Extraordinary Encounters
Exceptional individuals share their stories.
Simons' walls from coast to coast are alive with art that tells stories of community, place, and memory. The pieces imbue our stores with distinct personalities and give each a unique shine.
Every store we've opened has given us the opportunity to meet extraordinary artists from Canada and abroad. Over the years, our ties with the artistic community have formed an inspiring tapestry that stretches across the country.
For March 8th this year, we wanted to highlight some of the women whose work is featured on our walls. We selected four artists who work in a variety of mediums including ink, rope, wool, and paint.
We asked three of them to tell us about their role as artists, who inspires them, and what their aspirations are, and we're paying tribute to the fourth, who passed away 20 years ago.
Let us introduce you.
CF Toronto Eaton Centre, Toronto
“I view landscape art as a window to a time and a place. It's an opportunity to reflect on how we live and how we alter the land, without passing judgement. I want to point things out and leave them open to interpretation.” Karine Locatelli lives in the Charlevoix region which she depicts in ink on her largescale, raw canvasses. She inhabits her subject matter, forming an organic connection between art and nature. Through her embodied practice, she depicts real, lived-in landscapes that are never idealized.
Your work is based on a poetic and experiential approach to landscapes. How do you nourish your inner landscape?
I get a lot of nourishment from daily life in the country, spending time in nature, and art in general, as well as by surrounding myself with handmade objects and reading poetry by native Quebecers and immigrants to the province. All these things are related because they require you to be patient, slow down, and observe.
Most of the big names in the pleinairiste (landscape art) tradition that Charlevoix is known for are men. What do you hope to achieve by reviving this tradition?
My ambition is collective. I'm proud to be part of a new generation of women artists, along with Charlevoix painter Josiane Lanthier, who also explores this classic theme through her personal, singular style. For me, studying the land involves research in all fields, including visual arts.
In what ways does your work reflect political and sociological issues?
I try to capture landscapes that are not necessarily picturesque, but that are part of our daily lives. Snow dumps, for example. These ephemeral mountains are an integral part of our winter landscape that speak to our harsh winters, as well as to all the labour and resources dedicated to snow management. Today, this issue has become political and socially relevant, with schools forbidding kids to play on these mounds because it could be dangerous.
How would you like to see the role of women in society evolve?
I'd like to tackle this question through the lens of visual arts. I see so many female artists with successful careers here and internationally who are virtually never mentioned in the media. My dream is for us to be proud of them, for our media to talk extensively about them, and for major art institutions to make more space for them in their programming.
Galeries d'Anjou, Anjou
Painter and weaver Mariette Rousseau-Vermette paved the way for countless other artists. In 2026, we're celebrating one hundred years since she was born.
A pioneer of textile arts in Canada, Rousseau-Vermette created tapestries that play with volume, relief, and colour, drawing inspiration from Quebec's natural landscape. Her monumental abstract pieces cemented her status as part of the Nouvelle tapisserie textile art movement, which dominated Quebec's modern architectural environment in the 1960s.
Donald Simons met the artist in the late 1960s and after a visit to her studio, commissioned the piece Éclat de joie. The tapestry initially took pride of place in the Simons family home, sharing the space with a tile floor by Claude Vermette, Mariette's husband. Now on display in our Galeries d'Anjou store in Montreal, the piece reflects the special connection our company has with fabrics, while paying tribute to an exciting period for the arts in Quebec.
In 2023, the tapestry was lent to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts for its Parall(elles) exhibit, which celebrated the major contributions women have made to the world of design and examined the reasons why those contributions have been underrepresented throughout history.
Like embroidery and beadwork, weaving has long been viewed as a craft and more generally as women's work, often relegating this highly technical practice to a mere hobby. Through the extraordinary work of artists like Mariette Rousseau-Vermette and Dorothy Liebes in the United States, tapestry weaving has been recognized as a means of expression in its own right, deserving of the utmost respect.
Twenty years after her death, Mariette Rousseau-Vermette's work continues to shine in private collections and museums around the world.
Halifax Shopping Centre, Halifax
“Art exposes the unseen, shares buried histories, and reclaims narratives from new perspectives.” Through her art, Melanie Colosimo is taking up space and challenging traditional ideas of power, reimagining the world in the process. Her work is inexorably tied to Atlantic Canada and the resilient people who have helped the region thrive but have also witnessed it struggle and change over time. Using her critical eye, Melanie examines notions of progress, gender, and masculinity in her work, drawing out larger themes of collective care and resourcefulness.
