Rebel Nell was created in 2013 by Amy Peterson with the mission to employ women who face barriers to employment, such as being homeless, a refugee, or formerly incarcerated. “I was living right next door to COTS (Coalition On Temporary Shelter), a women’s shelter in Detroit, and I just had this vision of what it would look like if I could create a company that would teach a woman how to fish,” she said. “The company’s unique in the sense that it started with a mission first, we had no concept of what the product would be.” After years of selling its products online and partnering with Ford last year to create a collection out of fallen graffiti from Michigan Central Station, Rebel Nell is set to open its first brick and mortar store.
