We’re excited to share with you a new series in our blog for you to get to know the wonderful people that make Pigeon, Pigeon. As a women-led business, we’re kicking off our first Q&As with a sampling of a few of the women across both Toronto and Montreal offices and multiple departments to give you a little glimpse of the person behind the branding work – you’ll be surprised with some of the answers!

Catherine Potvin, Graphic Designer

How long have you been at Pigeon?

Brigitte: 14 years.

Catherine: Almost 2 years.

Nathalie: I have been working at Pigeon for 22 years now (I know that sounds like a long time). I was hired as a freelancer for one project but never left.

Violaine : I have been with Pigeon since September 2020.

Gillian : 3 years .

Sarah : 4 years.

Amy: 7ish years (I took a break to do my MBA and attempted a stint as a Makeup Artist!).

Amy Pigeon, Marketing Manager, 360 + Social

Which accounts do you primarily work on?

Brigitte: All of them in the Montreal office 🙂 I’m in finance.

Catherine: Metro.

Nathalie: Arctic Gardens, Adrien Gagnon, Dainty, Intersand (various brands), Ferme des Voltigeurs… and the Pigeon portfolio and communications.

Violaine: Metro provides me with the heaviest workload, but I review essentially everything the studio has to deliver!

Gillian: IKEA, VQA, Wildly Delicious, Flourish, Canadian Tire .

Sarah: Hershey’s, Irving, Perdue, Compass (Goodz).

Amy: Pigeon’s marketing communications and SunCandy and Tafisa for social media content.

Brigitte Pires, Client Services Coordinator

What’s your favourite thing about what you do at Pigeon?

Brigitte: The teamwork.

Catherine: I love the beginning of a design project when we are challenged with juggling our creative freedom with the objectives of a brief.

Nathalie: Being able to transcribe the personality of a brand or a product into images, defining its visual and graphic universe and looking for ways to express it. I also enjoy taking care of our brand image as an agency and our Pigeon portfolio. It’s always exciting and challenging to try to show all our expertise and talents in the best possible way while remaining honest and true.

Violaine: The feeling that my work makes a difference, even though it can be a pain in the neck for some.

Sarah: Working with an amazing, versatile and talented creative team with diverse backgrounds and skills.

Gillian: Working in Integrated Production across multiple clients allows variety in both the projects and categories of products.

Amy: No two days are ever the same. I love collaborating with inspiring creatives every day, and working with clients with such big house-hold brand names.

Gillian Brown, Account Director and Head of 360 Communications

What is your favourite brand and why?

Catherine: Patagonia – the quality of the products is great, and their honesty with their customers and commitment to the environment is wonderful.

Nathalie: I’m not sure I have a favourite brand, but I love the way Hermès, such a luxurious brand, plays with its image. I love its iconic orange colour, its classic codes and the way it quietly partners with artists and designers to create a unique language. I find it subtly rock’n’roll for such a classic brand.

Violaine: Sennelier, a 1887 French artist supply manufacturer. It’s an iconic brand of high quality, high-end pigments, and they use social media like pros. You wouldn’t believe how buttery their oil pastels feel!

Sarah: Nike – a brand that transcends sport and lifestyle where no matter your beliefs, race, gender or sexuality they have had the courage to speak out against injustices rather than remain quiet and try to appeal to all.

Gillian: I don’t have a singular favourite brand, I have brands that are my favourite for a variety of practical reasons based on their function in my life: Jeep for our vehicle, Global cooking knives, Yeti water bottle & dog bowl, Blunstone boots, Toms for casual shoes, Frye for ballet flats, Found my Animal pet accessories, Costco (do I even need to explain Costco)

Amy: Ben and Jerry’s. They’ve managed to keep their small town, Vermont roots in their visual brand while building massive global scale through amazing energy via humour and exciting flavours, and not to mention, a delicious product!

Violaine Ducharme, Proofreader and Translator

What would you have done for a career if you didn’t end up in the agency world?

Brigitte: Anywhere in finance.

Catherine: I would have written a novel, worked in television or continued in the restaurant industry.

Nathalie: As a child I wanted to be a carpenter or a sound engineer, but I might have ended up as a baker or a pastry chef if I hadn’t encountered graphic design.

Sarah: Ski Patrol – my love of skiing in the mountains with a desire to help and keep people safe would be fun!

Violaine: I sincerely don’t know, because I feel this job is tailor-made for me. But in my dreams, I would have been an artist. I’m working on that!

Gillian: Own a hobby farm with sheep and goats making milk and cheese products (still my retirement goals).

