Looking for unique gifts this holiday? The newest store in Twelve Oaks Mall may have this perfect item to tick the list.

Rebel Nell, a Detroit jewellery manufacturer known for its graffiti works, opened a retail store in the space previously occupied by Michael Kors in the Novi Mall. 

The company is known for bringing in artists (mainly women) who come from trouble and pay them to design and make jewelry, including atypical materials such as graffiti taken from the streets of cities such as Detroit and Chicago. The desire to help those in need prompted her and her employees to seek expansion opportunities. 

"We really want to grow our business. We want to expand; we want to tell more people what we are doing," said Amy Peterson, CEO of Rebel Nell and a Detroit resident. "The more we sell, the more women we can empower."

Rebel Nell is described as a social enterprise founded in 2013 with the purpose of hiring women in local shelters. Once hired, these artists will take the elements—the dropped graffiti is an iconic material—and make them into items such as necklaces, earrings, and even corks. 

Peterson said: "They are unique not only because of visionary women, but also because of the material."

The joint venture has helped dozens of women, including helping many women get full-time jobs.

It's not just graffiti that make up these fragments. Peterson and her staff have obtained materials from a variety of culturally significant locations, including large pieces of raw pulp made in Italy 80 years ago, which can be used in the American Thanksgiving Parade in downtown Detroit every year See. It also sells works made from paint shards in the Comerica Park bomb shelter.

"We try to show the history of the work through each piece," she said. 

These product lines have been so successful that Rebel Nell has begun to expand its collection to cultural works from other communities, which are also sold online. Peterson has connections with works in Chicago, Atlanta, and Miami. Other materials include works from Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves. Peterson said that this line has become popular this year since the team won the World Series in November. 

Twelve Oaks is Rebel Nell's first retail store outside of Detroit. When Peterson discovered the option of opening a retail store in one of the busiest shopping malls in Detroit Metro, especially during the holidays, she knew it was a good choice to let more people know about their products and business. 

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"We are taking a leap of faith, and this opportunity is here. We think this is a good way to expand our audience and introduce us to more people outside of Detroit. This is what happened," she said. 

Peterson said that supporting women who work with her is an important reason why she wants to change her career path. Before launching Rebel Nell, she said that she worked as an attorney for the Detroit Tigers. Peterson said that seeing the impact of her new company, her career transition is worthwhile.

"I really like my job," she said. "I like to be part of the journey, especially for the women we hire, where the adrenaline is soaring."

More information, including product listings, can be found on rebelnell.com.

Contact reporter David Veselenak at dveselenak@hometownlife.com or 734-678-6728. Follow him on Twitter @davidveselenak.