I interviewed Eboni Merriman, the founder of Lost Queens, a jewelry company for Blavity.

Excerpt:

“Throughout the process of creating Lost Queens, Merriman was inspired by strong women. In fact, she got the name from Pharell’s song, “Lost Queen,” in which he describes a supernatural woman who he feels is from another planet and who he wants to serve. The song also helped Merriman cope with depression.

‘I just took it as a self-love kind of thing,” she says, “I don’t need anyone to validate me. I don’t have to wait for anyone to bring me flowers. I can do this for myself. Because we tend to lose that. That Queen. That part we push to the side to tend to daily life. I wanted to reclaim once again.’ ”

Photo by Eboni Merriman