Joe L Reano comes from Santo Domingo Pueblo, a long line of fine family jewelers. He began his career at the age of 13, making traditional heshe and turquoise beads. Each day, Joe sat side by side with his mother cutting and grinding, while she finished each bead by drilling them one by one. Now over the years, Joe and his wife, Angie, have been creating their own unique designs. They have created styles of their own on shells, using a technique called mosaic. They use stones of turquoise, lapis and many other lapidary materials that Joe cuts and grinds. Angie designs each piece of their work, using many shapes and sizes of the shell, such as hearts, crosses, circles, etc. They have traveled coast to coast showing their jewelry, and entering many competitive shows. They have won awards at the 1988, 1993, & 1996 Indian Markets in Santa Fe, NM. Their jewelry is featured in many books including the book “Southwest Artists”.
