Mend on the Move

Joanne Ewald is a jewelry artist and Founder/Executive Director of Mend on the Move, a 501c3 nonprofit.  She has a B.A. in journalism/public relations and worked several years in corporate communications before raising her two children.  Ewald is a survivor of child sexual abuse and did not begin the healing process until late in her adult life.  Art therapy became a part of her healing process, in particular she gravitated to jewelry design and soon began creating jewelry through her own jewelry making business.  This ignited a passion to serve other women recovering from abusive pasts through the creative process.   In 2015, she launched a social enterprise, Mend on the Move, that provides employment opportunity and a voice for justice on behalf of victims of abuse.

Mend on the Move employs abuse survivors to create handcrafted jewelry, providing them with an income while building confidence and independence.  Survivors learn work skills and accountability, but, most importantly, they are a part of a soothing, therapeutic environment, that supports and encourages, helping them see themselves as worthy and valuable contributors to society.

Ewald has been featured on local television news stories, as well as print publications, such as The Detroit Free Press, Hour Magazine and Seen Magazine.  Ewald was selected as one of the top 12 EmpowerHer Pitch finalists for the 2018 Michigan Women’s Forward and Ford Fund’s competition in support of innovative business ideas of women social entrepreneurs.

Mend on the Move was recently named one of the top five jewelry brands in Detroit by Detroit Fashion News and can be found at mendonthemove.org and over 22 wholesale locations throughout metro Detroit and Michigan, as well as nationally.