Barb Stegemann, CEO, The 7 Virtues Beauty Inc., will be one of two Canadians to receive a Women Innovators award from the U.S. Secretary of State Department.

Stegemann will receive the award on Sept. 15 during the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Women and Economy Summit in San Francisco. The award will be presented by Melanne Verveer, the United States ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues and an ex-chief of staff to former first lady Hillary Clinton.

"For me it’s like Christmas," says Stegemann, a 42-year-old Bedford mother of two.

She says she is a huge fan of Verveer and is thrilled to meet her, to represent innovative businesswomen and to be among 400 heavy-hitters from around the globe attending the conference.

Hosted by Clinton, the conference will gather women from APEC countries to discuss issues of policy, trade, security and empowering women to bring about global change.

Stegemann, the first Atlantic Canadian woman to secure a deal on the hit CBC TV show Dragons’ Den, has already developed two perfumes: 7 Virtues Afghanistan Orange Blossom Eau de Parfum and 7 Virtues Noble Rose of Afghanistan. They are available across Canada in 91 The Bay stores.

Her company sources essential oils from countries that are rebuilding thereby providing legal fair trade income for local farmers.

"One of my goals in launching this company was to help change policy, so this conference and this acknowledgement is really a dream come true," says Stegemann.

A finalist for Chatelaine magazine’s Women of the Year Awards in the entrepreneur category, Stegemann is launching her third fragrance, Vetiver of Haiti, a unisex fall/winter scent on Sept. 21, the International Day of Peace. The Chatelaine awards will be announced on Sept. 27.

Springhill-born singer-songwriter Chris Brown just got a nice career boost.

He won the East Coast Songwriters Unplugged Songwriting Competition, part of this summer’s music series hosted by Charlie A’Court at Truro’s Marigold Cultural Centre.

Brown was one of three semi-finalists, along with Halifax’s Joyce Saunders and Dave Sampson from Sydney.

His song The Record Collection was the tune chosen by the contest’s panel of judges. For his efforts, the performer also known as "The Brown" gets a new acoustic guitar and digital recording package courtesy of Yamaha Canada, plus some extra exposure for the track from his debut CD Found in the Woulds.

You can hear The Record Collection for yourself on Brown’s YouTube channel, TheBrownsVideos.

Halifax native Katie Melanson is a winner in the Southwest Art magazine’s 21 under 31 Emerging Artists Competition.

Melanson, who received an honourable mention, lives in Toronto and studied at the Academy of Realist Art. Her winning painting was inspired by a photograph of her father as a boy, fishing with his father. This photograph is in the painting’s background.

"I added my grandfather’s old fly rod and leather fly pouch. It is a very sentimental piece for me. I grew up fly fishing with my family every summer in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. I have wonderful memories of being on the river with my dad, fishing together and listening to stories about him fishing with his father. I wanted to capture the timeless bond between father and child and the connectivity of our memories over the three generations," she tells Southwest Art.

Melanson also likes to write and is working on a children’s book with her dog Olive as the main character.