Sammy and Donna Imani are an enterprising and creative young couple and if they’re indicative of tabletop’s future then we’re in good hands indeed. Their eponymously-named operation, Imani International, burst onto the scene five years ago with ceramic serveware, but when the couple added unique, colorful, and metallic foil glass to the assortments that’s when retailers really took notice. Now, 25 innovative and sophisticated designs represent the core of the Imani business and Sammy and Donna are scurrying to fill orders. “We couldn’t be more pleased with the way everyone has reacted to our collections,” says Donna. “We always thought we had unique and beautiful designs, but we can’t believe how well retailers have responded. It’s just been a wonderful year.” And propelled by enthusiastic response at the last New York Tabletop Show the couple eagerly anticipates the coming year. “We’re prepared for the investment,” Sammy informs, “because we’re in this industry to stay and we want retailers to know we’re serious.”

These ambitious and dynamic twentysomething kids seem to have been born serious. Both hail from entrepreneurial families, but took divergent paths before meeting and marrying five years ago. Sammy is from Iran where his father, Yehuda, ran a productive Persian rug business, and it was the senior Imani’s ceaseless and dedicated work ethic that ended saving his family of six children and which had an indelible effect on his youngest son.

Flashback two decades ago. The Imani paterfamilias fearful that his family would continue to be persecuted for their religion (the Imanis are Jewish) saved every cent in order to smuggle them – often one at a time – out of Iran. “The money my father earned saved our lives and secured our freedom,” Sammy relays. “From an early age I was able to look at the good that comes from owning and running a business. Not only is business your family, but it can save your family.”
After the entire Imani family fled Iran for New York, Sammy was forced to grow up fast. The forthright and charismatic 27-year-old recalls how two decades earlier he quickly learned English and often acted as an interpreter for his parents who spoke nary a word. “I was operating as an adult when I was just seven years old,” he recounts. “I learned fast how to do things for my parents which made me act older than I was. There were pressures, but there were a lot of positives too. I was always very good at listening to adults and accepting their wisdom.”