The Joplins

Federico Jimenez

He was born in Oaxaca, Mexico in 1941 in a Mixtec Indian Community.

He received a bachelor’s degree in science and art at the University of Benito Juarez in Oaxaca, Mexico. 

He came to the USA in 1967 to study and work.

He studied jewelry making and design at the University Community School. In 1970 He and his Wife Ellen Belber Jimenez took a trip to the Southwest and fell in love with the American Indian Culture.

He admired the Indian craftsmanship and technique so much that he was inspired to start a collection of Folk Art. He first opened a gallery on Main Street in Santa Monica, CA and then moved to Abbot Kinney Ave. in Venice, CA. His most important Gallery was opened on Montana Ave, in Santa Monica, CA where he specialized in Antiques and Collectibles, carrying Folk Art from Mexico, Latin America, and the Southwest.

Important collectors and Museums were costumers of his during the 25 years of his business. He and his wife amassed a big collection of Mexican jewelry: Pre Colombian, Colonial,
and Contemporary, as well as Southwest art like baskets, kachinas, Pottery, Navajo, Zuni and Hopi rugs and jewelry.

In 2008 He and his wife donated their Mexican collection and a building, to house it in to the city of Oaxaca, Mexico. It is called "Museo Belber - Jimenez".

Also his activities in the cultural community continue. He was a prior trustee of the "Millicent Rogers Museum" in Taos, New Mexico and “The Southwest Indian Museum “in Los Angeles, CA. He is currently a trustee on the board of the "Autry National Center" and "La Plaza De La Cultura" in downtown Los Angeles, CA. which will open to the public in November 2010.

Spiny Oyster:

Spiny Oyster is a vibrant shell material commonly found in orange, red, and purple hues, with rare yellow variations. The colors are influenced by the mollusks' diet and the water's depth and temperature. It can be distinguished from coral by the white variations in its shell. Predominantly sourced from the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California), Spiny Oyster is used extensively in Native American jewelry. Read More