A tenth anniversary for atelier b and its community Insert/modify a link

By press release

Designers Catherine Métivier and Anne-Marie Laflamme of atelier b unveil a printed publication to honor the place where the brand has been established since the fall of 2011. The space that has housed a hat workshop since the 1950s has welcomed and inspired the duo who nested all the activities of the project there, from sewing to parties and acoustic shows. “When we wanted to have a storefront space, it was to welcome customers, but it was also to receive people and to create a gathering place,” recalls Anne-Marie. The book resulting from this celebration of the place is a high-quality design object, with its cream linen cover and its greige cotton bookmark, like the brand's clothes.

A decade of design and encounters

The space is multifunctional and the creation and manufacturing workshop coexists with the shop where customers are received. The rolls of fabric rub shoulders with the fitting rooms and the team is busy cutting, sewing and selling the brand's collections. On the walls, works that change with the seasons and collaborations. This mix between culture and couture makes the place lively and unique. Much more than a boutique workshop, the space is used to welcome the atelier b community during events organized spontaneously at 5758 Saint-Laurent. A musical performance by Choses Sauvages, the launch of the book Dixie by William S. Messier or an exhibition of photographs by Jimmi Francoeur were just a few of the dozens of evenings that took place at the workshop.

A branded publication

The aesthetic invoice of the book is signed by François Ste-Marie and the dynamic and playful layout is in the very image of atelier b. It includes, among other things, a text by Maryse Boyce, who discusses the musical performances at the workshop and who exchanged with several of the artists who went there. For Laurence Lafond-Beaulne, who presented the first performance of Milk & Bone there, "it's magic, as much for the artists as for the public to see these shows: it gives access to a very vulnerable moment". The artist Marjolaine Bourdua signs an article that tells the story of the atelier b gallery, being herself the last to have exhibited there at the address of Old Montreal. Anne-Marie Proulx interpreted the identity of atelier b in her own way with sensitive and delicate words and images. The images of Maxyme G. Delisle, a loyal collaborator of the brand, are also highlighted. The book is now available for presale on the atelier b website. It will also be available at the Mile End boutique and in selected locations in December.

A local brand established since 2009

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Anne-Marie and Catherine are the inseparable friends who founded the atelier b brand. Their sustainable and minimalist clothing collections for men, women and children are gently made in Montreal from natural fiber textiles. From a workshop in their apartment when they were still students to their studio-boutique in Mile End, the project grew with them. The key values ​​of slow design have remained central to each of the decisions made by the two friends. Their circular economy initiative made the brand the first in Canada to have zero-waste manufacturing.

atelier b is multiplicity, gathering and family.

These are refined, original and authentic collections where the products respect the traditions of textiles and clothing. It is a quiet force that advances slowly, slowly but surely, while knowing how to keep the sense of play and celebration.

The friendship behind the project

“Are you sisters? »

The duo behind atelier b is the story of an almost fusional friendship. Anne-Marie and Catherine met in 2003 while studying fashion design at Collège Marie-Victorin. From then on, they began to do their schoolwork together… even when it was not teamwork. Complementary, they like to say that together, their strengths do not add up, they multiply. It is in two that they find the best of themselves.

Quickly becoming close friends, they moved in together in 2005 in the hope of sharing a workshop in the basement of their apartment. Quietly, the workshop extends throughout the apartment: finished the living room and the dining room, outside the piano, their beds are found in the basement while the sewing machines, the racks and the rolls of fabrics are scatter in all the rooms. This is where atelier b was born slowly, through projects and contracts, while studies and jobs continued to follow. The project grew, and so did their friendship. Today, they still spend their holidays together, with their respective families (they have both become mothers) and every morning, they are still as happy to open the door of their warm workshop as they were there ten years old!

atelier–b.ca @atelierbmtl 5758 Saint-Laurent, Mtl