What started as a family tradition of gifting bangles for special occasions has turned into a thriving business for Ann Williams. "The tradition started with my grandparents, my dad's parents," she says. "He gave my grandmother a gold bangle for every year of marriage, and that trickled down to my dad and his siblings, who all carried that same tradition in their marriages. It was really sweet, and often someone would gift one to a bride on her wedding day and start that tradition for her husband to continue."
Growing up, the stacks of bangles were the background music in Ann's life. "My mom would be stirring soup on the stove or tucking me into bed, and I would hear those bangles clinking together. I have cool memories of all the women in our family wearing layers and layers of gold bangles."
After she married and received her own bangle, she became the family jewelry source person and noticed that the pricing and quality could vary greatly. So, Ann decided to learn how to make them herself. "I was pregnant with my second child and never expected it to turn into a business," she says.
All the men in her family started buying the bangles from her, and the tradition then expanded from just family to friends. "It really grew to be a huge community of women celebrating not just anniversaries, but all kinds of milestones."
In 2016, Ann founded Yearly Co. out of her garage. Later, she started selling her bangles online and eventually opened her own retail space. Over time, it grew from a little space in a boutique to its own building in Green Hills and a headquarters on Music Row. This fall, the store will move to a new location in Green Hills.
Beyond just bangles, Yearly offers a wide range of jewelry. While keeping up with what's in vogue every season, like chunkier and more silver-toned jewelry this fall, it tries to make designs that are not too trendy so people can wear them both today and for the rest of their lives and also pass them down as family heirlooms that others would be excited to wear.
"We like to think in terms of longevity and what will become a woman's signature," says Ann. "For our bangle stacks, she can take them in any direction, from extremely simple and classic to adding a hammer texture, a twist texture or different-colored stones."
For her and many others, jewelry stirs emotions and enhances memories. "Instead of jewelry being just an accessory to elevate your outfit, I think of it as a core part of your story and a way to tell the parts of your journey that you're proud of or have made you stronger."
Ann is currently on her own journey of strength and perseverance. This past April, at the age of 37, she was diagnosed with Stage 1 Triple Positive breast cancer and is currently undergoing treatment. "I recently promoted Elizabeth Geny, a Nashville native, to CEO, and she's doing an amazing job of taking over the company's vision while I'm recovering. We have such wonderful employees and customers, and I'm so grateful for the words of encouragement, prayers and how people want to support me and my business."
In the past, she's had women come into the store who have celebrated their health journeys with bangles and been very vulnerable in sharing their stories. "It was encouraging and inspiring, and it's helped me to feel a purpose in opening up more myself," she says. "It's been part of my purpose to remind people that you can be healthy, active and feel great, and cancer does not discriminate. I want to remind women to be in tune with their bodies, do self-checks and trust their guts."
Ann is looking forward to the future as a business owner, wife to Pat and mom to 9-year-old Regan and 10-year-old Brennan. "There's hope on the other side. It's a scary, intense process, but I believe that sharing and really believing that I will be okay will help someone else who is going through it."
YearlyCo.com
@AnnBrennanWilliams
"Those buying our bangles grew to be a huge community of women celebrating not just anniversaries, but all kinds of milestones." - Ann Williams
"It's been part of my purpose to remind people that you can be healthy, active and feel great, and cancer does not discriminate."