THE BRAND

Coo-Mon is a brand of casual chic fashion, bow ties, hair accessories, belts, clothes for young girls as well as decorative accessories. The items are inspired by textiles from different regions of the globe with the particularity of combining various textures and patterns. Coo-Mon aims to mesh together different cultures in order to create beautiful and meaningful items. Coo-Mon’s Products would like to share with their clients and collaborators values of respect, communication, diversity and innovation.

MISSION

Coo-Mon provides casual chic fashion items inspired by the various continents and colors of the world that are designed for customers with a thirst for discovery and openness to other cultures
We offer not just a product, but a trip around the world through textiles.

ABOUT ME
From Biomedical sciences to sewing
When a passion chooses you, the universe organized itself to bring you there at all costs
I am from Benin, a country where costum clothing is the norm. However, it is not always easy to get back from a tailor, clothing or accessory identical to what you ordered originally if this is not the reproduction of an existing model.
I then became interested in sewing, telling myself that if I knew how to do it, I could sew some models for myself. My crave for learning led me to follow sewing courses during two summers with my scholarship during my bachelor degree in Benin. My parents were not going to pay for non-academic training due to the fact that in my native country, studies take precedence over anything else.
Thereafter, I left Benin for Canada, thank to another scholarship to have a master's degree in Environmental Heath and Occupational Health. Meanwhile, I left all sewing thoughts on the ice until I gave birth to my daughter during my PhD studies in biomedical sciences.
During my maternity leave in 2011, I started thinking about sewing again and was looking for ideas of custom clothing for my daughter. But the problem was that I did not have a sewing machine, mine remained in Benin since it was too heavy to put in my luggage.
One of my cousins told me then that she knew an auction site where I could find a machine and if I'm lucky, I might even get it brand new at a lower cost.
I thought Wow, I'll try that because ‘’nothing ventured, nothing gained’’. The site was called bidou.ca and no longer exists. I signed up and opened an account on the site and I was so lucky that I got my sewing machine for less than CAD $ 40.
With this machine which I still own today, I sewed a very first dress for my daughter. However, despite the insistence of my surrounding, I was not ready to start a business even though I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur and both my parents are.
My goal was to finish my PhD... In 2013-2014 though, my supervisor had to change research center. This created a period of instability in my studies that have idled, or to be more accurate stopped. This was followed by a period of questioning and challenging with a loss of passion for science.
After months of deliberation, I decided to give life to my entrepreneurial passion by creating in 2016 a company of accessories and clothing for girls. But the next question was to know what types of textiles I should use. Looking around me, I noticed that just like myself, a significant number of people around me came from different cultures and were living outside their native country. This is how I got the idea to mix in the same product textiles from different origins (Quebec and Africa for now) to look like what I and others are today i.e. a mix of cultures.
In fact, the name of my company makes the connection between my hometown Cotonou (Coo) and my current city of residence Montreal (Mon).

I continue to write my story one line at a time ...

One thing I have not told you is that I am a very lucky single mom with a girl who often tells me: repeat after me mom, you must not be discouraged, you must work hard, you have to put heart in what you are doing and then you will succeed.
So I try to follow her advice even if it is not always easy.

Ingrid