Glassblower Bryan Randa shares his craft

Cape Cod Life  /  September/October 2019 / , ,

Writer: Haley Cote

Glassblower Bryan Randa shares his craft

Cape Cod Life  /  September/October 2019 / , ,

Writer: Haley Cote

photo by Andrew Iannazzi

When David McDermott finally said yes, he welcomed Randa into his and wife Yukimi’s backyard studio, McDermott Glass Studio in Sandwich, and immediately put Randa to the test. “On the first day he was here, in the first 10 minutes, the air compressor blew up, so I gave him my credit card and I said, ‘Go to Hyannis and get another compressor.’ And he looked at me like, are you out of your mind?” McDermott recalls fondly. Randa proved himself to be reliable, and keen on the craft. “He was here every single day after,” says McDermott, “and I was just impressed by him.”

“I remember realizing how much I loved it,” Randa says of glassblowing, “like the sparks flying off of the pipes as they’re gathering gas out of the furnace, or the smoke everywhere from the tools burning while you’re making something – all these big, crazy tools that look like weapons.”

Haley Cote

Haley Cote is the assistant editor for Cape Cod Life Publications. A lifelong Cape Cod resident, Haley is an alumna of Barnstable High School and Cape Cod Community College. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Suffolk University. When she’s not writing, this self-described “pop culture junkie” also loves discovering new music and catching up on the “Real Housewives.”