Deborah was raised in Southern New Jersey, which was a mostly rural area during her childhood. College led her to study Anthropology as a generalist, and afterwards her interest in people and lifestyles led her to live, travel, and explore, overseas for several years. While in Adelaide, South Australia, Deborah apprenticed with a small hot glass studio and learned glass blowing basics before relocating back to the U.S. and the Seattle area of the Pacific Northwest in 1981. She spent a few years studying and working production glass with the Seattle glass community. Deborah and her son Noah moved to Vashon Island, WA in 1988. On Vashon Island, due to the intermittent loss of power, she set up a sandblasting studio rather than a hot glass furnace. It turned out to be a great idea, as Deborah found the glass sandblast medium more suitable for her artistic expression. Deborah founded Fire & Ice Glass Studio on Vashon Island, Washington, in 1991. Moving to the Providence, Rhode Island area in 2004, this studio has now transformed into Fire & Ice Studio/Deborah Goldhaft Design. Deborah creates custom Architectural Art Glass for both residential and commercial use, Fine Art, plus a Green re-used and recycled glass Giftware line.