Rebel Nell, the socially-driven jewelry design and manufacturing company that restores fallen street art into one-of-a-kind jewelry, and York Project, the social streetwear company that helps homeless, are opening a “bricks and mortar” retail space. The social enterprises launched their collective store on Thursday, August 22, 2019 at their new location on 1314 Holden St. in Detroit.
Rebel Nell is sharing space with the York Project that offers trendy social streetwear that provides a donation kit of socks, water and toilet paper to the homeless with each item sold.
The store opened for regular business hours at 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 24. Store hours will be Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 pm.
Rebel Nell’s mission is to employ, educate and empower women to overcome barriers and tackle obstacles that have been prohibitive in the past. To date, Rebel Nell has hired 22 women from shelters, thanks to their employment at the social enterprise. Rebel Nell has provided $378,000 in wages, $20,000 in microloans, housed 15 families, and has implemented more than 3,436 hours of workforce preparedness training.
Rebel Nell furthers their commitment by hiring these women in roles such as “creative designers,” teaching them how to craft wearable art from fallen layers of graffiti, while providing wrap around support such as financial awareness, business education, life wellness, career development and offering other resources to guide their way to self-sufficiency.
“The women we serve come first and that’s why every product sold has a direct impact on the lives of our creative designers,” says Amy Peterson, founder of Rebel Nell.
Molly Layman, store manager says, “”Our customers have always been hungry for a deeper connection to the product, to learn about how the jewelry is made, and who made their piece. That’s what this store provides. Guests will be able to see the jewelry production and engage with our incredible creative designers. Additionally, it will provide retail training, digital literacy and customer service experience for the women we serve. Our goal is to use this retail store as a way to connect shoppers with the greater community of Detroit. This city already has a remarkable retail landscape, and we are excited to integrate an impactful shopping experience that gives back to the people here.”
Rebel Nell’s full product lineup, including new jewelry featuring fallen street art from Michigan Central Station and the contemporary Evolve collection, will be available at the Holden St. store.
York Project, a social streetwear brand, was born when then 19-year old Josh York hand stitched his last name into a maroon beanie and began selling them to his friends at local music shows. York quickly learned that there was not as great of a need for beanies for the homeless as there was for socks, toilet paper, gloves, and underwear. The team quickly switched the giving model to include these items as donations, instead of just beanies.
On top of its social mission, York Project not only designs and sells clothing, but as of summer 2018, started manufacturing clothes in-house.
“I realized that so many brands were printing “Detroit” on the same t-shirts and sweatshirts that we were, and it had become really difficult to differentiate ourselves,” said Joshua York, founder, York Project. “By opening up a cut and sew production facility, we can now offer truly unique shirts, including the only “Detroit tee” actually made in Detroit. Manufacturing is an opportunity to provide more jobs for Detroiters, so our mission has advanced to include workforce development.”
Currently, York Project makes a kit to donate for each product sold. Each kit includes a durable tote bag, toilet paper, socks, and bottled water. Since 2012, they’ve contributed more than $84,000 worth of donation kits and other supplementary items in 23 American cities.
For more information on Rebel Nell visit www.RebelNell.com
About Post Author
