Meet Dustin Lopez | 2022 Pendleton Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dustin Lopez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dustin, what habits do you feel helped you succeed?
Trying and Failing. ‘If you’re not failing, you’re not trying’ is a quote I heard several years back by Denzel Washington. I was heading on shift that early morning and it just made sense. I had been contemplating for several days on submitting for this poster competition. I submitted and ended up not winning but was contacted to do a project for someone. If I didn’t try, if I didn’t fail, then I would not have received that phone call. I learned what I failed at when it came to that poster competition and won the following year.

Honestly, it might sound simple but trying and putting in an honest effort is more difficult than it sounds. I’ve learned we get stuck in our heads with self-doubt and fear of rejection/failure. This really limits us and the grit to keep trying, keep failing, keep learning, and then handling it with positivity and compassion is a skill in itself.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The story behind the Pendleton blanket I designed is dedicated to anyone who has felt lost or unsure of their identity. Being a ‘mixtblood’ native american I chose to take that term and make it more positive. Mixtblood Streetwear is for any and all intertribal people.

Collaborating with Pendleton and being able to amplify my story has been one of the most meaningful projects I have ever done in my life.

As a kid, we didn’t have much, including our identity as indigenous people. My mom was a single parent so we would visit with my grandma (shimásání) and uncle (shidá’í’) often. One morning I saw these beautiful mugs on my grandma’s counter and I marveled at them. I examined them and became overwhelmed with pride and inspiration. My aunt had bought them for Grandma as a Christmas gift, and they turned out to be Pendleton mugs. I recall thinking how cool it would be to create something like that because at that time I had never seen anything like that. Plus it felt expensive and very different from other coffee mugs.

Now, as I approach 40, my design will be featured on the very same mug, and part of a series that only a select few can say they are a part of. The feeling is really hard to describe. It’s very emotional for me and even hard to talk about sometimes. I just wish shimásání would have been here to witness it. She passed away in ’05, she was like my second mother. I like to think I’ve made her and my mom very proud with my accomplishment with Pendleton.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
They would need to come for the first Friday of the month so we can head to Roosevelt Row. Artists, performers, food, it’s seriously the best art market in the nation. Adan Madrigal, the director of Roosevelt Row CDC has really created a monster, expanding it and making it bigger. Better.

The whole Roosevelt Row experience is something to check out during the whole week. Grabbing coffee from Songbird, or Khavi. Do some shopping at all the boutique shops. Meeting for a brew and some grub at the Churchhill. Plus, checking out all the murals and galleries is always a good time. You can meet some of the artists who kick it at Jobot or the Beer Garden.

We would definitely meet up with my peeps from Cahokia on 3rd Street. Matt Fisher is one of my favorite dudes to have coffee with down at Lola. Hanging with my dude Chroma, who has a mural with me off Roosevelt, filled with Mexican/Indigenous history and knowledge.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I need to give this shoutout to my mom. Shimah, sa naiya. She was so excited when I decided to become a firefighter and was there, even when I didn’t want her to help, lol. I wanted to be a man, self-sufficient, capable and able to say I did it on my own, but I could not. I started at 16 years old, she drive me to my first physical test-that was intense! From there she has continued to support me through the years.

Fast forward to today, stepping away from the fire department, she shows up to my art talks, presentations, murals, and even purchases the products I have created. Sometimes I’m met with hard questions and mini-lectures that provoke me to think more and ensure I am being methodical in my decisions.

Shimah was my only parent and had to play the roles of both mother and father. She was a hardass to me, and my siblings, and did her best while pursuing her goal to be a nurse. I remember her failing A&P again, and again. She still kept going, and kept trying… she finally passed and moved on to the next step in her journey. She’s been a nurse for 20 years and loves her job. She loves being a nurse and I admire that. The balls to keep going after her dream, no matter how long it took her.

There’s something to be said about surrounding yourself with people who love their job.

Website: dus10lopez.art

Instagram: @dus10lopezart

Image Credits
Del Ray Photography