LAND O' LAKES, Fla. — Artists see what others can’t.

What You Need To Know

  • Jolie Dopa is the owner of a fashion company called Dopamine Dreamz

  • She started the company in 2019 after being diagnosed with stage four breast cancer in 2017

  • Her approach to her designs, much like her life, is to do things that bring her happiness and joy

  • Her story and brand has brought thousands of followers to her social media and has been a source of support through her journey with this disease

In a drawer full of trinkets, Jolie Dopa sees so much.

“I just love it,” Dopa said while rifling through small pieces of jewelry in her Land O’ Lakes bedroom.

Dopa is an artist through and through, taking little pieces from various places and adding them to clothing to create something brand new.

“I always have to have a real dope jacket on hand,” Dopa said. “And this is like my favorite jacket. I've made, like three or four of these.”

Dopa has been in the fashion world since 2019 with her business, Dopamine Dreamz.

It was a life decision she never expected, but, sometimes, life doesn’t give you what you expect. And that is what happened to Dopa.

“I never thought I would actually end up doing it,” she said. “When I got diagnosed, I said, ‘I want to do things that are really healing to me.’”

In 2017, Dopa was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer.

“They wanted to go straight for chemo because it had advanced so much,” she said.

So, she did chemo — 78 times.

This was before she dove into the fashion world.

At the time, her art was shining through her music.

“I just kept going,” Dopa said. “And I feel like that is what’s created this pace of me that like, even if I’m receiving chemo, I’m still going to go hard because I never stopped.”

Through round after round of chemo, she realized what’s truly important to her and that’s to make herself and her dreams a priority.

“When you’re facing your own, like, mortality,” Dopa said, “you’re like, ‘Am I living how I want to live? Do I feel how I want to feel? Am I that person I thought I would be?’”

So, she left the music world and focused on fashion.

“When I first started,” Dopa said, “I was like, buying T-shirts and then gluing them on the back of jackets.”

She’s evolved since those early days, not only growing her brand through social media but also selling her clothing at different events around the Bay area.

“I get to like, see the visual come to life,” Dopa said.

She gets to see support for her designs and her journey with breast cancer through her followers and customers.

She says that’s been huge in this journey.

“It’s nice to like, have a community to talk to every day,” Dopa said. “And they, like, they message me, and they support me, and they’re just so loving and incredible.”

Even though her journey isn’t over, with more rounds of chemotherapy to come, Dopa’s message is to do whatever is necessary to bring joy and happiness into your life.

It doesn’t take an artist to see how much of a difference that makes.

Along with promoting her own fashion, Dopa has partnered with the Tigerlily Foundation on her Instagram to promote awareness for women’s health and dealing with breast cancer.