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We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lesley Jones. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lesley below.

Lesley, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I’ve had the idea for this company for over 20 years. It started when my aunt was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. She was in her 30s, with two little boys, and she was terrified. One day during her treatment, a woman gave her a pendant that said “Strength for the Journey.” The woman explained it had worn by many people before her – passed through many hands—each person drawing from the pendant’s strength, infusing it with their own, then passing it on when they were ready. All the woman asked was that my aunt keep that chain of support going….wear it for strength and, when she was ready, pass it on.

My aunt wore that pendant through years of treatment, then passed it to my mom during her breast-cancer battle. My mom wore it, then passed it to a friend—and believe it or not, that same pendant is still traveling today, bringing incredible strength to people who need it.

That moment stuck with me. It showed me how powerful it is when one human reaches out to another and says, “You’re not alone.” I couldn’t stop thinking about how many people are walking around carrying heavy stories in silence — and how healing it can be to share even a piece of that with someone else.

That was my A-HA moment: What if we could track that journey? What if we could read all the real life strength stories of all the people who wear and share it. What if a piece of jewelry could hold stories the way a book does?

That’s how Traveling Pendants was born.

We’re changing the way people think about jewelry. Traditional jewelry has no journey — it’s shiny and meaningful for
a moment, but then it sits in a drawer, forgotten. Even heirlooms lose their meaning over time-there’s no way to know
who wore them or what they meant. Our Pendants don’t collect dust, they collect stories by fusing digital storytelling
with human connection. Scan the QR code on the back of the Pendant to register it and log your story, wear it for
strength, then pass it on to someone who needs it. As it travels from person to person, you can track its journey and the
stories it collects along the way. Made in the USA, made to travel, made to connect. We’re selling an experience.

How It Works:
Each pendant comes with a unique QR code. You scan it, read the stories of everyone who wore it before you, add your own chapter to the pendant’s growing narrative. Then wear it as a source of strength and, when you’re ready, just like my aunt did all those year ago, pass it on. You can track it anytime using our digital storytelling platform. Your story becomes a link in a powerful chain of support.

Here’s the other innovative part of our company…Our patent-pending digital platform lets people browse what we call Strength Stories—real stories about things like grief, addiction, motherhood, mental health, and also joy, love, faith, and personal wins. It’s a reminder that we’re all carrying something—and that sharing our stories helps us connect and heal.

Lesley, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m just a Mom of three who had a dream I carried around for over 20 years — and one day, I finally did something about it. I didn’t have a business or jewelry background, but what I did have was a deep belief in the power of human connection. Traveling Pendants are vehicles for that meaningful connection. When you wear and share a pendant, you’re saying, “I see you,” “You are strong enough to handle anything,” and offering them a piece of what has meant so much to you. It’s not just jewelry — it’s strength for the journey. We’re not just selling jewelry, we’re offering a shared experience of hope and support.

For most of my life, I looked like I had it all together — type-A, high-achieving, deeply driven. But beneath the surface, I
battled crippling anxiety and an unhealthy relationship with alcohol that began at just 12 years old. I drank to cope, to fit
in, to manage the constant tension I carried. There’s a misconception about people who struggle with alcohol.-that we
must be mess. I hid it – was the Ohio State Tennis Champion (1998), hold 2 degrees, ran marathons, chaired non-profits,
was on the PTO. No one had any idea. But eventually, I got tired — tired of numbing, tired of missing out on my life, and
especially tired of watching my kids grow up while I was mentally elsewhere. In 2015, by the grace of God, I got sober
— not because I hit a dramatic “rock bottom,” but because I chose to quit before I lost. That choice changed everything. I
started filling my life with real connection — not cocktails — and it brought me back to who I was meant to be.
In 2016, my husband’s job moved our family to England. I couldn’t work due to visa restrictions, and for the first time, all
three of my kids were in school full-time. That unexpected quiet created space — and in that space, I finally gave myself
permission to pursue a dream I’d carried for nearly 20 years: creating something that helps people feel seen, understood,
and connected through shared stories. That dream became Traveling Pendants.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I launched Traveling Pendants, things took off pretty fast (I launched the product with hand stamped numbers on
the back to track them not the new QR code system we are going to launch soon). I was handling everything myself and
within the first 75 days did over $30K in sales. I was feeling so good – like I was on my way to being the next Kendra
Scott!! But then life threw me a major curveball. I suffered a C5/C6 spinal cord injury from all the work on the pendants.
Suddenly, I went from running everything on my own to being in a position where I had to rely on others. It was a huge
adjustment, both physically and emotionally. That injury forced me to slow down, rethink my approach, and lean into the
support of my family and a growing team. This experience also made me realize that I wasn’t set up to scale. I had been
running everything myself, and while I was successful in those first few months, the reality of sustaining and growing a
business long-term became clear. I needed systems, support, and a structure that could handle growth. So, the
challenge wasn’t just the injury itself—it was the shift from doing it all to trusting others and letting the business evolve
in ways I hadn’t anticipated. But I wouldn’t change it because it made me stronger, and it reinforced the deeper purpose
of what I’m doing with Traveling Pendants.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Some of the greatest challenges in my life have also become the deepest sources of meaning. I’ve walked through
alcoholism and anxiety and found healing through sobriety and faith. I’ve faced the quiet torment of appearing “perfect”
on the outside while feeling completely broken inside. But one of the most transformative challenges came in 2021, I
was working at Dayton Early College Academy, a school that serves inner-city students, and I got close with one of my
students named Jahkari. He was the oldest of 12 kids, and over time, he became part of our family. He started calling me
“mom,” and I loved him like a son. Then, the day before his 18th birthday, he was shot and paralyzed. It was devastating.
His mom didn’t want to take care of him anymore, and because he was legally an adult, we couldn’t officially adopt him
— but we did everything else. I became his power of attorney and his authorized representative. For over a year, my
husband and I cared for him full-time. He’s not biologically ours, but he is our son in every way that matters. He lives in
Columbus now about 60 minutes away, but he’s family.
That experience — watching someone I love go through something so life-altering and still show up with grit and grace
— it changed me. It reminded me how fragile life is, how powerful love is, and why connection matters so much. Jahkari
is a living reminder of why I do this work — because none of us should have to go through the hardest parts of life alone.

Contact Info:

• Website: travelingpendants.com Strength Stories: https://stories.travelingpendants.com/#traveling_pendant_stories
• Instagram: @travelingpendants
• Facebook: @travelingpendants
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesleyjones63/

Image Credits

Micah Simms