Allison Grafton is the president and owner of Rockwood Custom Homes. She is married to her husband Kevin and is a dedicated mother of three children. In 2009, Allison turned her passion into a business, having built and/or renovated more than 12 homes over the course of 15 years in her “spare” time.

Recognized for her leadership and entrepreneurial prowess, Allison has been the recipient of many national and local awards. In 2013, Allison was shortlisted as finalist for the E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, Prairies Region, and later that same year, became one of WXN’s Top 100: Canada’s Most Powerful Women. In 2014, Allison again took home WXN honours as well as becoming one of Business in Calgary’s Leaders of Tomorrow and a top three placement as part of PROFIT/Chatelaine Magazine’s W100 Canada’s Top Female Entrepreneurs. In 2015, Allison again made the cut for PROFIT/Chatelaine’s W100, placing 4th of 100 women leaders in Canada, won the prestigious RBC Women of Influence Momentum Award and for the third year in a row, took home WXN Top 100 honours. 

In 2016, Allison was inducted in the WXN Top 100 Hall of Fame and was also awarded a Silver Stevie© Award for Top Female Entrepreneur in Canada.

Allison is passionate about health and well-being and is an active mentor for young business women via the WXN organization.

Allison is passionate about health and well-being; she is a member of the Tiffany’s Circle of women philanthropists for the Canadian Red Cross and an active mentor for young business women via the WXN organization.

Malika is one of our legacy designers who is designing two pieces for our 2017 event. Previously featured in our post here, Malika is a vibrant woman who has become an integral member of the Heart Truth family.

Want to connect to Allison? Reach out through her LinkedIn and Facebook. 

Want to connect with Malika? Reach out through Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn or her website.

You can see Allison in Malika’s design by attending and supporting the Heart Truth Fashion Show on February 11, 2017. Purchase your ticket here.

From our hearts to yours,

The Heart Truth Calgary Family

Malika Rajani is a legacy designer for The Heart Truth Calgary Fashion Show, and she is creating two dresses for our runway in 2017. Malika’s commitment to philanthropy and community finds a perfect match with Ellen Dilawri, of the Dilawri Group.

Ellen Dilawri is a passionate supporter of a variety of philanthropic endeavors and devotes her time to her family and her community. Her favourite causes are those that support children, families and health initiatives. She takes a hands-on approach to her volunteering which is clearly demonstrated by her accomplishments. Among her many contributions, Ellen has picked up a hammer and helped to build houses through the Homes of Hope program for in-need families in Mexico. This program transforms the lives of families in poverty via the gift of a new home. Each year, she collects auction items for the annual Dad & Daughter Gala, an event hosted by Kids Cancer Care. The gala raises vital funds for cancer programs that support children battling cancer and their families.

On a regular basis, she wields a spoon and mobilizes a team of her family and friends to prepare Sunday dinner at the Drop-In Centre and has been doing this since 2013. On the more active side of philanthropy, Ellen recently completed her third Ride to Conquer Cancer, a two-day 220km bike ride in support of the Alberta Cancer Foundation. She looks forward to her 4th Ride next summer. Ellen and her husband Tony reside in Calgary with their children and four dogs. The family is very active in all sports including cycling, running and training. When not chasing after her dogs, Ellen is known to enjoy a glass or two of wine and spending time with her cherished family and friends.

Malika is a treasured participant of our event and her attention to detail, quality of work and passionate spirit reaches far beyond the runway. Born and raised in India where lush vibrant colors, rich textile and hand embroidery are way of life, Malika developed an early interest in art and design. Her life in India helped her understand craftsmanship while her move to Canada has enriched her creative side; the blend of these two worlds enabled her to develop a signature style that exudes quality with modern elegance.

