercover agents from several law enforcement agencies at state and federal levels raided in 2003 the central Oregon offices of Jerome Baker, called back then Jerome Baker Designs Inc. (or "JBD" for shorthand), during Operation Pipe Dreams. JBD at the time was among the largest glass-pipe manufacturers on the

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. Harris was arrested on charges of selling

drug paraphernalia The term drug paraphernalia refers to any equipment that is used to produce, conceal, and consume illicit drugs. It includes but is not limited to items such as bongs, roach clips, miniature spoons, and various types of pipes. Product types I ...

. After house arrest in Oregon, he moved to Maui where he set up a studio. The operation cracked down on all glass producers in the industry. All Jerome Baker Designs assets were seized, Harris was sentenced to one year under house arrest, and 5 years in federal probation. His website JeromeBaker.com had been seized from him, along with all inventory. Once Harris' house arrest was completed, he packed his bags and moved from Eugene, Oregon to Maui, Hawaii, where he laid low and made high end art glass for select clients.

Awards

*2020 Cannabis Business Awards & World of Cannabis Museum - 420 ICONS Award - Top 100 Cannabis Influencers of All Time *2019 Las Vegas Cannabis Awards - Lifetime Achievement Award *2019 Cannabis Business Awards - Most innovative product *2019 Las Vegas High Desert High Times Cannabis Cup 1st place best booth *2019 Las Vegas High Desert High Times Cannabis Cup 1st place best product *2019 Northern California High Times Cannabis Cup 1st place best glass *2018 Northern California High Times Cannabis Cup 2nd place best glass *2002 Amsterdam Netherlands High Times Cannabis Cup 1st place Best Glass *1998 Amsterdam Netherlands High Times Cannabis Cup 1st place Best HEMP product *1997 Amsterdam Netherlands High Times Cannabis Cup 1st place best booth *1995 Amsterdam Netherlands High Times Cannabis Cup 1st place best product *1995 Amsterdam Netherlands High Times Cannabis Cup 2nd place best booth

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Jerome Glassblowers Artists from Eugene, Oregon Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Sculptors from Oregon