creative Top international jewelry Luke Stockley of Jemme Jewelry and Jemme restaurant in Bali speaks of the creation of the Ball Bali and how it gives back the island he loves.
When in the UK are you?
I, AOM Devon and lived there until I was 16, when I moved to Clapton, Mayfair. When I was 22, we opened a store in Mayfair, we have had for 20 years now. I fell in love with Bali when I came here 25 years ago and I came here eight years ago. Bali is my home now.
I still have my big European company and I spend three or four months a year there, so I have the best of both worlds! Bali is an environment that inspires me to create and design.
How did you get into jewelry design?
My uncle is an antiquities dealer. Looking for jewelry as long as I can remember, I was Äî for designing. He was either going to be clothes or jewelry. My uncle pointed out to me the benefits of working with precious stones. I'm always taken with shiny sparkly jewelry. He gave me a catalog of beautifully made jewelry from Thailand and my first business in the company was to bring marcasite from there to my shop uncle, AOS in Brighton, I wholesaled to other places too. Then we started doing some drawings ourselves.
The company started in 1991 with the help of the Prince, AOS Trust (for young entrepreneurs). I did a lot of marcasite in the Art Deco tradition at the time. We were very lucky to find and buy original deco molds for marcasite Switzerland. I started shopping on the market to see what is selling and thought I could still do better designs. I always liked classic designs; so popular it was 100 years ago and still selling today. I'll watch an old tiara, take a portion of it and turn it into an earring.
The color is my passion when it comes to jewelry.
Many of my classic adaptations become infused with a contemporary mix of many colors.
I Äôll make a colored stone on a diamond everyday! I multicolored pieces that date back to when they made Cartier jewelry online Tutti Frutti, mainly rubies and emeralds. I work in many more colors than I add high quality semi-precious stones as well.
I love your jewelry line, which mixes beads and stones of an old way but elegant.
Thank you. This line is actually based on the former royal family jewelry; the lords and ladies who wore crosses and heavily encrusted tiaras.
What inspired you to open Jemme Restaurant?
I love good food! We started making shipments with former Warisan. They had a restaurant and a gallery, which is a successful combination. It works very well together, especially with fine jewelery in Bali. If a couple is eating, they can take time to see the jewels and buy it as a souvenir of their holiday. I missed some of the UK's food, so we do a lot of foods that I loved at home. The huge success for us was when we started to make roasts, we do on Wednesdays and weekends. This has brought us such a fabulous, faithful expatriates after! It is home cooked comfort food.
Tell me about The Ball Bali.
The Ball Bali was my idea. Bali is a place where we all live and love and I felt I had to give back. Bali is also a very relaxed place. There are not many functions where you can dress stylishly, so we decided to make a formal affair. We made a partnership with the W Hotel for the first four years, because it was exactly what they were looking also. We formed the Ball and 170 participants, 160 people are in formal wear. It was a very popular event, which raised a lot of money for the charities we sponsor.
This year we made a break that we are no longer doing the event in partnership with the W. I soon met with an interested partner and we do our next Bali Boule in 2016. We focus on creating a fantastic event for next year. I remain proactive with charities, areas visiting our fundraising has impacted. We go into the villages with charities such as the Bali Children Foundation, OSA at least once a month. It is easy to raise money, but not so easy to do the right thing with restore. I know that children in Bali children as well and we try to give them on special days.
Last year, we raised US $ 174,000! I am told that we are the largest fundraiser in Bali, raising a of over half a million dollars to date. We are always looking for new sponsors. Every penny raised goes directly to the charities themselves. No costs are removed; which is where sponsors come in. We welcome all organizations or individuals interested in helping.
Are you getting requests for Bal Bali this year?
Yes, we have had a number of requests already. 2015 is a bit strange year in Bali, with all the work in progress, as well as the global economic situation. But our mission to give back to Bali in helping children and the most disadvantaged families, continues as our love of Bali.
Thank you, Luke! To get in touch, email: info@Jemmebali.com