In 2007 Malika moved to New York City to attend the prestigious Parsons School of Design where her work was presented at Lord & Taylor’s 2008 line debut. While at Parsons, Malika had an opportunity to intern for design houses such as Khan Lucas, Ralph Lauren, Red Cat Group and John Varvatos. Malika launched her collection in Summer of 2012 at Passione Boutique; the label’s philosophy lies in the appreciation of high style, quality of finish, and luxury of fabric.

Want to connect with Ellen? Reach out through Instagram.

Want to connect with Malika? Reach out through Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn or her website.

You can see Ellen in Malika’s design by attending and supporting the Heart Truth Fashion Show on February 11, 2017. Purchase your ticket here.

From our hearts to yours,

The Heart Truth Calgary Family

 

Sarine is Senior Vice President and Associate Portfolio Manager with BMO Nesbitt Burns. She is a Chartered Investment Manager and is licensed to manage discretionary client portfolios. She obtained her Bachelor of Commerce Degree (Finance) from the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business.

Born and raised in Calgary, Sarine strongly believes in giving back to her community. She currently serves on the governance committee on the Board of Directors of Hull Services as well as volunteers her time on the Portfolio Advisory Committee at the United Way of Calgary and on the Fund Development Committee at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation. She also currently serves on the Management Advisory Council at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business.

Having obtained her ICD.D designation in 2015, Sarine is also a member of the Institution of Corporate Directors. Outside of the office, Sarine together with her husband and three children enjoy travelling and skiing in the winter.

We couldn’t be more thrilled or grateful to have Mackenize participate in this edition of The Heart Truth Calgary Fashion Show. She creates ornate, detailed, feminine, sexy and powerful pieces – including jewellery as a focus over the last year or two. She plans to create something special for Sarine, in the realm of ‘sexy’ yet honouring modesty, something with full lace and a large voluminous bottom.

If time permits, she also would like to create a custom piece of jewellery incorporating layers of pearls and metal work! She looks forward to working with Sarine to create a design that honours both Sarine’s individuality and Mackenzie’s creativity.

Megan Mackenzie Jones is a multi-media artist working in jewellery and alternative fashion. She has lived her life all over Alberta and is now a Calgary based artist. After an extended trip travelling across Canada, Megan learned to appreciate the beauty in life. Flora and fauna, as well as memory and nostalgia are her main inspirations. Through travel, interaction and life experience she continues to learn about herself and the world around her and strives to translate these experiences into the objects she creates.

Megan graduated from the Alberta College of Art & Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in the Jewellery & Metals Program, and was also the winner of the Board of Governors Award in 2010.

Want to connect to Sarine? Reach out through LinkedIn.

Want to connect to Mackenzie? Reach out through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and her website.

From our hearts to yours,

The Heart Truth Calgary Team

 

We are extremely honoured to have Angela Dale part of our designer roster this year, most specifically sharing her MakeFashion creative talent with us. The opportunity to celebrate design fashion with wearable technology, we knew would be a bold, yet powerful way to showcase the cause of our event – for heart health research and perhaps the future of fashion for good health.

Among her many creative projects, Angela has been part of Calgary Stampede Grandstand Show’s stage and costume creation and also was involved in Chinook Mall’s famous mall living statues at Christmastime! Angela Dale has been designing and building costumes and props for over 25 years. She began her career in Halifax and has since worked in theatre, film, dance and opera in Nova Scotia, British Columbia and Alberta. Angela has a background in theatre and art with a Certificate in Costume Studies from Dalhousie University, a BFA in Fine Arts from NSCAD University and an MFA in Design and Technical Theatre from the University of Calgary.

Her designs have appeared at Dublin Festival of Curiosity 2016, 2015 Maker Awards Shanghai, China, CE Week New York 2015, Augmented World Expo 2014, Make Fashion 2013-2016, Consumer Electronics Show 2014, Maker Faire YYC 2013, 2014, 2015, Maker Faire San Mateo 2013, Calgary Comic Con 2013,2015, Calgary Stampede Grandstand show 2008-2013, Red Deer College Theatre Department, Mount Royal University Theatre Department, Chinook Mall Living Statues 2009, 2010, University of Calgary Theatre Department, Richmond Gateway Theatre, Carousel Theatre, Arts Club Theatre, Vancouver Playhouse, The New Play Centre, Waterfront Theatre, Expo 86, Mulgrave Road Theatre.

