Robert Johnson was born in Gallup, NM, raised in Pindale NM and graduated from Gallup High School in 1986. Robert’s career as a silversmith started when he was 14 or 15 years old, as a buffer for his parent's handmade sterling silver beads. Through an acquaintance Robert met the late Kirk Smith during the summer of 1986. Kirk mentored Robert on his style of creating jewelry; traditional Navajo stamping with an antique finish, high polish bracelets, earrings, concho belts, rings, squash blossoms, hair tie's and so forth. Robert remembers this as an exciting time in his life. Robert moved on to design his own styles of Navajo Jewelry which are well recognized and highly sought after in the Southwest.