A skilled glassworker, Dave Fetty retired in 1999 after more than 40 years in the glass industry. Dave came to Fenton in 1964 after learning the trade in Milton, WV, at the Blenko Glass Company, where he began as a carrying-in boy when he was 19. Dave's mentor at Blenko was glassworker "Shorty" Finley, who taught Dave many of the skills needed to make glass off-hand (without moulds).

In the mid-1970s, Dave worked with glass artisan Robert Barber, helping to design and create some of Fenton's first limited edition pieces. In 1998, Dave taught a "pulled feather" technique to other glassworkers, and he supervised them as they produced the 1998 Connoisseur Collection.

Even after his "official" retirement, Dave has continued to contribute to Fenton. In addition to working closely with the glassworkers who produced a "Hanging Hearts" vase for the Connoisseur Collection, his contribution to the Collection in 2002 was this "Favrene Feathers Vase."