Our Origin Story

Life comes from the water that trickles down into the earth leaving behind minerals in the empty spaces of the stone. Beauty comes form the color that is left behind. Strength is the result of resistance from where the stone was formed.

"As woman we endure so much in our lifetime, but it is how we rise from our experiences that makes us who we are!'- Alicia (owner/ designer) 

The Story behind the name Dotł'izhi:

Me and my Dad in California

I am Apache, Yaqui, Spanish and French. My father who is Apache, would always tell me stories about our people and to never forget where I came from or who I am. When the struggles of life get a little too much I can hear his voice echo in my head "NEVER forget that you are Apache" then I get up, dust myself off and continue the battle. I have childhood memories of my father sitting at the table by his bed creating beautiful beadwork. I longed to be like him and create such beauty, and now I am. He would always use the color turquoise in his beadwork, which to me represents strength, beauty and wisdom.

 Turquoise has 3 components hardness,matrix and color. I believe women are like turquoise and here is why.

Hardness equals strength.

Real Turquoise is a strong gemstone that can withstand the pressures of the environment that it’s in. As women, so can we. No matter what life throws our way it makes us just that much stronger.

Color equals Beauty

Turquoise comes in 3 main colors white, green and blue. Green and Blue may very in different shades. The deeper the color the more expensive it can be. Natural turquoises changes color the more it is handled. As women, we can sometimes allow others to determine our value. We start off as a bright eye fearless soul and the more we allow others to handle us with their words it starts to change who we are meant to be. Remember beauty comes from within, let your color shine!

Matrix equals wisdom

Matrix is the brownish black lines you find in the turquoise. Only nature can make the matrix. There are different levels of matrix from no matrix, medium to spiderweb which is a whole lot of matrix. As women, the more life experience we get the more wisdom we are blessed with. At first, we have no clue on how to live this life but as we move on we gain so much knowledge. Let's remember the time when we were clueless and try to pass down that experience so we can build each other up and not break each other down.

This is my vision for my brand:

I want every woman who buys my creations to feel beautiful, empower and loved. A reminder of who they are. Each collection that I create will be inspired after a strong woman and the elements used will reflect her story, her culture background and her style. I want to be their story teller, just as my dad was mine.