Time to meet our 2020/2021 Board of Directors!
We are so excited to introduce our Board of Directors for the 2020/2021 year! Listed below, in alphabetical order is a short biography on each director, as well as a photo and a few links to learn more about them and what they do. We can’t wait to see what this year brings!
Brooke Johnson Issak, The Monday Best Blog
Brooke is a criminal defense lawyer, as well as the owner and operator of The Monday Best, a workwear style blog. The Monday Best seeks to redefine what it means to dress "professionally" by moving away from masculine norms and incorporating colour and femininity into workwear. Office wear isn't the only thing you will find on The Monday Best, as Brooke also uses her blog to shed light on the various barriers and hurdles that women face within the workplace as she openly discusses everyday sexism. She is excited to be part of the SFA Board and its initiatives to promote the fashion sector within the province of Saskatchewan.
To learn more visit www.themondaybest.com and follow @themondaybest on Instagram.
Celene Dupuis, Revamp Salon Co. & Blonde Boss Blog
Passionate, creative, and driven are some of the attributes passed onto Celene from her parents that have helped her become a successful and sought after stylist, educator, and entrepreneur.
Joining forces as an educator with Redken two years into her career would prove to be a life-changing experience. A new world of never-ending inspiration and education awaited, and Celene took it all in. Her drive to keep evolving and learning led her to be a sought after facilitator not only across Canada but also in the United States. Working in Las Vegas multiple years as a facilitator for the Redken Symposium, hosting 10,000 hairstylists from around the Globe, was a humbling and exciting experience. Becoming an Exchange Facilitator in 2018 at the world-renowned Redken Exchange in New York City was a bucket list experience for Celene, and inspiring students from as far away as Dubai still remains one of her career highlights.
Her advice and knowledge have been published in multiple magazines, such as Canadian Hairdresser, Flare, Hair Dressers Journal - London, and The KIT. She’s also the official Color Ambassador for Redken Canada. Celene is the owner of Revamp Salon Co. located in the Broadway district in Saskatoon.
Visit the Revamp Salon website, Celene’s blog, Blonde Boss, and follow Celene on Instagram to learn more!
Chelsea Pettersen, Saskatchewan Fashion Week & Cade Babe Blog
Chelsea is a serial entrepreneur known for running and operating Coda Clothing and Shoes and Cade Style Lounge for over 12 years. Chelsea's passion lies in creating exceptional customer experiences and making Regina a cool place to live. Her other passion is her love for fashion. Studying Fashion Design in college, Chelsea moved home to work in the industry and very soon after co-founded and co-directed Saskatchewan Fashion Week. By joining the Board of Directors for the Saskatchewan Fashion Association, Chelsea hopes to help create a sustainable fashion industry in Saskatchewan.
To learn more about Chelsea, follow her on Instagram!
Dean Renwick, Dean Renwick Design Studio
Wedding, graduation, business presentation, dinner party, hot date–there’s always a reason to wear a Renwick and custom couture is how Dean Renwick became “Dean Renwick”. As a designer in Los Angeles, Dean turned heads dressing Bette Midler, Kiefer Sutherland, Guns N’ Roses, and the Eurythmics. Since returning home to Regina, Canada, Dean has opened his studio–and his heart–designing sexy, sophisticated styles for the stage, screen, and women of all ages, giving of his time and talent to causes he cares about and mentoring the next generation of creative couturiers.
To learn more about Dean, visit his website, www.deanrenwick.ca, and visit him on Instagram.
Harvey Viteychuk, MEE Sports
The one achievement that Harvey considers the most gratifying in his life among many other accomplishments is his business is MEE Sports, a manufacturing company located in Saskatoon. Harvey and his brother opened for business back in 1987 and have grown and evolved tremendously.
MEE Sports started as a basement operation that in the last 33 years has grown into a diversified sportswear company using cutting edge technology to produce trendy custom team apparel sold around the world. As competitive athletes, he and his brother used their background to create products that not only fit their bodies but functioned for the sports they were participating in. It wasn’t long after opening their factory that they realized that teams and the club market were looking for the same things; fit, form and function, innovative styling, custom colour combinations, and sizing to fit everyone.
The focus over the past number of years has been to build their product line to meet the needs of Cheerleading, Dance, Baton, Gymnastics and Figure Skating teams and clubs with an ever-growing selection of spandex based products. However, they still serve all the other sports that have helped them get to this point such as Lacrosse, Soccer, Slo-Pitch, Basketball, Wrestling, Hockey, Football, Baseball, National Team Programs, Pro teams and of course, school programs.
To learn more about MEE Sports, visit their website, or find them on Instagram.
Jacqueline Conway, TrendBlazer Studio (Vice President)
Jacqueline is an award-winning marketer and fashion nerd forever studying her craft. Her previous career involved marketing sold-out shows for a major music festival with headliners like John Legend, Lauryn Hill, The Roots, and co-founding Saskatoon Fashion & Design Festival with Mandy Pravda.
Since her festival and music days, she’s discovered a passion for sharing truths, methods, and systems with other entrepreneurs and creatives to bring order to developing their personal brand. She does this through her signature program called The Brand Project, teaching coaches, consultants, and creative entrepreneurs how to build a brand online with intention, integrity, and sophistication.
