Settled in the South of France, Juliette Laloë is a jewelry designer which brand has her name (it was first called Little Jou). Enthusiastic and melancholic at the same time, Juliette ’s mind is full of ideas, she has an explosive culture, a limitless perseverance and a thirst for learning new technics. Her brand reflects her concerns. She uses recycled materials, transforms objects, explores different universes and approaches very different craft techniques. We can always find quality, originality and elegance in her collections despite Juliette’s persistent dissatisfaction. She always intends to progress and never rests on her laurels.
Meeting in three parts with this young and charismatic designer.
Could you please introduce yourself?
Wild and passionate, I think that’s the best definition.
My friends would also probably add a bit neurotic.
How would you define your universe?
Juliette Laloë is a high-range costume jewelry brand. It is inspired by traditions, ethnic groups and history. I try to translate it into contemporary codes.
Les deux photos ci-dessus : © Quentin Collas
Where does your brand name come from?
At the beginning, my brand was called Little Jou. It is a nickname my neighbors gave me in England. I kept it because, during this period, it was adapted to me.
Now, I have been evolving and my brand name is now my name: Juliette Laloë.
When and how have you decided to launch your own brand?
I haven’t really decided to launch my brand, I wanted to reach my potential in something I am passionate about. I used my nickname and, progressively, it became a brand project…
How did this passion for jewelry start?
Since high school, I have always liked to tinker jewels, I like all that glitters!
It became a passion and I discovered it could also be a form of art, sculptures, research… an historical mark.
© Quentin Collas
© Quentin Collas
Do you make all your collections on your own?
I make all the jewels except a collection of brass rings made in collaboration with a Turkish craftsman.
You are an autodidact, how did you start this adventure?
It is not very glamorous.
I had an accident five years ago and I had to remain lying for almost a year. I was so bored and I was only able to use my hands so I took a small case full of set aside stuff. I have always made small jewels and baubles for myself. I started to make headdresses, etc. I made it to keep busy while waiting for going back to school the next year. My friends convinced me to continue, they thought it was pretty cool.
I kept tinkering during two years and, for a year and a half, I have been improving my skills. I learned many skills from my friends who work in fashion design : sewing, embroidery, knitting, many technical skills about textile.
I keep meeting people to learn skills.
Last year, it was welding, metal cutting and this year, I really would like to learn melting. It is so expensive to make a mistake, I don’t want to tinker by myself with my books. I met a jewelry designer who would probably agree to teach me some techniques.
When have you created your first jewel?
I was around 16, it was a necklace with many teeth, ancient coins I drilled. I made a necklace with ropes and chains, I was slightly bohemian during this period. A huge and quite heavy stuff but I liked it. Somebody stole it during a festival. I never saw it again!
How did you feel? Where you considering to convert it into a job?
No, I was always tinkering my new pieces because I couldn’t find jewels I liked. I was finding a chain in a shop or a flea market and a huge furniture piece in bras and hang it on my chain. I was very proud to have my own unique jewels that people could notice. It is always rewarding and it costs nothing.
© Quentin Collas
Where does your inspiration come from?
Everything inspires me. Younger, I was passionate by mythology. Then, I have been interested in history, the Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Egyptians, the Native Americans, the Incas, etc. Regarding recent history, I like the Art Nouveau and the Art Déco movements. History is inexhaustible. Pieces have already been made but we can still reinterpret them.
© Quentin Collas
Ethnies inspire me too. I discover so many of them when I make some research. In Ethiopia, there is an ethnic group who makes jewels with watches, it is very funny. Nature is also very inspiring. Two days ago, I was walking around and I found a boar bone that looks like a marrow bone but smaller than the ones we eat. I immediately had an idea. I asked my friends to keep their bones. The idea is there, rooted, I am just waiting for the material.
© Quentin Collas
Some famous people who don’t necessarily wear jewels give me ideas or people’s decoration, I do not limit myself. I have a notebook in which I draw sketches, I write down, I staple photographs to keep it in mind. I tell myself that I will take these notes again in a few years and do what I forgot to do.
To read the next part : Juliette Laloë – 2/3 Know-how
Crédits photos : photographies publiées avec l’autorisation de Juliette Laloë © Juliette Laloë sauf mention suivante : © Quentin Collas, quentincollas.be et couverture : © Annabelle Foucher