Angela has also worked as a wardrobe supervisor, costume cutter, draper, and milliner on numerous theatre and film productions creating a wide variety of the weird and wonderful for the famous and not so famous. Her research interests include wearable art and technology, performative costumes, surface design, fabric manipulation and mask making. Angela lives in the foothills outside Calgary, Alberta and works as a designer and costuming instructor.

Beating beauty; The technology of the dress

Beating Beauty is a Tech Couture ensemble designed and created by Angela Dale, that utilizes the beating heart as a means of expression. Angela has something incredible planned for Kiki, knowing that she is our campaign’s heart health model, and survivor. We feel this red dress will be a perfect place to incorporate a heart rate sensor into a fashion piece to have a pulsing light display that provides a visual of  Kiki’s heartbeat. 

Kiki will be wearing a Polar heart rate sensor which will wirelessly transmit heat beats to a receiver chip in the custom made fascinator. The receiver chip will be wired up to a micro controller and a number of LED’s that will be programmed to pulse with the heart beat. The light from the LED’s will be diffused by a variety of materials in the fascinator to create a soft glowing light display.

We have previously highlighted Kiki Buttignol’s story of heart-health here. Read a snippet of her incredible journey below:

“Having a heart attack is a life changing especially as a 31-year-old woman. My biggest realization was that in order to care for others, I needed to care for myself first.” 

Both Kiki and Angela are sure to delight us on February 11. Still need to purchase your ticket? Purchase yours by visiting us here.

Want to connect to Kiki? Reach out through Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Want to connect to Angela? Reach out through Twitter, LinkedIn and her website.

From our hearts to yours,

The Heart Truth Calgary Team

 

This pairing sees talented designer Lauren Bagliore dress Dragon and entrepreneur Manjit Minhas in what will surely be a show stopping collaboration. Both Lauren and Manjit invest their time in many community and philanthropic efforts despite their incredible professional endeavours.

This Petroleum Engineering student turned beer baroness is the newest Dragon on the hit TV show Dragon’s Den on CBC in its 10 season. Manjit is the co-founder and co-owner of the Minhas Breweries and Distillery. She started her companies at the ripe age of 19 in Alberta, when she launched her beer in Alberta with her partner and brother, Ravinder Minhas. Together, they gave the big boys a run for their money, thereby becoming the first successful company to enter the Canadian beer industry in many decades. Over the last few years, wherever Manjit and Ravinder have entered the marketplace, and especially in Canada, they have single handedly caused a huge stir in the marketplace. In late 2008, Manjit co-wrote a book on her remarkable story, business philosophies and the history of the brewery she bought. The hardcover 108 page glossy book is titled “Brewing Up a Damn Good Story.”

Last year Manjit’s companies had revenues in excess of $155 million. Manjit has been nominated and has won several business industry awards. Manjit serves as a Board of Director for The TransCanada Trail and West Island College. Manjit is born and raised in Calgary and still calls it home with her husband and they have two young children.

Lauren Bagliore is a NYC/YYC-living fashion designer has previous participated in the Toronto event, with her debut in Calgary this 2017. Lauren is an incredibly talented and passionate woman and successful entrepreneur. With opening up her first concept shop almost two years ago located in Inglewood, Calgary, Lauren continues to create collections that inspire her clients, the industry and the local community.

Lauren’s style is edgy, minimalistic, modern and monochromatic; she surprises her followers with pieces that contain pops of colour – occasionally pink and red. We’re fortunate to have Lauren create something special in red for Manjit to showcase on our runway.

Want to connect with Manjit? Reach out through Twitter and Instagram.

