imani history

norma and traci lilly, an african american, mother and daughter team of jewelry designers have adorned thousands in the twenty -eight years that they have been in business.

the designers were inspired to design their collection exclusively showcasing pairs of earrings that don't match when they began working with more organically shaped stones and shells, some twenty years ago.

in 1984, norma & traci were in search of a line of jewelry to sell from norma's beauty salon. unable to find a unique, exotic line of jewelry to sell, they decided to make jewelry themselves. imani jewelry was born. with no formal jewelry training, they called on the instincts of their creative enegry and began to craft. they started with wooden beaded earrings on base metals.. the patrons loved the designs.

such a good response encouraged norma & traci to sell at craft fairs and street festivals. imani established their first boutique the mart 125 located directly across from the apollo theatre. they attracted numerous celebrities. everyone from b.smith, iyanala vanzant, india arie, roberta flack, to ving rhames, sweet honey in the rock, judith jamison and many notable celebrities have made imani jewelry part of their wardrobe. imani jewelry have graced the pages of essence magazine, newsday, harper's bazaar, and black elegance magazines. iyanla vanzant sported imani jewelry on nbc's "starting over" daytime television show and cbs' oprah winfrey show.

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