Dominique was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She began making art as soon as she could hold a pencil.  Dominique studied art at the Forum Art Centre, in high school and in university.  She became a professional Makeup Artist in 2011 and pursued her career to Toronto, Ontario. She specializes in special effects, prosthetics, and creature design. During her studies in the makeup industry, she learnt through her father’s work in genealogy that she and her family are Métis. In 2018, Dominique became a citizen of the Manitoba Métis Federation. Learning she is Métis (ancestors being swampy Cree from Treaty no.1), she knew little of her heritage but became interested in this and she began her journey to discover her history.

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In 2021, Dominique also became a citizen of the Metis Nation of Ontario. Through their organization, she began participating in workshops that specialized in bead weaving, embroidery, and tufting.  Dominique’s interest in her roots led her to learn about the culture of her people. Through this process, she fell in love with handcrafting jewelry pieces. Bead weaving makes her feel at peace and connected to her heritage.

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With limitless patterns and colours to choose from, Dominique began to turn to pop culture, movies, or any subject that sparked her creativity and knowledge and skills to implement into her pieces. “Using traditional bead weaving techniques to rekindle and honour my heritage, I wanted to add a piece of me into my craft. For example, I love Disney, so a pair of earrings may be influenced by a character, the colour palette of the movie or a pattern I see within the movie. I want to create pieces that people can recognize from their favourite fandoms through a skill that has been passed down by generations to keep our culture alive.”  Dominique crafts pieces while she is pursuing a career in Video Game Design and Animation. She hopes that many will enjoy her pieces as she continues to evolve in her craft.