Nina Casson McGarva was born in Gloucester, England but grew up in rural France in the middle of the Burgundy countryside. Growing up in an environment of nature and craft (coming from a family of potters and weavers) has greatly influenced her work.

Casson McGarva has always been fascinated by the mineral look and the transmission of light in glass. When she started learning glass blowing, at the age of 17, she discovered the complexities of hot glass, its challenges, and the special skills required to work it.

She spent four years learning the basic technical skills of glass blowing at l'Ecole National du Verre, in Yzeure, France, which specialized in technical training for working in French crystal factories. She then went to art school at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schools of Architecture, Design, and Conservation, in Bornholm, Denmark.

Since graduating in 2014, Casson McGarva has been part of two Artist residency programs in the USA: one at Starworks in Star, NC, and the Eair Program at Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, WA, as well as one in Japan at the Naked Craft Project residency in Kobe. Casson McGarva has shown her work in exhibitions in Europe, the UK, the USA, and Japan.