Alan Adler started off learning from Porter Blanchard, who was his father-in-law, my great-grandfather.
He then learned the craft of silversmithing from Porter and went on to start his own business.
He actually was known for the Hollywood silversmiths of the stars.
He made the mini Oscars. He made a coffee urn for John F. Kennedy.
He did a lot of things for Michael Jackson, for Steven Spielberg.
In the fifties, he started doing the flatware at that point, and that's what really got Alan Adler to where it is today.
He's probably most known for his flatware.
The most unique reason why the flatware is his signature is because it's all hand forged, handmade.
He did it all himself, trained one other guy that worked for him for 45 years, and then trained me.
So there's been three of us in the last 70 years that know this craft of making handmade flatware.
His flatware designs were ahead of his time as far as design.
Even today, they're still modern looking designs.
One of the reasons that handmade flatware is so unique is because each piece is so unique.
Because the flatware is hand forged, it's much stronger than cast or stamped flatware.
There isn't one process that we do that's not done by hand.
Nothing is done by computer.
Every shape you get is completely crafted by hand.
That's what makes it so special.
The process of making handmade flatware is very time consuming.
We have 15 different steps that we go through to finalize one piece.
I grew up at my grandfather's shop. My dad worked there as well.
As a kid, I was always at the shop, always messing around, just constantly working with metal.
My grandfather was always open for me just to go at it and do whatever I wanted to do as far as just making different things.
My dad was a perfectionist.
He said, if you're going to do something, do it right and take your time.
My grandfather was a little bit different, whereas if he didn't like what was going on, he would just stop working on it and start something new.
Between the two, I kind of found a happy medium in between the two.
Growing up in a family that was all silversmith,
I didn't realize what kind of education I was getting learning the art of silversmithing.
So I kind of went off and did my own thing for a while, built race cars and worked with metal.
After being away from the silver business, I realized that silversmithing was such a unique lost craft.
And my grandfather was carrying this on and always instilled in me in wanting me to learn this and how important it is to make sure that I learn how to carry on making this flatware, making hollowware, doing jewelry,
and continuing the lost art of silversmithing.
I'm continuing the designs and legacy of my grandfather and my father, and I consider myself a steward of this artistry.
And to carry on this legacy from my father, my grandfather, and great grandfather is a privilege.
I look forward to building upon and keeping this craft alive into the next generation.