Want to connect with Lauren? Reach out through Twitter, concept shop Instagram and her personal Instagram.

From our hearts to yours,

Heart Truth Calgary Family

Marsina is a legacy designer of the Heart Truth Calgary Fashion Show. We cannot imagine the event without Marsina’s thoughtful and empathetic approach to community philanthropy. Pairing Marsina with Ebony was an easy choice. Both Marsina and Ebony capture the strength and passion that our event treasures so deeply.

The inspiration for Marsina’s design came from the idea of “many hearts coming together to make something beautiful.” Marsina’s design embodies a story that reflects her interpretation of what the fundraising campaign means to her. From this reflection, Marsina translated the many hearts coming together concept literally onto the dress as follows:

The top of the dress will be made from velvet and the skirt will be dupioni or raw silk. Marsina will create and piece together frayed heart appliqués to affix to the hem of the skirt and cascade upwards, in a reverse waterfall layout. All of the appliqués will be created by layering a number of red/metallic toned fabrics together (laces, chiffons, prints, solids) and strategically cutting the edges to create a layered and frayed look. Marsina will place these organically shaped hearts in groups to mimic floral arrangements.

The pattern on the skirt will be a multitude of ‘frayed heart appliqués’ individually stitched and constructed to come together. And although the hearts may be frayed individually, they join one another to make a beautiful and strong mosaic collectively.

By day, Marsina is a business professional spending her days working full time downtown Calgary. By night, she spends her time sewing, drawing and dreaming about evening wear. Marsina’s love for fashion began at a young age when she learned the fundamentals of sewing. From there, Marsina attained a Bachelors of Design in Fashion Design from Ryerson University in Toronto. After owning MaNoKin Design (her own clothing business) for a number of years,  she found her love of fashion aligned with the creativity and beauty of a well constructed garment and not so much with the commercial side of the business.

For that reason, she made the decision to continue her love affair with fashion on a selective basis, and only when the project spoke to her on a personal level. Evening wear design is how Marsina finds the romance in fashion. It is a fulfilling feeling for Marsina when a sketch evokes an emotional response, as if creating a personal connection to the piece. Marsina’s favourite parts of the design process are sketching ideas, sourcing fabrics, and sewing the intricate hand detailing that can almost always be seen on her pieces.

Ebony Lewis, born and raised in Calgary, is a proud mother of two. After attending YWAM in Kona, Hawaii, Ebony jumped into her career as a sales associate and remained in sales with ENMAX and later TransAlta. Ebony’s passion for people and loving relationships has created many long lasting friendships and support.  Juggling a full time career as single mom, Ebony has supported several causes that helped her develop a strong sense of community and leadership among those around her. 

Ebony has supported and raised funds for Janus Academy in Calgary for five years, and directly supported the Ride to Conquer Cancer for six years. It is very apparent to Ebony that caring for others (and yourself) is a priority.  A strong sense of faith and the belief that being kind is number one to herself and her children is always on Ebony’s mind. Ebony is passionate about enjoying life and the “now.” Ebony beleives on focusing on today, not tomorrow or yesterday.  

According to Ebony, “Be present, love yourself, stay strong and healthy – this will reveal  an inner joy that will inspire those around you.” This is a motto that we completely agree with!

Want to connect to Ebony? Reach out through LinkedIn.

Want to connect to Marsina? Reach out through Instagram.

From our hearts to yours,

Heart Truth Calgary Family

We love the dichotomy and excitement behind our next pairing; Beth Reimer-Heck, Board Director and Queen’s Council-Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG), and designer Marina Ortman. 

Beth Reimer-Heck has the rare combination of extensive experience at both the board and executive level in the business, legal, community and government realms. Beth has 14 years of experience on a variety of boards and numerous board committees including positions of Vice-Chair and Chair of the Board and Chair of various board committees. The focus of Beth‘s board work has included governance and compliance,strategic development and oversight, and enterprise and risk management. Beth is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors and is accredited with their ICD.D designation. Beth has specializations in energy, governance and compliance, retail, telecommunications, and transformational change. Beth holds the pre-eminent role of counsel with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Canada’s largest national law firm. Beth spent the majority of her career with TELUS where she served in both management and legal positions.

