Reflections by Zana was birthed in my kitchen. When my daughters, who love drawing, came to me to show me their newest creations—they didn’t reflect them. They reflected who they saw the most. And it wasn’t melanated characters.
So I set out to change that. I didn’t think that such a simple 3-inch piece of wood would impact black professional women in such a way that it started a movement. I started painting wooden badges for healthcare professionals to wear on the job and showcase their accomplishments, and 12k badges later, we’ve grown to represent more professionals of color while on the job in so many more creative ways.
I set out to show professional black women how we could be our own muses in today’s workplace – which is something that our generation grew up watching on TV and seeing in movies. The positive representation now seems to be limited or even recycled imagery, rather than regular, mainstream depictions of our creative, cultural, and career-minded diversity. When I created the first set of wooden badges mostly for nurses, I discovered that meaningful, personalized representation of us in the workplace was missing across the board.
My creations were welcomed with open arms. Our Promise to You: We will continue to push boundaries in workplace representation and be the go-to place for all things artistically made and professionally displayed.
Aneesha Smith
Founder and Co-Owner of Reflections By Zana Loves to design and create, solve problems, meet and interact with her customers and has a love for teaching. Aneesha has been in nursing for 20 years as a Labor & Delivery Nurse.
Quandell Smith
Co-Owner of Reflections By Zana and holds a BS in Business Management. He’s a prolific author and excellent copywriter for RBZ, is great with numbers and handles most of the day-to-day operations with RBZ.
TraJhon Rashad
Warehouse Manager who Handles shipping, packaging, inventory and is the resident “smile expert” at RBZ. Tra loves music, video games and has an infectious laugh.
Anaya Smith
Junior Associate who helps her big brother in the packing and shipping dept. She also does impromptu modeling for RBZ. Anaya loves digital art, animation and classical music.
Zarya Smith
Junior Associate who works with Tra and Anaya getting your badges to you. Zarya also does digital art, animation and video editing for Reflections By Zana and loves to draw for work and fun. She is also the company jokester.