Alumna Tarfa Itani (AAS ‘94): From Art Student to International Jewelry Designer

LAU alumna and award-winning jewelry designer Tarfa Itani turns lessons in persistence and creativity into a lifelong path of artistic transformation and resilience.

When Tarfa Itani (AAS ‘94) looks back on her time at LAU, she remembers more than just classrooms and coursework. What she remembers is being challenged to see the world differently.

“Our professors always pushed us to do better and to look at things from a new perspective,” she recalled. One sculpture project, in particular, left a lasting mark. “I was asked to repeat it several times not because it wasn’t good, but because they saw potential. At the time, I didn’t fully understand it, but years later I did.” That lesson in persistence and refinement would become a guiding principle in her career as one of Lebanon’s most recognized jewelry designers.

After earning her degree in Advertising Design, Itani began her career in graphic design, creating logos and brochures in a pre-digital era. But the static nature of that work soon left her unfulfilled. “At that time, we didn’t have websites or animations, just print, and I wanted to do something tangible, something I could hold in my hands,” she said.

That desire for a more tactile creative process led her, almost serendipitously, into jewelry. “In my twenties, I worked briefly for a jewelry company,” she recounts. “When I came home and told my parents that I found what I wanted to do in life, to be a jewelry designer, they laughed. ‘You know nothing about jewelry design,’ they said. And they were right; it’s very different from graphics.”

Undeterred, Itani immersed herself in learning the craft, studying gemology at the Gemological Institute of America and experimenting with design techniques. With only $1,000 in initial capital, she launched her brand, Falamank by Tarfa Itani, from Lebanon, a decision that reflected both courage and deep-rooted attachment to home. “I had the opportunity to leave the country, but I chose to stay,” she said. “With all the good and not-so-good, I stayed here and built my brand here.”

Remaining in Lebanon, however, meant facing years of political instability, economic collapse, and a global pandemic. Yet, Itani’s story is one of unyielding resilience.

When the local market shrank, Itani pivoted toward international sales. “Because I was catering to clients abroad, I could sustain the business when things got tough here,” she explained. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, she turned crisis into opportunity by launching an online platform, expanding her global reach, and keeping her team afloat.

In 2020, Forbes Middle East named her among the Women Behind Middle Eastern Brands. The recognition, she said, was deeply personal. “It gave me confidence. No matter how much people appreciate your work, you always wonder whether you are good enough. Forbes gave me that reassurance. It told me I’m on the right path.”

Itani’s achievements extend beyond that honor. She has received two Middle East Premier Awards for Best Arab Designer and Best Oriental Design in Bahrain, as well as a nomination for Best Women Entrepreneur in Lebanon in 2019 for her project, Lebanon Will Rise Again—a gold coin engraved with the statue of the martyrs, created just weeks before the financial collapse. “That coin was my message of hope, even when things fell apart,” she said.

Itani’s creative inspiration comes from antique jewelry and objects, for their incredible level of detail and craftsmanship. “That’s what moves me,” she added, “the beauty that human hands can create.”

Her advice to young alumni and aspiring designers, is to be bold with executing their ideas, and should they fail, to try again.  “One day, you’ll look back and see how far you’ve come.”

Today, as her brand continues to grow across local and international markets, Itani finds herself drawn to mentorship. “I’m at a point where I want to give back,” she said. “I want to collaborate with young designers, to share what I’ve learned. The more I design, the more I realize I want to teach.”