Forged in the Forks

Dave Badman’s four-decade design legacy.

Dave Badman, ’88, has sold his jewelry in more than 200 department stores and specialty shops across North America.

He’s moved thousands of earrings on QVC, employed several Grand Forks artists, and expanded his line to include home decor and furniture. Over nearly four decades, Badman Design has outgrown three downtown locations.

But if Dave had listened to his parents, his business might never have existed.

Growing up on the Grand Forks Air Force Base, Dave was in and out of county jail. “I had all this creativity, and I couldn’t channel it,” he said. His parents urged him to enlist, hoping military structure would provide focus. 

Instead, Dave enrolled at UND to pursue “something artistic.” An art professor saw his talent and encouraged him to try jewelry-making. Dave brushed it off: “Jewelry is for girls,” he said.

But then, he made a pair of earrings out of a penny and sold them for $6. “The kick of it was that people wanted to buy it. It was capitalism beating on my door,” Dave said. 
Dave worked at a pizza place full-time throughout college and needed an extra semester to graduate. With a light class load, he used that time to test his business instincts, renting a tiny space for his first shop — Studio 18. “I changed from pepperoni to copper and gave myself six months to prove I could run a business.” 

Highs and Lows

After graduating in December 1988, Dave peddled his jewelry in Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York. “I got thrown out of a lot of places. Some said my jewelry was too masculine,” he said. “But I got all different reasons.”

Eventually, two breakthroughs opened doors: A Chicago-based rep took an interest in his work; so did Dayton’s. The regional department store carried Badman Design in all its stores. By the mid-’90s, his jewelry was in Marshall Field’s, Nordstrom, and boutiques across the country.

“I had a catalog with 60 pairs of earrings in it, and that’s all I did,” Dave said, adding that a beeping fax machine announced orders. “I just hated that machine; I was burned out.” 

Considering a career change, Dave started graduate school to explore teaching, only to realize it wasn’t the right fit.

Then came QVC. As part of a national promotion, the network selected products from 20 manufacturers in each state. Dave entered with a pair of gold and silver, multi-textured earrings. His product was selected, and he hand-crafted 1,500 pairs for a live show filmed in Medora, North Dakota. It was 90 degrees, the lights were hot, and the crowd included then-Governor Ed Schafer.

It took Dave 4½ minutes to sell out. 

More QVC orders followed. Friends helped fill massive shipments. Even on QVC’s worst sales day — Christmas Eve — Dave sold out of 1,000 pairs.

When QVC reclassified his earrings from “manufactured goods” to “jewelry,” stricter standards meant a single inconsistency could trigger a full recall. Twice, Dave had to remake 1,500-pair orders. The second time, rubber bands used in packaging left marks on every earring.

Then, Grand Forks’ devastating 1997 flood washed 2,000 pairs of Badman Design earrings into the street. “That was a story QVC wanted me to tell on the air,” Dave said. He made 2,000 replacement pairs in a temporary studio at UND.

All told, Badman Design made 14,000 pairs of earrings for QVC. But once again, burnout loomed. “I didn’t want to be known for QVC orders,” he said. “We had a neat local thing.”

The Local Legacy

That “neat local thing” is nicely showcased each December through Badman Design’s annual Christmas ornament — a tradition that began in 1995 when Dave didn’t want to show up to a Tom-and-Jerry party empty-handed. 

Now in their 30th year, the ornaments have become local collectibles. Dave designs the ornament each spring, and his team handcrafts 200, which quickly sell out during the holiday season.

His business has grown alongside the creativity of his employees, now operating from a 5,000-square-foot design lab and showroom. 

Furniture became part of the mix when longtime staffer Mark Harmon joined in 1996. “We just started building stuff — tables, furniture,” Dave said. “People saw what we could do and began asking for other things.”

The Luxury of Saying No

Dave’s had plenty of sleepless nights wondering how he’d stay afloat. “In 38 years of grind, it has always worked out,” he said. “There’s been sacrifice. But something always comes out of nowhere.”

Today, Dave has earned something rare: the freedom to say no. “That never existed before,” he said.

Now, he creates what matters to him. “I’ll get inspired and do a mini-series — maybe 21 earrings,” he said. “I always make an odd number. Part of my quirkiness.”

He’s also contemplating his next chapter. “I’m coming up on 40 years,” he said. “That’s a neat little milestone.”

In recognition of his legacy, Dave received the Grand Forks Deep Roots Award as part of the 2025 Grand Awards, hosted by Evolve GF and the Grand Forks Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. The honor celebrates a local entrepreneur whose roots run deep and who helps others grow.

Looking ahead, Dave knows he’ll need to evolve. “My customer, the one that started with me with the $8, $10, $20 earrings and saw the value of it rise, is dying, moving away, retiring, downsizing.”

To reach the next generation, Dave is teaming up with UND’s Nistler College of Business & Public Administration this fall. Badman Design will serve as a marketing capstone project, and he plans to bring on a social media intern. 

The goal? Build a stronger online presence while staying true to the quirky, handmade charm that’s defined Badman Design from the beginning. 

Crafting Confidence

Aria Kindseth Finds Her Artistic Voice

Aria Kindseth’s first assignment at Badman Design was painting jewelry bags, each one a tiny canvas. By her junior year of high school, she was soldering metal. “One thing Dave has taught me is that earrings don’t have to be symmetrical to be beautiful,” she said.

Now as a UND sophomore, she fluently talks shop, casually using terms like solder, tumble, and polish.

“A lot of things are mass-produced, but everything here is handmade. It’s not going to be perfect — and that’s what makes this shop special.”

Her favorite recent creation is a series of fish earrings. “I love their shape — the fins, the way each one turned out differently,” she said. She makes a few pairs at a time, carefully cutting, assembling, tumbling, and polishing each one — a process that takes several hours.

Dave has become a mentor, encouraging Aria to take entrepreneurship classes at UND. “You need to add some practicality to an arts education,” he said. “The arts don’t teach you how to sell.”

Aria’s drive amazes him. “She scraps up and starts working,” he said. “When she started, I asked her to stamp ‘2022’ and ‘Badman’ on some disks. I didn’t give her a number; I thought maybe she’d do 100. She did over 500!”

These days, Aria has a key to the shop, a sign of Dave’s trust.

“I told her it’s her vista,” Dave said. He’s excited to see where she goes.