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.