“Pure love” – this is how Ajla Aljić from Ilijaš describes her brand nightgown brand “DoolZee,” which she created for all women who have an eye for a quality piece of clothing. After high school, she began studying comparative and world literature in the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Sarajevo, but her desire to start a family prevailed, and she decided to drop out of college. Although she is now a divorced and single mother of two girls, this has not stopped her from pursuing a creative career and achieving her dreams through starting a private business. “Life is unpredictable, you never know what it will bring you. Sometimes you find yourself stuck at the crossroads wondering what your next step will be. The world we live in is very fast and requires a lot of focus. At one moment, I slowed down and had a talk with myself, and made a decision which will ensure a good future for myself and my children, as well as their childhood,” said Ajla. The name DoolZee comes from the book “Dance Shoes,” which Ajla read as a little girl. Although her wish was to become a ballerina, that was not possible for several reasons. “That book mirrored a lot my life, I even started calling myself DoolZee, and a lot of people from primary and secondary school called me that. It was my artistic identity. The character in the book dreams big, but it takes a lot to make them reality. As good as we are at something, we need luck. DoolZee has a big heart, but she is surrounded by wolves that make things difficult for her. In the end, though, she gets what she wanted,” says Ajla. One scene from the book is especially important to her. “There is one sentence I will never forget – when DoolZee looks in the mirror, and she sees that she is not what she used to be. She says she wants to go back to how it used to be. And when she picks up her heart that is now black, she comes back stronger than ever. She starts believing in herself again and then she can finally achieve what she wanted,” explains Ajla. Art as the Starting Point of Creation She says that from an early age she loved everything related to creativity, so she drew, painted, played instruments, and sang. During a stressful time in her life, these things helped her healed. However, she started designing dresses by accident. “It was something that feeds my soul, and I said to myself, why shouldn’t I let that creativity feed me in all possible ways. I knew it was a sign that I should start doing something, but I knew it had to be something I love, and something that cannot easily be found here. Without a second thought, I decided to start making women’s nightgowns and kaftans (or coats) in silk, which instills pleasure and luxury at first sight. I think that every woman should have a nightgown, or as many of them as possible because I personally love these things and wear them all the time,” says Ajla. Ajla also understands that women who are dedicated to their families rarely have the opportunity to wear something beautiful. “During a certain period of my life, I was constantly at home, but I still like to take care of myself and look nice. That’s when I decided I wanted to make nightgowns. A lot of women asked me where they could buy a halter, kaftan, or other similar things because it is less common in our country. We only older collections here because we are lagging behind the trends,” says Ajla. In the beginning of any business venture, it’s not only the idea that is important but also the the initial financing. Ajla knew this well, so first she consulted with her parents and friends, who all responded positively. “Then I started looking for the type of material I would use because I knew absolutely nothing – the only thing I had was a vision of what the items should look like, and I also knew how to draw. I read a lot about different types of materials, so I got in touch with one woman who has been sewing for many years and then through her I came to another woman who worked in Milan for Robert Cavalli and other famous brands. She told me that quality is the most important thing in this business, because if you buy something that is not of good quality, you will never buy it again, which is quite logical regardless of the price. And if you have quality, whatever the price, you will do your best to buy another piece,” recounts Ajla. First, she started working on simpler models that she only shared with family and friends. But she was still looking to add details that could be recognizable for new customers who may decide to buy her creation in the future. Addition to Simplicity through Deep V Back She chose to use deep V cut at the back of her gowns as a signature look for her collections, settling on her favorite color combination, gold and black.