Martine was born and raised in Montreal. She grew up surrounded by the bright lights and colours of the Montreal fashion scene. This is where Martine's love for fashion and quality truly stems. She then went on to graduate from College Lasalle with a degree in fashion design and immediately carved a place for herself in the industry. It was during her six years working as part of the design team with Louben a prominent Canadian clothing company that Martine gained an appreciation for the finer points of women’s fashion. Martine moved to the Ottawa area where she realized her dream was to open her own boutique that offers beautiful and unique clothing and accessories, right in the heart of Ottawa. Taking from her experiences she wanted to offer a mix of designers and collections to the urban career women. And so, Red Velvet was born.