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What’s stopping you from following your dreams? For mentee Yvonne, even being well into pregnancy didn’t derail her ambition! Read on for more about Yvonne Ducharme’s experiences with her mentor Iris Lauzon in Creative Manitoba’s Professional Mentorship Program!
Yvonne Ducharme
Yvonne Ducharme’s (she/her) journey started in 2022 when she had the desire to sew. She needed a ribbon skirt for a powwow and knew she had to create it. After some help from a great friend, the proud feeling she had after finishing made her want to keep going, beyond ribbon skirts into more handmade indigenous art.
In 2026, with a diploma from Fashion Accelerator Entrepreneur, she met Iris and absorbed her teachings ‘like a sponge’. She quickly learned that sewing would be her career choice from that day forward.
Iris Lauzon
Iris Lauzon is a dedicated designer with a rich background in the textile industry, encompassing various roles and experience.
Iris has worked in different areas of the textile industry, including factory work, alterations, retail, theatre, and film. She has also coordinated numerous fashion shows and managed a boutique named Aboriginal Designers Marketing Co-op Ltd. Recently she has been involved in a pilot project to assist design students in preparing their work for manufacturing.
Inspired by her mentor Yvonne Yuen, Iris has used fabric as her paint and emphasizes continuous and improvement in her design work. She is motivated by her desire to improve her sewing skills and those of her people.
Mentee Yvonne Ducharme (left) and mentor Iris Lauzon (right). Iris helped Yvonne refocus her arts practice and zero in on the parts of the discipline she was interested in, such as women's and children's clothing and expanding her skillset with beading and regalia.
How long have you been a practicing artist?
I have been a practicing artist since 2022.
- Yvonne
I’ve been practicing my art for 30 years.
- Iris
(Left to right) Yvonne works at a drafting table to plot out pattern pieces, sewing the ribbon skirt, and a completed jingle dress.
What have you been working on together?
I took my sewing directive into a different path, I am working on women’s clothing and children’s wear. I’ve taken a liking to creating regalia and including beadwork into my designs.
- Yvonne
My focus with Yvonne was to let her design and guide her in the steps to bring her piece to life from a thought in her head to drawing it out, planning the stages in building and the importance of prep which she discovered is 75% of the process.
- Iris
“The feeling of accomplishment knowing you did it with your own two hands is empowering, especially as an indigenous woman/mother. ”
- Yvonne, on what brings her joy
What aspect of your work brings you joy?
I really enjoy the ending of sewing when all of the work I did comes together and I can visually see what I did in front of me. The feeling of accomplishment knowing you did it with your own two hands is empowering, especially as an indigenous woman/mother. Nobody can take that independence away from you once you have the knowledge.
- Yvonne
That’s easy. It all comes down to one moment. After all the hours that you put into this one piece, as you see it forming and you what you’ve created. What’s even better is when you can share that moment with someone.
- Iris
What have been your most positive takeaways from this mentorship session? Any favourite results or moments?
A positive outcome in working with Iris in this CMPM program was how she constantly supported me through the process and always checked in on me, working around my busy home life. She was extremely patient. When we worked together in her studio, we went non-stop, you wouldn’t believe the amount of time it took to do small tasks. I was excited when we were finished because of how beautiful our jingle dress turned out.
- Yvonne
A positive outcome is that she completed her project. I teach in this area but I always learn as well from my students. Yvonne is proud of her work and honestly that’s one of the best things to see, when a student grasps what is being taught and uses their own creative brain to problem solve and look for solutions.
I am so very impressed with her determination to see it to the end. Being in her last months of pregnancy didn’t really slow her down, she had her mind set. She a true designer.
