Our Story
"Imani" means faith. It's the name Jacqueline gave the craft that carried her family across a country she didn't choose to leave.
Jacqueline Imani came to the United States as a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, resettling in Ann Arbor. Sewing started as something practical — clothes for herself, for her kids — long before it became a business with a name.
Over time, the sewing didn't stop. It turned into hoodies with hand-appliquéd maps of Africa, handkerchief-hem Ankara dresses, and stacks of zippered pouches in wax-print fabric that never repeats twice. She began setting up a table at pop-ups and community events, and the table kept growing.
Today, Jacqueline sells as a vendor through Jewish Family Services' MADE small-business program, alongside other immigrant and refugee entrepreneurs in the region. Her table travels — art fairs, farmers markets, community pop-ups — and every piece on it is one she made or chose by hand.
The craft
Two kinds of work sit side by side: what Jacqueline sews herself, and what she hand-selects to round out the table.
Dresses, hoodies, men's shirts, tote bags, zippered pouches, and clutch wallets — each cut and sewn by Jacqueline from wax-print fabric, one piece at a time.
Coiled raffia baskets in bold, spiraling color patterns — a table staple alongside her sewing, each one carrying its own hand-worked pattern.
Wooden salad servers and small household pieces, finished with beaded or patterned handles, rounding out the table for the kitchen and the home.
The best way to understand Imani Handmade Crafts is at the table itself — find out where Jacqueline is setting up next.