By: Sarah Campbell

As a UNC junior, Anna Jordan discovered that sometimes not knowing what you want to do will lead you to something you love.

Before entering college, Jordan knew what she wanted to study, but was having trouble finding something she enjoyed. Stuck, she leaned into her artistic side and took a chance selling her handmade jewelry on Instagram that summer.

“Before freshman year I was like, ‘Let me just see if I’m into this whole business thing,’” Jordan said. “So I started selling my earrings on Instagram.”

The success of her Instagram account eventually led to the creation of AnnaBanana, Jordan’s jewelry company; it also inspired her enrollment in the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. Now, she not only sells earrings, but also sells necklaces, bracelets and charms. Along with the new products, Jordan has migrated the business to its own website.

Jordan makes all of the jewelry herself in small quantities and sells primarily to UNC students. She first learned to make jewelry in middle school after being inspired by a friend of her sister, who brought her a handmade pair of earrings. While Jordan didn’t have Instagram at the time, she did sell her pieces to classmates.

“I think there was one point in middle school where I made some little Christmas earrings with Christmas bows and everyone bought them,” Jordan said. “People were walking around wearing them at school and I was like, ‘Wow, this is so cool seeing people wear my product.’”

Moving away from Christmas-inspired products, Jordan now gains inspiration by looking through Instagram and Pinterest. She considers her pieces trendy, and her style is always changing as she learns new techniques.

Beaded earrings were the only product Jordan sold when she first launched her business. Since then, Jordan has started making leather and metal goods and hopes to continue learning new techniques.

“I kind of just like to experiment and play around,” Jordan said.

Over the past few months Jordan has been able to expand her reach and her range of products, primarily through collaborations with other businesses. Her most notable collaboration was with Bumble. The company reached out to various small businesses across college campuses, including AnnaBanana, which gave Jordan the opportunity to gain exposure for her brand.

After an entirely virtual semester, motivation to be creative was hard to find, Jordan said. Now that 2020 is over and she has had some time to re-energize, Jordan is ready to immerse herself in her business again and enjoy the process.

“I really do like it,” Jordan said. “It definitely gives me something to focus on and something else to work on, but it’s also creative and I enjoy doing it.”

Although the fall semester put Jordan into a creative rut, she has big plans for the spring. Over the next few months, she plans to release new products unlike anything she’s done before. She also intends to continue learning new techniques that she hopes will grow her business even further.

To support AnnaBanana, visit the website to view her current pieces and place an order.

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