“A lot of them that come here, they understand the beauty of the place. How remote it is and how they feel when they’re out there,” Justice said of hikers. “All they can hear is the wind and the birds, and nobody else.”

“I’d love to just see us taking our spot in not just fashion, but the whole manufacturing industry too, where we can have control over our own styles, our own fabrics and things that we wear because what we wear is important, and it represents us in our beliefs.”

“You know it doesn't feel real and at the same time, it's been very exciting. I never would have seen myself or my mugs go as far as the Grand Canyon.”

“You hear it all the time but you don’t really know or expect it, you never know who's watching or who’s going to see your stuff,” he said. “When I started my business it was so important for me to have it on the reservation and now that I think back to it, I’m so glad I did. I think it would have been totally different if they (the producers) came to see my shop and I was in Farmington or somewhere off the rez.”

“We’re just another rung on that ladder, reaching the top for self actualizations of our artists to have their own store, their own promotions and their own culture here, benefiting them and having their voices shared and their benefits received for what they do.”

“I just like to always say we’re capable of doing things, we’re capable of making good business decisions. I’m really grateful for where I’m at.”

“We’re incorporating our Navajo teachings into everything we do. Coding, programming, application, even customer service.”

“What I want to do is make it so much easier for artists to just focus on what they do best, which is make and create. Our platform will handle a lot of the backend.”

Change Labs co-founders, Heather Fleming and Jessica Stago, share their story of perseverance in their quest to create physical infrastructure on the Navajo Nation to support small business owners and artisans.