Jared Yazzi is a Navajo business owner and designer at OXDX Clothing and is based out of Chandler, AZ. I had the pleasure of meeting him at the 2014 Standford Powwow in Palo Alto California and was excited to feature him as my first article in an ongoing series I hope to highlight Native owned small businesses.
Corinne: When did you decide that owning your business is what you wanted to do? What inspired you?
Jared: In the beginning I would say that I was fueled more by the passion to create art. I was making things all the time, with stencils or fabric paint, or spray paint, krink markers, pencils, pens, sharpies… The business aspect came when the demand for my tees increased. I put myself out there more and sold my tees whenever i could. It manifested itself into this clothing line and I'm really happy it did.
Corinne: Who do you find are your biggest customers?
Jared: My customers are the best! They range in age and I find they are from everywhere. I ship constantly to Canada, California, New York, New Mexico… and occasionally I'm shipping to Australia, Spain, and the UK. In my experience its the ladies that are willing to put money into style choices. They are definitely the majority of my sales.
Corinne: Have you ever faced adversity in your business from being Native?
Jared: There is adversity in being Native in whatever you do. We face struggles on a daily basis. For me, I know I have to be prepared to explain my art. I have to know history, tradition, and importance. I also have to educate myself on the issues we face because there will always be doubters, instigators, and ignorant people trying to bring you down.
Corinne: What are your company’s future goals?
Jared: I’m hoping to constantly grow as an artist and entrepreneur. I think I will always have a passion for creating tees and graphic art. I'm going to keep dropping Spring, Summer, and Winter lines and hopefully get to the point where i can create cut-n-sew and embroidered items. I think the goal is to own and run a design and screen printing company. Other projects i'm hoping to tackle include video, social media, photography, and creating opportunities for the youth.
Corinne: Why do you think it’s important for Natives to be successful business owners?
Jared: Native people deserve the chance to be represented by Native leaders. There are many great, influential Indigenous people doing amazing things for Native country, its our time to shine.
Corinne: How long has your company been around for?
Jared: I have been doing this since May of 2009. This coming May will be year 6 in the business.
Corinne: Tell us a little bit about the products you sell.
Jared: I specialize in strong, street inspired graphics. I have a knack for identifying and causing awareness to Indigenous issues. My style is strongly influenced by my Navajo identity. Mostly the graphic art I make gets screen printed onto t-shirts and hoodies. I screen print my own tees so having that knowledge gives me the chance to work on special items. I walk special printed items in runway shows and hold auctions every know and then on my Instagram and Facebook pages. I enjoy creating unique pieces and keeping my items limited. I hope to create collectors.
To view Jared's new Spring Line and order clothes for yourself, check out his website here:
