POCAM National Indigenous History Month 2024 Profile: Janelle Desrosiers
Written By: Deyra Jaye Fontaine, Steering Committee member at POCAM - People of Colour in Advertising & Marketing
Imagine waking up every day to work with clients who are “hellbent on changing the world”. Sounds like a meaningful way to spend your day, don’t you think?
This is how Janelle Desrosiers (she/they) describes the work she does as the award-winning founder and creative director of Bloom + Brilliance – a business she grew from a one-person shop to an agency of 12 talented people. “I strongly believe in using our gifts to make the world a better place. My team is so passionate, creative, skilled, and dedicated, so it’s a huge honour to work alongside them” Janelle says proudly.
I first heard Janelle speak on a podcast in 2022. I was immediately inspired by the way she leads every conversation with her values of relationship-building, community spirit, and positive impact. Values that are core to how Bloom + Brilliance manages its projects and clients.
“We’re constantly working on decolonizing and Indigenizing the way we work,” Janelle explains. “This goes for everything from the way we communicate and market ourselves to how we’re pushing design standards in the industry.”
As the leader of a queer, Indigenous, intersectional feminist-led agency, Janelle knows what it’s like to battle misconceptions in advertising and marketing.
“The onus is often put on us to create space and opportunities for our communities,” Janelle says. “But the reality is, systems have been designed to purposefully exclude Indigenous peoples from education, networks, clubs, lists, directories, and so on. For meaningful change to happen, non-BIPOC people need to do more self-education, self-reflection, and actively seek out safe, respectful and mutually beneficial relationships with us.”
Janelle has ties to the historic Métis communities of Ste. Anne and Richer and belongs to the Manitoba Métis Federation. Outside of work, she enjoys art, creative writing and spending time with her husband and young son. “Toot lii zaanfaan ii son sacrii”, which means “all children are sacred” in French Michif (Red River Métis), is one of her favourite sayings.
Her response to people who say it’s too difficult to find Indigenous people in the industry? “They’re not looking hard enough!” she exclaims. “They need to make an effort to go outside of their well-trodden paths and usual networks if they truly want to be inclusive.”
I couldn't agree more! 👏🏾
Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us, Janelle Desrosiers.
Make sure to follow Janelle on LinkedIn to keep up with the exciting projects at Bloom + Brilliance.
