SME Universe | Oleka’s Masterstroke

Mathieu Hoste’s paintings have been sold since the beginning of the summer in the Tanguay and Must chains.

The founding president of Oleka Canvas is not an artist, but an entrepreneur. His company prints on canvas and assembles digital works and ready-to-hang reproductions on frames.

“We are going to enter the children’s decoration market in collaboration with the biggest player in Quebec,” he announced.

It was when he had tried to decorate the walls of his brand new house without finding satisfaction that he had asked himself the question: but where do these generic pictorial works come from that one buys framed in big box stores? surface ? The answer: mostly from abroad. Which also explains why they look so similar.

Second thought: why not make them yourself with Quebec creations?

“My father worked in commercial printing for a long time,” he says. He explained to me how to design our product. »

It involves printing a digital image, specifically designed or reproduced, on a polyester canvas, then stretching it on a wooden frame.

He initially opted for a cotton canvas similar to canvases for artists, but quickly replaced it with a polyester canvas, “which stretches a lot less,” he says. “Once assembled, the print quality remains perfect. It’s smoother, too. »

Without leaving his job as director of a training center, Mathieu Hoste set up his business in his (new) house and offered his paintings on the web.

“I mortgaged 70% of the basement space,” he says. I entered a 7ft wide commercial printer. It took piano movers to get it down in the basement. »

He added a 4 ft by 8 ft (1.2 m by 2.4 m) assembly table. The crowding of places has further increased with the pandemic.

Laid off in March 2020 due to confinement, he devoted himself entirely to his young company, precisely when teleworking encouraged many consumers to improve their living environment. Hence the interest in Oleka executives.

In August 2020, Mathieu Hoste signed a first commercial partnership with Kozy decorative item shops.

“We started to receive orders from shops, that means 200, 300, 400, 500 units. Alone in our basement, it wasn’t realistic at all. »

He decided to rent commercial space in April 2021.

“At the website level, we work with about fifteen local artists who design all our collections,” he informs.

Oleka Canvas also prints and assembles canvases for around fifty artists who sell them through their own channels. “We ship them directly to their customers. In this way, we are able to help many more artists. »

The canvases, ready to be hung, may or may not have a solid Canadian wood frame. These frames are available in various colors, including raw wood, which accounts for at least half of sales.

For now, 60% of sales are made online and 40% in stores.

“We now have around sixty partners: Simons, Must, Tanguay, Kozy…”, lists Mathieu Hoste.

His company now has five permanent and three contract employees.

The walls of the head office are decorated to his taste.

Garaga opens another door in the United States

A new part of Garaga’s American adventure. The Beauceron garage door manufacturer has lifted the veil on the acquisition of North Central Door, of Bemidji, Minnesota, a manufacturer that has been in business for nearly 50 years. This transaction opens up a distribution network of more than 150 points of sale, mainly in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Access to this network will facilitate the export of Garaga products made in Quebec, which are complementary to those of North Central Door, explained Maxime Gendreau, co-president of Garaga. In 2018, Garaga took its first step into the United States with the acquisition of Mid-America Door, of Ponca City, Oklahoma. Founded in 1983 by Michel Gendreau, the family business is now co-chaired by his two sons—twins! — Martin and Matthew.

Kanuk goes apple

Kanuk has Apple Island at heart. The outerwear brand has pledged to fund all operational and conservation costs for three years for the Society for the Protection and Development of Île aux Pommes, a small rocky islet that emerges from the nearby St. Lawrence of Trois-Pistoles. Every year, the island hosts the second colony of common eiders in the St. Lawrence estuary. Kanuk’s annual donation of $25,000 will be used for various protection activities, including the maintenance and improvement of infrastructure.

Île aux Pommes has been owned since 1912 by the Déry family, who in 2013 created a private foundation to preserve it. The brand of extreme cold is getting fresh for the environment. While more than half of its collection is made from recycled fabrics, Kanuk has set itself the goal of selling only garments made from recycled and organic materials in the “very near future”. No down from Île aux Pommes, however: the Montreal company only uses Hutterite duck down from Canada, “traceable and ethically sourced”.

Weight gain in (masonry) restoration

Who said catering was bad? The Atwill-Morin Group, specializing in masonry restoration, has just swallowed up its competitor Restorations DYC of Delson, in Montérégie. Hungry, the Montreal company thus continues its accelerated progress, as much by acquisitions as by organic growth.

Founded in 1982, DYC Restorations specializes in heritage restoration. Its management team and all of its employees remain in place. Under other skies, Atwill-Morin reports that its subsidiary Atwill-Morin & Associates, founded in Toronto in 2019 to better support projects in the metropolitan area, has grown from 9 to 40 people. Atwill-Morin Associates notably obtained a contract for the restoration of the imposing complex at 900 Bay Street. The Montreal company hopes to soon reach the floor of 200 million in turnover.

The number

1

Taking a step further, together, for children with cancer and their families. This is the theme of a campaign conducted this fall for the benefit of Leucan. From September 9 to October 23, $1 will be donated to the organization for each Skechers brand product sold in Pop Shoes and Go Sport stores across the province.