Beth has contributed her time to many not-for-profits as a board member including SAIT Polytechnic, Banff Centre Foundation, Minerva Foundation, Young President’s Organization, and Alberta Advisory Council on Women‘s Issues. She was nominated for the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada and for Women‘s Executive Network: Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada. She was appointed Queen‘s Counsel for the Province of Alberta.

“Born From Rebellion, Worn With Attitude” is the motto for the line of accessories and custom designs by Marina Ortman (DOME’). DOME’s work is unprecedented, sexy, wild and futuristic. Crafted and textured by hand, each piece is a distinct work of art moulded to an individual’s style and charisma. Marina Ortman resides and works in the City of Calgary. Marina’s work goes from a twist of design in a simple accessory to an abundance of movement and texture in sculptured leather jackets.

Marina’s love of luxury leather and most recent work is reflective of Beth’s classic style – with an edge – and Beth’s admiration for “suits.” Marina will create something that pairs glamour and elegance with Beth’s love for tailored and conservative attire. Marina’s design will be constructed of red leather, chiffon and choice gem stones. Marina is also looking to combine elements of classicism infused with a modern lifestyle.

Want to connect with Beth? Reach out through Twitter and LinkedIn.

Want to connect with Marina? Reach out through Twitter, Instagram, Facebook  and Etsy.

From our hearts to yours,

Heart Truth Calgary Family

These two newcomers to the Heart Truth family are an exciting duo! Danielle Lappage grew up in the small town of Olds, Alberta, as the second oldest child of four siblings. She was involved in many different sports growing up and as a result, was always an athletic and competitive individual. Danielle was first introduced to the sport of wrestling in sixth grade when a couple of her friends joined the school’s wrestling team and convinced her to come out to a practice to try it out. Her love for the sport has been growing ever since and in 2006, Danielle made her first ‘Cadet’ national team. Since this time, she has been a member of Team Canada and has had the opportunity to represent Canada at many international events – including the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio!

Danielle moved from Olds to Vancouver, BC in the fall of 2008 to attend Simon Fraser University (SFU) and to wrestle for SFU’s varsity wrestling team. Danielle graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in Criminology in June 2013 and finished her university wrestling career as a three time WCWA national champion. Danielle decided to continue her education at SFU, and enrolled in graduate school in the fall of 2013. In September 2015 she successfully defended her thesis which focused on the topic of “gender and policing”. She is currently a full time athlete living in Vancouver and wrestling for the Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club.

We are extremely excited to have Maria Orduz part of our show this year, most specifically sharing her MakeFashion creative talent with us. The opportunity to celebrate design fashion with wearable technology will be an incredible way to showcase the cause of our event, for heart health research – and perhaps the future of fashion for good health. Maria and her team have something incredible planned for Danielle. Maria Orduz is a Colombian-born fashion designer with a passion for creativity, innovation and technology.

A Fashion grad from George Brown College in Toronto, Maria has over six years of professional experience in the industry. She has worked in apparel design for major Canadian retailers including Mark’s Work Wearhouse, as well as several wearable art and wearable technology initiatives landing her shows in San Francisco, NYC and Shanghai . Her work has been highlighted in publications such as Elle Canada online, Avenue Magazine, Metro news, and several North American fashion and lifestyle blogs. Maria is happiest when involved in unconventional projects pushing her own creative boundaries, in which play and instinct are key. She is mostly inspired by music, the perfection of nature, and edgy architecture.

Want to connect to Danielle? Reach out through Twitter, Instagram and her website.

Want to connect to Maria? Reach out through LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and her website.

From our hearts to yours,

Heart Truth Calgary Family