Where do you draw inspiration from? Who are the women who inspire you?
My work is inspired by growing up along the East Coast, and by my experience as a woman working alongside men. I've always admired my grandmother, mother, and aunts on both sides of my family. They are exceptionally strong, resourceful, and witty. I've witnessed how much they've sacrificed to care for loved ones and their communities—how hard they work to bring people together. I have been fortunate to be mentored by women leaders throughout my career, and working with them has strongly impacted my artistic practice.
What does the juxtaposition of industrial materials and fibre arts convey in your work?
I often recreate utilitarian objects that symbolize structure and industry from soft, malleable materials to recontextualize their purpose and rob them of their power. In Community Ties, the combination of techniques opens a dialogue between strength and vulnerability. The contrast between industrial rope and delicate crochet highlights the resilience inherent in softness and the care embedded within strength. This juxtaposition invites viewers to consider how support, repair, and connection—often associated with women's work—are essential to the fabric of any society.
In Community Ties, why was it important to you to accentuate the role of women?
Often, when I would hear or read stories of industries closing and how that impacted rural communities, the focus was on the story of the men, the husbands, and little was mentioned about the women, the wives, daughters, and grandmothers. I wanted to remind people of how these massive changes affected the women trying to hold things together. How they survived increased spousal abuse, alcoholism, and taking care of their unemployed spouses on top of their existing responsibilities to their children and community. Crocheting is a metaphor for the complex, interconnected nature of their roles within the family and community.
How would you like to see the role of women in society evolve?
I'd like to see women have a greater presence in leadership positions, equal access to opportunities, and credit for their contributions. It's also crucial to recognize how factors such as race, class, and cultural background shape women's opportunities and experiences.
The Core, Calgary
Maya Gohill is a painter at heart. Lucky for us, she's also an artist in real life! Her rich, colourful work can be found throughout Calgary, including a large-scale mural in our Simons' store. This talented Canadian artist is also an educator and parenting coach, and her experiences in both these areas have profoundly influenced her life and art. Maya taps into everyday magic and the joy that comes from her creative process is clear to see. The women who inspire her push boundaries and challenge expectations, and Maya channels that same sense of zeal and authenticity in her own eclectic, fun, curious art.
Where do you draw inspiration from? Who are the women who inspire you?
I am drawn to artists and designers whose style and approach carries a distinct daring and boldness—those who have pushed beyond the norms of what's considered possible for a female artist to accomplish. I'm inspired by women who explore uncharted territory, push the envelope of expectations and perceptions, and offer the rest of us the quiet but powerful idea of “so can I.”
How does art function as a form of protest?
Art has always been a place to explore what cannot easily be spoken out loud. It makes a statement that goes beyond words, expressing the full range of the human condition. For many marginalized voices, art offers a way to speak, be seen, and be felt.
In these times, has it become even more important for you to find joy in artistic expression?
Many of us are experiencing heightened emotions about the world we live in and our relationship to it. There is a great deal of uncertainty. I often have to remind myself that I can only create change within my own capacity. At times, my mind is hard to quiet. That's when my studio time becomes incredibly grounding and healing. It is a place of solace and clarity for me.
Your mural for Simons at The Core stretches over three floors. Was there a specific narrative that you envisioned for customers to discover?
My aim was to create vignettes on each floor that would reveal a holistic story. At the time, I was deeply interested in absurdity, whimsy, and playfulness, which informed the subject matter and the use of pattern and colour. I wanted that spirit to be felt throughout the experience, unfolding in layers and revealing itself at different stages when moving through the space.
How do your experiences with teaching and parenthood inform your artistic practice?
Teaching keeps things fresh because you are working with younger people who are ready to explore unfiltered and unhindered. That energy is contagious, and it's what I have always loved about it.
Parenting has had a profound impact on my practice, because it has had the greatest impact on me as a person. Many people don't know this about me, but I am also a certified Conscious Parenting coach. The lived experience of approaching my life with greater awareness of my thoughts, beliefs, and patterns has created a freedom and authenticity that also shapes my art. I strive to create from a deeper, more intuitive place.
How would you like to see the role of women in society evolve?
We are already evolving in ways that truly blow my mind. I see far less toxicity and comparison between women than the “take-down” mentality that was pervasive decades ago. We are more empowered than ever before, and I can only see that momentum growing.
I would love to see women leading culture from a place of deep intuition and connection, not by contorting ourselves to fit an outdated patriarchal paradigm.