Her professional awards and nominations include the Marquee Event of the Year for the 2016 SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival, named it Girl for Saskatoon in the nationally published magazine FASHION, and nominated for a Western Canadian Music Award for Impact in Music Marketing.
She looks forward to contributing to the SFA to establish fashion as the next creative sector in Saskatchewan and create a sustainable fashion scene for the next generation.
To learn more, visit her website or check out her business profile on Instagram!
Lisa Marie Schwartz, Edge Agency: Professional Model & Actor Management
Unique in their field as the only Model & Actor Management agency in Saskatchewan, Edge Agency has been in operation for over 25 years. Since the agency was founded, they have promoted models and actors for Feature Films, TV Commercials, Fashion Shows, and Print Work with National placement. With over 150 people in their agency, they are a company committed to ensuring proper guidance and producing sooner employment.
Having worked in the fashion industry for over 7 years as a former international model, owner Lisa Marie Schwartz also promotes models internationally throughout Europe, Asia, India, and the USA. Early on, this dynamic agency had already made headway as the only model agency in Canada invited on a Team Canada Trade Mission Tour. In 1997, Lisa Marie was honored to travel with Prime Minister, Jean Chrétien to South Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand to promote the agency.
A simple idea has led to a business that has grown through leaps and bounds. The success of Edge Agency comes from the quality of their people, not the quantity, and their values reflect this. Integrity, Quality, Trustworthiness, Accountability, and being Caring is what Edge Agency is all about.
Lisa Marie has also worked with various organizations helping to raise funds and awareness for the Saskatchewan community. As one of the co-founders of Discovered International Model Search, Runway Show and Charity Event, Edge Agency raised over $90,000 for The Children’s Wish Foundation, Saskatchewan Chapter. For 11 years Lisa Marie was the ‘Show Coordinator’ for the Power of Pink Gala, an event that raised over $200,000 for breast cancer research. For 7 years Lisa Marie was the ‘Model Coordinator’ for Saskatchewan Fashion Week (SFW) helping to showcase local designers, merchants, and models. Lisa Marie volunteers countless hours of personal time to make a difference.
To learn about Edge Agency, visit them online.
Mandy Pravda, Mane Productions (President)
Mandy Pravda, Lady Boss of Mane Productions, has over 15 years of expertise within all aspects of event design, business planning, and marketing/PR, including a focus on community building. Mandy was recognized in Toronto’s National Meeting + Incentive Travel Magazine in The Hall of Fame issue in 2013 as the 20 Something Entrepreneur of Canada for her contribution and experience to her industry.
Since 2015 Mandy has been an advisor on the Leisure Marketing Board for Tourism Saskatoon and in recent years has been developing Tourism Waskesiu under the Community Council and Chamber of Commerce. Focused on Tourism, in 2016, Mandy organized and broke The Guinness Book of World Records for The World’s Largest Snowball Fight; clocking in at 7,681 participants for Saskatchewan. Launching an Online Reputation Management, MANE, aspect to her company in 2016 for assisting entrepreneurs and businesses build, manage and promote their online profiles and further reach consumers online, providing online reputation management, branding exploration, and building, extensive media contacts, and advanced data collection. Over 20 clients under the Mane Productions see results every day including The Royal Hotel Group; Best Western Hotel(s), Quality Inn & Suites, and Royal Hotels across Alberta and Saskatchewan, and Waskesiu.org, to name a few.
In 2017 Mandy was nominated as a CBC Saskatchewan’s #IAmSask "Mighty Saskatchewanians of Today and Yesteryear" and also received a nomination in 2016, 2017 and 2018 for CBC Saskatchewan's Future 40. Recently she was named a Finalist of the Saskatchewan Tourism 2019 Awards of Excellence; Fred Heal Tourism Ambassador Category. In 2019, as President, Mandy launched a Canadian first, Saskatchewan Fashion Association Inc.
With 10 years of fashion community-building experience, her goal is to further unite the Saskatchewan fashion sector with a central online hub creating business and education resources and opportunities easily available for creative entrepreneurs. A focus on advancing the export and import of the manufacturing and distribution of locally made goods on an international level, while creating sale opportunities to unreached markets, Mandy will continue to lead innovative conversations and advance the fashion sector opportunities for career advancement.
To learn more, visit Mandy’s website.
Melissa Squire, Alchemy Collective
Melissa Squire is a self-taught fashion designer, whose socially conscious attitude, eco-friendly initiatives, and community-oriented business practices are infectious. She has presented on sustainable practices in both fashion and events and her designs have been showcased on runways locally and internationally. They feature unique pieces from rockabilly dresses and baby clothes, to steampunk vests adorned with recycled tire and studs. She also does couture and custom work, including unique wedding attire. Melissa is the founder of Alchemy Collective, established in 2010, where she built a movement for the community, focused on eco-friendly initiatives, a push for local support, an incubator for the arts, a demand for change in a society that needs it, and an evolution of the mind, body, and soul.
To learn more about Melissa, follow her on Instagram.