The week of Monday, March 21, 2016, SHIFTER Magazine will be presenting its first article series called The Creators. We’ve brought together a roster of creative entrepreneurs in business, music, fashion, art and entertainment to bring you insight into how to get started in these industries.
Our contributors include:
SOLA OGUNBITAN, CEO of Role Model Records
Sola Ogunbitan is the founder and CEO of Role Model Records, where they don’t aim to be successful, but strive to be significant. Current artists include DJ Lagit, Juliem, Shopé and DruBex.
DIMITRIOS SEYMOUR, President of Dimitrios Management Group
Dimitrios Seymour- Canada’s Top 100 Most Influential People, 2014 and Faces Magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year, 2013 – has been steadily building DMG into an international destination, incorporating fashion, television, sports and music representation at a high-level. Dimitrios graduated from the University of Ottawa with a degree in Commerce with Honours. He utilized his 18 years of entertainment background to diligently assemble the pieces towards building an award-winning management company. Appointed as AMTI’s home base in the fashion & entertainment capital of Canada, Dimitrios also serves as the Director of AMTI: Toronto, managed by DMG. Established in 1990, with their head-office based in Ottawa, AMTI is credited with having discovered some of Canada’s brightest stars, including: Ryan Gosling (Drive, The Notebook), John-Alan Slachta (Life With Boys, Make It Pop) and Herieth Paul (Tom Ford, The Gap).
DAX LAFORT, Visual Artist
“I am passionate about art, I love to express myself through my art,” says Dax Lafort. For Dax, it’s not just about expressing herself through art, she endeavours to bring attention to social issues of our day. Though her style varies from realistic to expressionistic, her goal with each piece of art remains the same- evoke an emotion, connect and speak to others through art. Dax Lafort is an artist born and raised in Ottawa, Canada. She moved to Pensacola, Florida to Study Graphic Design at Pensacola Christian College in 2010. In 2012 she returned to Ottawa where continued her education in Fine Arts at the Ottawa School of Art. In March 2014 she received The Wallacks Art Scholarship. Dax then displayed her work at Winterlude, Nuit Blanche Ottawa-Gatineau 2015, Holt Renfrew, and assisted Jeffery Farmer, a renowned Vancouver based artist with a photomosaic for The National Gallery of Canada. She is currently in her last year of completing her Fine Arts Diploma at the Ottawa School of Art.
DIMITRI BOWEYA-NGOMBO, Creative Director of Sans Façon
Dimitri Boweya Ngombo is the founder and creative director of Sans Façon since 2006. Now in its tenth year of business, the label has managed to position itself as the purveyor of unique fashion accessories. Clients praise his company for its sense of innovation and unique style. Dimitri is also a public speaker who advises businesses, organizations and individuals on the foundation of responsibility and how this determines the types of footprints we will leave on the pages of History. Dimitri is married to author Andrea Boweya. The couple have two daughters, Maya and Letititia. The family lives in Toronto.
THOMAS CUMBERBATCH, President of Godzspeed Communications
Thomas Cumberbatch was born in Ottawa, Canada to Caribbean parents. He’s a husband, father, and lover of art who serves as the creative director/owner at Godzspeed Communications, a branding and digital media firm. At Godzspeed they’re obsessed with identity and purpose. They connect with their clients on intimate yet analytical levels to convey the soul of their corporate and/or personal brands through strategy, art and digital media. Thomas firmly believes that “inspiration is the currency of creative thought” and leads a life that engenders inspiration and creativity.
See below for more information about The Creators article series:
