Our journalist wanders around Greater Montreal to talk about people and places that make their neighborhoods beat.
Nearly 70 years ago, John Rasinger was walking along Rue Saint-Marc when he noticed the front of a store on the corner of Sainte-Catherine that bore the name Carinthia.
He spontaneously entered the shop that was named after the Austrian province where he grew up before immigrating to Montreal. Not only did the owner of the place have the same origins as him, he also practiced the same trade, that of shoemaker and bootmaker.
“My father-in-law made ski boots by hand,” says his son-in-law Dominique Bergeron, holding out an old model to us.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ATELIER CARINTHIA
John Rasinger in front of his shoemaker’s shop on rue Saint-Marc
John Rasinger was an employee of the Carinthia workshop before taking over in 1967. About thirty years later, his daughter Karen came to say hello with her boyfriend. Seeing his father-in-law shaping the leather, Dominique Bergeron, who was then a bicycle mechanic, had a revelation coupled with great respect.
I like crafts. But I never imagined doing something like shoemaking that involves sewing.
Dominique Bergeron
John Rasinger saw his son-in-law’s interest so much that he offered to train him. “For three years, he showed me the trade from A to Z and taught me how to make boots. Then, when he retired, I took over.”
The Carinthia workshop moved twice before settling in Saint-Henri in 2015, at 3412, rue Saint-Antoine Ouest. “Shoemaking is a great profession. I had a good teacher and I’m still learning,” says Dominique Bergeron.
A major lack of replacements
Since 2011, the vocational studies diploma (DEP) in shoemaking is no longer offered in Quebec. It has become a craftsman’s job that must be learned from someone else, or in Europe.
Result: a major lack of replacements.
“It’s closing, closing and closing,” laments Dominique Bergeron, citing among other examples the recent closure of the Argentino shoe repair shop after 100 years of loyal service in Verdun, rue Wellington.
“There is a serious shortage of shoemakers,” says the man who works 60 hours a week and cannot repair his customers’ shoes as quickly as he would like.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Dominique Bergeron has lost count of the number of detached soles and torn heels he has repaired.
Three former employees have left the nest to open their own shoe repair shops: Joey Daneau, of Cordonnerie Victoria, in Saint-Lambert; Leo Perucca of M. Varappe; and Rodney Sothmann, based in Kingston. It’s very rewarding, but in hindsight, laughs their mentor. At the time, it’s pretty hard to see an employee you’ve trained for years fly on their own.
Fortunately, Dominique Bergeron has been able to count on the help of a loyal employee, Audrey Gauthier, for the past six years. She used to work for Tony Pappas, who has had a storefront on Mont-Royal Avenue for nearly 125 years, but who has closed his repair shop.
“I took sewing classes to become a shoemaker,” she says. “I started selling shoes at Feet First when I was 17 and I loved it.”
As the customer service manager, she was the one who brought shoes to the shoemaker, and she developed a fascination with how they were made. “You have to be curious to be a shoemaker,” she says.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Audrey Gauthier loves to repair, but also to wear shoes; she owns 85 pairs!
Luxury at your fingertips
In the Carinthia workshop, our attention was quickly drawn to a row of Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik and Christian Dior pumps that looked like they had come straight out of the wardrobes of Celine Dion or Carrie Bradshaw. “I work a lot with high-end, especially with Holt Renfrew and Ssense,” explains Dominique Bergeron.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Pumps worth their weight in gold
When shoes worth over $1,000 break or get dirty while a customer is trying them on, we repair them! And in this age of too often disposable products, that’s rather reassuring.
Further on, there are many pairs of hiking boots that need replacing the heel. They come from the manufacturer Lowa, which offers good guarantees and does business with Carinthia.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
This good old Singer manual sewing machine is used every day.
During our visit, a young man also came to have additional holes made in two belts. One was a “fake” Yves Saint Laurent, the other a “real” Louis Vuitton.
But be careful, “quality is not the name of the brand,” argues Dominique Demers. He and Audrey are also captivated by the cult of cleanliness among some people with regard to their collector’s sneakers, including Air Jordans.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Although they are becoming increasingly rare, shoe repair shops are valuable local businesses.
Another time
It’s a long time since John Rasinger was making ski boots, but the 89-year-old is still hitting the slopes during the snowy season.
His grandchildren Emily and Kyle, who are 19 and 21, are among the last in Quebec to proudly bear his Austrian surname. However, they have no affinity with shoemaking, their father tells us.
Bottom line? Cherish your local shoemakers and don’t take their services for granted.
“We are lucky to do our job,” Dominique Bergeron will often repeat, who, at 51, would not want to wear other shoes!