David H. Garske grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He received a B.S.in Geological Engineering from Michigan Tech and M.S. and Ph.D from the University of Michigan in Mineralogy/Crystallography. For eleven years he taught Mineralogy, Geology and related subjects at the South Dakota School of Mines and was also Curator of their Mineral Museum for two years.

His mail order mineral business was started in 1970, specializing in worldwide rare and reference minerals. In 1976 he moved to Elmhurst, Illinois, and became a full time mineral dealer with a retail store. In 1979 he moved the business to Bisbee, Arizona.

He gradually went out of the mineral business in the late 80's but resumed selling minerals in 1996, now dealing primarily in display specimens. He now has a retail store with a worldwide specimen selection. Stop in and visit, he has just received over a ton of new minerals and fossils.