Jose Balli Jewelry

Feb 12

In their own words

“It’s all southern themed because I believe in designing from the heart, and I grew up in southern Louisiana loving the outdoors. I love to fish. I spent a lot of time trawling and hanging out in the woods. I do a line called Spanish Moss and one called Sugarcane. A lot of people grew up around sugarcane fields here, so that draws them to the pieces. When they walk into one of my stores, they’re seeing pieces they’ve never seen before.”

-Jose Balli

Jason’s Interview with Jose

Jason

Today, we get to talk to a staple out in New Orleans, Jose from Jose Balli Jewelry. Jose, how did you get into the industry?

Jose

When I was six or seven years old, I was sketching on a rainy day at a neighbor's house. I did a drawing, and my friend's mom said, “Oh Bay, you're going to be an artist.” Something just blossomed from there. When I was about twenty years old, I had started working in a steel shop outside of New Orleans in a town called Chalmette. It just wasn't my thing. I didn't like steelwork. I wanted to be an artist. I took a piece of soapstone, which is chalk that we use to mark the steel, and a Barlow knife I had picked up from K-Mart for $4, and I whittled out an alligator. I turned to a friend; he looked at it and said, “You ought to become a jeweler.” He had a good friend that was a full-time jeweler. He got me in touch with his friend. And he said, “Come pull up a chair. While I'm working on these jobs, you can ask me questions.” So, I did that. And within two minutes, I knew this is what I wanted to do.

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Jason
Now, you have four stores; you’re a world-renowned brand. What was another big milestone?

Jose
We’re working on that. I'm in the workshop, and I'm doing my thing. I have some really great employees that free my hands up to do what I need to do. And my amazing wife, she's a godsend. She's putting out fires all day long while I’m designing and carving and having fun.

Jason
What's the vibe you're trying to create with your stores and brand?

Jose
The brand—it's all Southern-themed because I believe in designing from the heart. I grew up in southern Louisiana. I grew up loving the outdoors. I love to crawfish. I love to fish. I spent a lot of time trawling and just hanging out in the woods too. I try to work from the heart. I hope that it shows in my design.

Jason
When you think about jewelry, what is it that you love so much?

Jose
It's always different. My attention span is short, and I can carve fast. It's always exciting, and ideas feed off of themselves. It never gets boring and never grows old too. It's always exciting, and we do our own manufacturing as well.

Jason
What are some cool things about your manufacturing process that set you apart?

Jose
It connects me to the piece; it’s hands-on. And that's part of what I like about it. We are doing lost wax casting. We have the capability to cast, on average, between 2,000 and 2,400 pieces at one burnout cycle. And then the work comes in after that.

Jason
Tell us some of your favorite charities.

Jose
My charity of choice is the North Shore Food Bank. I do a lot with them. On Tuesday mornings, I'm there volunteering and loading groceries in the cars. That desire to be there comes from my childhood. We grew up dirt floor poor, and my dad died when I was young. I have very few memories of him. One of the memories that I have is of him and I in line at a food bank for government cheese and milk and whatever they were handing out that day.

Jason
What is that specialty in your stores?

Jose
The underlying theme would be that it is all locally based designs. It connects with people. I do a line called Spanish Moss; I do a line called Sugarcane. A lot of people grew up around sugarcane fields out here, and that draws them to the store and to the pieces. It also has a strong appeal to tourists. We have two stores in New Orleans, and people come in looking for alligators and things like that. 100% original designs, too—pieces that they've never seen before.

Jason
Let's talk about three words that describe your brand.

Jose
I would say quality, affordability, and unique.

Jason
Here's your chance to say whatever you'd like to Meet the Jewelers.

Jose
The easiest way to see what I do is to go to the website: joseballi.com. If you’re ever in the New Orleans area, stop by one of our Jose Balli New Orleans Jewelry stores.