Dress your walls with creations from here

Too expensive, too impersonal, too ordinary: this is the observation that many people make when dressing their walls. Fortunately, there is a compromise between the reproductions sold by the decoration giants and the exclusive works of art: creations from here at affordable prices.

Isabelle Morin
The Press

When he moved into his first house with his sweetheart, Mathieu Hoste started looking for creations to dress his walls.

“Like everyone else, we were inspired by what we saw on Pinterest or Instagram, but in boutiques and department stores, we found the same things that were hanging in my parents’ living room and that we see a almost everywhere in the world, many photographs and monuments from elsewhere. We were really looking for works by artists that reflected current trends. »

Mathieu Hoste is thinking of filling this void. He makes his business plan, buys a five-foot-wide printer and devotes his free time to his new canvas printing project in his basement, mortgaging half of his house at the same time. When he lost his job a year later, at the start of the pandemic, he devoted himself full-time to his quest for the ideal canvases: signed by local artists, assembled by hand in frames of linden from Quebec, renewed regularly to guarantee a certain exclusivity and sold at affordable prices.

Mathieu Hoste never returned to work.

Access to a stock exchange, a passage to the issue In the eye of the dragon and agreements with major players such as Simons, Ameublements Tanguay and Must allow his young company in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines to move up a gear.

Since its creation, Oleka Canvas has shipped more than 17,000 works mainly in Quebec. It targets North America and Europe within a five-year horizon.

Create to meet demand

Driven to the other side of the globe for love, Swede Erik Rydingsvärd ran into the same obstacle after renovating his house and finding himself with a limited budget to decorate his home. Wall decoration shops, numerous in Europe and in the country of the decoration giant, were conspicuous by their absence in Quebec. He started Opposite Wall, which made his posters in the Mile-Ex district of Montreal. Its catalog has 3000 creations that encompass photography, fine art painting, typography and illustration.

The creative director of this décor and design studio, Rafaelle Chartrand, oversees three artists internally who generate 85% of Opposite Wall’s production. Other artists are added to the freelance according to the needs and trends of the moment.

Each month, the designers immerse themselves in a new universe to generate unique creations in a range of varied styles.

“The studio’s next collection will be made up of abstract images,” reveals Rafaelle Chartrand. I explain my vision to the artists and tell them the mediums I want to see — be it watercolour, collage, plaster — and the chosen color palette. The creations are then digitized. The direction given to the collections is inspired by current or future trends, identified on sites such as Pinterest, Behance and the shops of European competitors.

Each month, Opposite Wall launches around twenty new posters. Regularly, some works are updated in new shades to match the colors in vogue.

When the mouse replaces the brush

The majority of the works of these two companies are created on the computer or reworked digitally. “It allows you to print very large formats while maintaining perfect quality. The works are also easily customizable, says Mathieu Hoste. A customer wants green instead of purple? We rework the image. The company manufactures by the piece, like its competitors here, which allows it to adjust to demand, to personalize its offer, to limit losses and its ecological footprint at the same time.

Graphic designer for 20 years, Anne-Sophie Perreault, alias Toffie, began to create posters on her own account six years ago, as an enforcer and because she couldn’t find any to her liking. She is now represented by Oleka Canvas, Opposite Wall and a boutique in Brazil, which offer her visibility and manage the production and shipping of her creations, in exchange for royalties on sales. She creates without a precise approach, she says, but draws a good part of her inspiration from the mid-century and takes special orders on occasion. “Often, people send me photos of the rooms to be decorated and I start from that to create in collaboration with the client. »

Promote local artists

The exclusivity of the works offered in the mural decoration shops that are emerging in Quebec varies from one to another.

The publishing house Paperole renews its catalog twice a year with new artists, mostly local. Its catalog includes some limited edition creations, numbered and signed. Some originals too. This is also the case for the gallery-boutique Bref, which changes its selection of wall art each month thanks to its themes. “Basically, Bref was born because we had a lot of illustrator friends who had trouble presenting what they did and what they were,” says one of the two founders, Cynthia Moreau. “We wanted to make their work known. »

It is also to ensure that artists have access to good working conditions and can showcase their creations that the illustrator agent Élisabeth Pelletier bought the online art gallery Sur ton mur. The giclées of art that it offers, of a museum quality that distinguishes them from the poster, allow the creations to live for at least 100 years. “We consider that our reproductions are works of art in their own right and even more for the limited editions”, notes the director who counts among others Rogé, Cathon, Michel Rabagliati and Élise Gravel in her bosom.

Whoever finds himself facing a wall when decorating his home obviously has fewer and fewer arguments in Quebec for not knowing how to furnish it. “Without being unique works of art, points out Mathieu Hoste in reference to his paintings, these are creations from here made by artisans from here… that we are certainly less likely to find elsewhere than the famous IKEA bridge. ! »

Seven firms to discover

wall art

When the pandemic hit, Presentation Design had to reorient its business of designing, manufacturing and installing exhibition stands. “In order to diversify our activities, but above all to feed our thirst for creativity, we decided to create Art Mural”, explains its sales director, Laurence Lefebvre. The canvases of artists from here or elsewhere, sold in limited editions, are printed on fabric, by sublimation and in high resolution at a partner in Montreal. The customer can also upload his own images to the site.

In short

The gallery-boutique first saw the light of day in Mile End before opening its virtual space. Its concept is based on themes around which revolve different types of creations. The most recent collection brings rainy days to life in visual art, decoration, more practical objects and some playful ones. Brief collaborates with about fifty artists from here and elsewhere who each manage the printing of their works which are to be taken as is. Framing options are offered to those who want turnkey.

On your wall

The web gallery, co-founded in 2013 by illustrator Élise Gravel and taken over by illustrator agent Elisabeth Pelletier, represents more than 20 artists. Sur ton mur manages all stages of the process, from printing to framing made in Montreal by an artisan who works with wood and adds a personal touch with a contrasting wood insertion at the corners. For the Holidays, some works will also be offered on canvas.

Paperole

Paperole is a publishing house as well as a shop/gallery dedicated to the promotion of contemporary illustration and graphic art. The work of the artists is represented there on various media: card games, stationery, posters, clothing and accessories for all. Paperole offers a few originals, mainly sketches. The frame, made in Quebec in wood and with glass — not plexiglass — is available in three color choices.

Toffie

Anne-Sophie Perreault, alias Toffie Affichiste, is notably represented by Opposite Wall, where she launched a special collection this week. It also manages its own platform where it is possible, on request, to obtain more personalized orders.

Opposite Wall

The shop offers more than 3000 different creations, printed by the piece: photographs, paintings, typographies or illustrations, as well as home wallpapers and wall decoration accessories. The site presents various pre-designed wall galleries for those who are out of inspiration and a turnkey framing service. One Tree Planted receives 1% of sales to reforest in Canada.

Oleka Canvas

Wall art shop Oleka Canvas stands out for its canvas prints by local artists. She uses a water-based ink which, when baked, fuses with the material. This process ensures the product’s durability and makes it less likely to fade or flake, says company founder Mathieu Hoste. Both the framing and the printing are done in the Laurentians. A tree is planted for each canvas sold.