Amy: I thought I was going to be in the WNBA as I was growing up, until I realized I was short. I’m also known to be a bit of a Makeup Artist, so that would be the backup plan – and the pipedream would be to become a travel influencer.

Nathalie Versini, Design Director

What’s something about you that would surprise most people?

Brigitte: I have a college degree in Photolithographie.

Catherine: I backpacked for 9 months traveling and lived in Iceland for 1 year. A great experience!

Nathalie: Some days I can listen to London Calling by the Clash all day to focus and I like watching Asian, not just Korean dramas and Indian films only in the original version with English subtitles (even if I’m French).

Sarah: I am on a curling team. I wouldn’t say I am the most talented, but I make up for it with enthusiasm!

Violaine: I take long walks to forage plant and flower seeds in order to plant them everywhere in my neighbourhood (Never on private grounds though, don’t worry!)

Gillian: I took a year off work and adulting to peruse my passion of cooking, went to George Brown for their Chef Training  program and worked at a restaurant called George during school, of Toronto’s top 10 restaurants (that now has a Michelin Star nod) .

Amy: I am absolutely terrified of birds. Particularly… pigeons.

Sarah Pender, Design Director

Do you have any hidden talents?

Catherine: I wish!

Nathalie: It’s not really hidden anymore, but I have a “food blog” and I can stay up all night to make buns – http://www.quelques-choses.com

Sarah: I am also a professional family and baby portrait photographer.

Violaine: I can cut perfectly with scissors the tiny images on postal stamps for my collages.

Gillian: Not that I can think of, I am sure there is something that I only do in front of my family but I think is normal.

Amy: Not so secret – but I’m an avid (intermediate) salsa dancer, and I make a mean omelette.

If you could have dinner with anyone dead or alive, who would it be?

Brigitte: My grandmother, she was a huge inspiration to me.

Catherine: I would have dinner with the character Ross from Friends, and we would have a heated debate over the topic of whether or not him and Rachel were “on a break”.

Nathalie: Maria Grazia Chiuri (artistic director of the Dior women’s collections), Gisèle Halimi (Tunisian-born lawyer, feminist activist and French politician) and Vivienne Westwood. Three inspiring, strong, and committed women, each with a very personal way of fighting to the causes they believe in.

Sarah: David Attenborough.

Violaine: The grandpa I didn’t get the chance to know because he passed away when I was a toddler. My mother often tells me how well I would have gotten along with him.

Gillian : My grandmother on my mother’s side – I was young when she passed and didn’t have the opportunity to learn adult life lessons from her.

Amy: Tim Burton. Hands down, 100% my biggest creative inspiration. I’ve been enamoured with his bizarre yet impressive style since watching The Nightmare Before Christmas as a child – the way he seamlessly juxtaposes such contradictory concepts of child-like wonder with twisted, macabre fascinates me.

Where do you seek creative inspiration?

Brigitte: Pinterest.

Catherine: Instagram, from Montreal illustrators, at in local shops and cafés.

Nathalie: Museums, the street, books, fashion, music, magazines, TV shows, discussions… it may sound a bit cliché, but inspiration can come from anywhere. You have to keep your eyes and ears open. My daughters are also a great source of inspiration. They are always introducing me to new things, pushing me to try things I might not have done and stay curious. As young women facing both new realities and ongoing challenges that come with being a woman, they help me keep my feet on the ground and stay in touch with a constantly changing world.

Sarah: Often my kids. They look at the world with open hearts and minds and can be truly inspiring to hear the ideas of people with enormous imagination.

Violaine: Nature… and Instagram. I know. Man, what a rabbit hole it can be, right?

Gillian: Antique stores and online forums. We do a lot of DIY around our house, so we are constantly searching for the next best thing that we want to build, design, fix or make better. I also am an avid consumer of social media for inspiration or to see how other people did what we are looking to do.

Amy: Sometimes it’s scrolling through TikTok when I see a fun video concept I want to recreate or do my own original take on – but most often it will just be listening to music. I often get random creative concepts that pop into my head for video content just listening to music…. the best one is inspired by “Internet Friends” I’ll be filming for this Halloween 😉

How do you describe your style?

Brigitte: Simple.

Catherine: Cool and relaxed.

Nathalie: Simple with a twist, a lot of black, honest.

Violaine: Very low profile – I don’t particularly like to stand out. Maybe I’ll become a colourful, raging granny in my old days to get some balance.

Gillian: Practical – I like simple, comfortable things and clothing that is appropriate for the activity.

Amy: Derelict-chic. The pandemic did a lot for wide-spread acceptance of my love of sweatpants. But I do love to play dressup and change my style around a lot bouncing between urban, artsy, feminine and athletic.