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Wayne Husted was born in Hudson, New York, in 1927. His father was a Methodist minister and was one of four siblings. Wayne joined the U.S. Coast Guard after graduation. Although he passed the exams for officer’s training, he opted to leave the service to attend college. His family had decided that Wayne was the “chosen” of the siblings to follow his father and become a preacher. Wayne did not personally “feel the calling”, and enrolled in a pre-med course at Mohawk College in Utica, New York. After a year, which included night courses in painting and sculpture, he transferred to Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. While he was on summer vacation, a high school guidance counselor led him to Alfred University. The design department only accepted about forty new freshmen out of about 1,500 applications. Wayne’s father gathered up a portfolio of Wayne’s work and drove eight hours for a meeting with Charles Harder, who was the head of Alfred’s Ceramic Design Department. The fortunate coincidence turned out to be that Alfred actually preferred students without prior formal art training. Wayne then spent the next five years (1947-1952) at Alfred. The generation of classes behind Wayne included Winslow Anderson and Glidden Parker. Wayne graduated with a double undergraduate degree (a B.A. in English and a B.F.A. in Industrial Ceramic Design), followed by an M.F.A. in Industrial Ceramic Design. Wayne began at Blenko on April Fool’s Day in 1952. Upon meeting William Blenko, Sr., Wayne told him that he had no experience with glass. William’s response, typical of his personality, was, “Great! Then you’ll try things you wouldn’t try if you knew something about glass.” Wayne’s work is highly collectible, as noted by Leslie Pina, Ph.D.: “Collectors have sought after Wayne Husted’s designs more than any other.” Leslie is the author of three books on Blenko Glass.