Celebrating 10 Years of J.L. Rocha in the U.S.A.
J.L. Rocha Collections
Celebrating 10 Years of J.L. Rocha in the U.S.A.
J.L. Rocha Values
The story of J.L. Rocha Collections comes from generations of family tradition. I am the fourth in line of a generation dedicated to leather goods within the Rocha Family just as each Jose Luis from first to the third have been. Originally taught from Spanish and Italian immigrants - Jose Luis Rocha the 1st passed the artisan trade down Jose Luis the 2nd who mastered the craft. Jose Luis the 3rd studied design and ventured further as he moved to the U.S.A. for love and family. Today, he passes our family trade down to me as we learn to navigate the American market while bringing our brand to the world.
While this story is our history as a whole - this August marks 10 years of J.L. Rocha in the U.S.A., leaving us nostalgic for the history of our brand over this last decade. We’ve compiled some of our history in the U.S.A. and feel grateful to share it with you: thank you for blessing us and supporting our mission.
By Jose-Noel Rocha
The First Five Years: 2012 - 2017
A Goal and a Gamble
Looking back on 10 years, I find it fitting that our first instagram post is a stack of poker chips. When J.L. Rocha began, it started from the passion of design my father had carried with him to the United States. My eldest brother was headed off to college in 2011, and I was to do the same in two years, leaving our family and making my father wonder on concepts of legacy. It was then, our family trade began to take shape. If you listen to the J.L. Rocha Podcast - you can hear the full story of how our brand began, yet the short version is to know that Jose Luis began with a dedication to quality, knowing that the United States could learn how Mexican Leather Craft can reach global quality.
2012 saw the initial formation of the brand, as Jose Luis Rocha the III began working with our family to improve our visibility, and establish our quality in conjunction with my grandfathers teachings. This allowed us to bring together our family in new ways while improving the quality of our craft and begin building our brand identity. Once Jose Luis brought our family together and set our quality in motion, we were blessed to create shoes for Pope Benedict XVI to provide as a gift on his visit to Leon, Guanajuato. After this blessing, we named the brand J.L. Rocha in the U.S.A. to honor our history and represent not only Mexico but also our family legacy while embarking on a new journey.
Building a Brand, Building a Legacy
After establishing our brand in the United States, my father brought me into the family business. He always taught me of quality and craft, sparking my interest early on when he began this journey. It was together as a family that we created our first website and began collaborating on our designs. We launched our website and kicked off our social media officially while working on our first showroom in Coronado, California. It was at this time that we collaborated on our first collection of designs together - and released our first Noel Asymetrical Moto Jacket which we pay homage to in our 2022 Icon Jacket.
While our team grew and our collaborations increased, we embarked on building our local rapport while expanding our product offerings. We created complete collections of shoes, jackets, bags and accessories while looking at ways to spread our mission and message. We sponsored our first event in the Spreckels Cup Finals with Woodfood Reserve and followed up with the USPA Rossmore Cup Finals as we prepared for San Diego Fashion Week. I walked my first runway during the spring showcase and worked with my father to create our first runway show during my first year of college.
Growth and Expansion
When I left for college, we decided to move our headquarters and show room closer to our family business and warehouse. We continued to grow through our website and my father was recognized for his accomplishments as a Mexican Entrepreneur in the United States by Tedx Tijuana. Our success in E-Commerce and our love of Fashion connected us with our now friend Antonio Centeno. He featured us in his video 3 Tips to Buying the Perfect Leather Jacket - we have since come together a few times, and our friendship through the years has sparked a multitude of collaborations and some of our favorite designs. Our social footprint increased as other influencers sought to collaborate with us and our craft continued to improve. By this time I had become fully embroiled in our brand, and my father sent me to New York to study design with the Arsutoria School to prepare me for the coming future.
The Second Five Years: 2018 - 2022
Design & Community
2017-2019 Marked my first set of solo Jacket designs, the trust my father had in me was a massive blessing and we came to love some of our instant classics. We released our original Minimalist Moto Jacket that later inspired our Bravo in Midnight blue, while also releasing a small capsule of burgundy and shark gray designs. While I worked on college and design, my father began building our community by working with friends such as DJ/Producer Alan Salomon and professional Kendama Player TJ Kolesnik. Beyond growing our community in the U.S.A. - we set off to improve more than just craftsmanship in our hometown of Leon, shifting the development of our designs into refinement and ethics.
Elevation & Ethics
While working with my Father in Mexico - we recognized a large gap between tanneries that dominated Leon vs family run tanneries with years of tradition. While large tanneries began working with chrome, becoming houses for outsourced wholesale leather - they also monopolized many tanneries capacities to access technology and clean water practices. We made it a point to source and meet with all tanneries to figure out how to develop exceptionally made leathers while utilizing the best practices for quality and environment. Meanwhile - we continued growing our American Market and strengthened our position as the Highest Quality Luxury Leather Goods from Mexico - when we were featured in celebrated taste maker NobleMan Magazine both online and in their Jeff Bridges Cover Publication. I graduated college and set off for my next adventure into my Masters Degree and Marriage.
Family & Beyond
Today - we balance our commitments to luxurious craftsmanship centered on our historic techniques, high quality ethically sourced leather goods, and modern elegant design for all men of style and refinement. We have introduced numerous styles, sold out of many legacy pieces, and have even incorporated our family crest as a symbol of pride toward the history we have elevated and showcased. Our family has grown, and we continue to work with love on the future of this brand, celebrating our artisans and what makes us unique. Our latest Midnight and Classic Collections honor our original commitments, showcase our growth, and celebrate our expansion into a global market. At present, J.L. Rocha Collections can be found in numerous states across the U.S.A. and various countries across the globe.
Closing Notes
Reflecting on the last ten years has been a blessing and an honor. This brand has created an amazing life for me, and has benefitted so many artisans in Leon, Guanajuato where our family lives and works. We are incredibly thankful to our community, and to those that have been with us over this decade. We will continue to honor and elevate our mission, while building a legacy for the future that will infuse more pride in your original legacy pieces as we move forward and bring our ICON Collection to the world. Thank you for all of your support, and for watching me grow into the man I am now.
From Jose-Noel Rocha & All of us at the J.L. Rocha Family