Dan Valerio was born in Bucharest, Romania, more than 100 years after it had become the capitol of Romania. By the time Dan was born, more than five generations of his family lived and worked there, becoming some of the most skilled glass artisans in Romania.

They were experts in the making of stained glass, the art of glass blowing, and were commissioned to create the venetian style glass chandeliers in the Presidential Palaces of Romania. Dan's father was a master glass blower, and because Dan showed a keen interest and artistic talent by the time he was 7 years old, he brought Dan to his studio where Dan absorbed every aspect of working with glass, under the tutelage of a master glass blower.

Because of the political and social conditions then existing in Romania, Dan moved to the United States in 1985. It was difficult at first, but soon he began to be called upon by others to design and fabricate stained glass. In 1990, Dan opened his first glass studio on Scottsdale, Arizona's famous 5th Ave, where although successful, his desire to be more creative and artistic drove him to the use of cast glass, a process of placing raw glass in kilns capable of extreme temperatures causing the glass to melt or slump into specifically designed forms or molds. Dan subsequently formed his own art company where he now operates five kilns, two of which are the largest in the country, able to accommodate large pieces and even sculptures.