About Randy Stromsoe

The Early Years - formal training

As a young man of 19, I began working with master silversmith, Porter Blanchard, who at the time was in his mid-80’s. His silver business was thriving and his clientele was impressive. I was quickly thrown into the mix and found myself in the unique position of having to work on and be responsible for challenging commissions: 14kt. gold trophy cups for Santa Anita Race Track, grand scale sterling silver punch bowls, ornate fish platters, and various silver commissions for the Hollywood set. This was not a traditional apprenticeship ... it was like a “light speed” understanding between us. I was an eager and attentive apprentice he was a powerhouse with a lot of information to share in a limited amount of time. Only a few years later, after Porter Blanchard’s passing, the shop was handed over to one of his two son-in-laws, Lewis Wise. His other son-in-law, Allen Adler had trained with Porter and then established his own successful business in 1959. Lewis merged together the flatware department and hollowware department which had been housed under two separate locations and thus became the inception of Porter Blanchard Silversmith’s Inc. I became shop superintendent. This is where I gleaned my knowledge of the tableware industry. I was suddenly responsible for filling huge orders for some of the nation’s leading finest retail stores: Gump’s San Francisco, Bullock’s Wilshire Beverly Hills, Cartier, Fortunoff, Shrieve Crump and Low and Geary’s to name a few.

My Unique Story

As a lifelong surfer and hiker, I’ve always been attracted to the beauty of the Central Coast of California and Big Sur. I moved from Los Angeles to Cambria, California to start my own small studio in late 1979.  I had only a handful of tools, solid skills, and a young mans stamina.  In 1980, the Williamsburg Foundation (Colonial Williamsburg) launched what would be a 12 month search to find a qualified craftsman to fill a very special order for the U.S. State Department. I soon found myself in the American National Archives of the Smithsonian, choosing which tankard I’d like to replicate and craft into U.S. Presidential presentation pieces to be gifted to World Leaders. I worked on many of these pieces in Williamsburg, VA while setting up the pewter department for Colonial Williamsburg. California was calling me back, and I continued to work with the State Dept. on additional tankards. Fast forward to today, 2023, and I never could have dreamed that my craft and my career would enrich my life in so many ways. Three U.S. Presidents have owned or admired my work in the White House, the 649 pieces I made for the Los Angeles Papal Visit of Pope J.P. II are now religious relics as he has since been sainted, movie stars, film makers, museums, major collections, not to mention all of the friendships I’ve made with some of America’s finest artists and my loyal and loving local fan base here on the Cal Central Coast has made for one wild and wonderful ride. The story continues …