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SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Izzy Griffin-Warner is on a mission to empower others through jewelry.

The founder of Redd Dott Jewelry carefully curates each handmade, decorative cuff, stamping them with messages of hope and inspiration. The brass cuffs are covered with beautiful fabrics.

“There’s a sensory part to it so when you touch and feel it it can bring you back into the present moment,” said Griffin-Warner. “The brass itself is about the grounding and then we stamp inside each of the cuffs an affirmation or intention.”

The cuffs are fashioned after the trademark bracelets worn by a certain female superhero.

“When I look at these cuffs, they’re like Wonder Woman. We can all be Wonder Woman,” exclaimed Griffin-Warner.

She speaks from experience. The artist had to discover her own power and become her own savior, to escape a long term, abusive relationship.

“I had the psychological, emotional, verbal abuse since I was 21 until probably about 32. Then things started going into physical abuse. That continued until I was about 35,” Griffin-Warner explained.

After working with a counselor, she found the courage to leave but quickly found that escaping was just the beginning. She also had a long journey to recover from the trauma.

“Nobody tells you when you’re coming out of it, that’s probably the hardest part, to regain hope again in your life,” shared Griffin-Warner. “Wearing the weight of PTSD is very hard. Wearing the heaviness of PTSD is like you’re never getting your brain back, your control back. I mean I was drinking and smoking to the death of me.”

During that time, a car accident forced her to face the very real possibility of death. She says the harrowing experience, and a conversation with God, helped snap her out of a deep fog. Griffin-Warner then became a warrior, using therapy and art to regain control of her life.

“It was incredible how my art would speak to me and show me different things of like, ‘okay you need to pay attention to this or this to grow you.”

Her challenges have become important life lessons imprinted onto her heart, teaching her to love herself again.

“Nobody’s gonna learn how to be kind to you if you’re not kind to yourself. That’s where it first starts.”

It’s a lesson that took decades to learn. Now, Griffin-Warner hopes her cuffs empower those who wear them, with the strength and courage to choose their own authentic path.

“When I do tell my story my hope is that I can potentially save at least one person from going through what I went through.”

If you, or someone you know, is experiencing domestic violence, Project Celebration provides shelter, counseling, and resources throughout Northwest Louisiana. In DeSoto, Natchitoches, Red River, and Sabine Parishes, the 24 hour crisis hotline is (318) 256-3408. In Bossier, Caddo, and Webster Parishes, the number is (318) 226-5015. The statewide hotline for Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence is (888) 411-1333.