N.D.G. DUPLEX COMES ALIVE
A treasure trove of memorabilia
Stephanie Carrière can, it seems, turn her hand to almost anything. The bilingual Ontario native who grew up in Cornwall is an artist, clothing designer, massage therapist, singer and entrepreneur. She runs two businesses — Goddessence, an online boutique, and Bijoux Klinik, a store on Sherbrooke Street West operated by her French husband, Jean-Luc Bensadoun, a master jeweller.
Carrière is also an avid collector of furniture from the 1950 and ’60s (with some ’70s thrown in for good measure). Her apartment is a treasure trove of memorabilia from those eras. She had most of it before she met Bensadoun, who immigrated from Europe 12 years ago, but apparently he loves her taste, which is probably just as well.
Their living space — three bedrooms and an open living/ dining room on the second storey of a duplex in N.D.G. — is a riot of colour and zany (some would say weird) designs. Her quirky furnishings would probably be considered kitsch by those who favour the minimalist look of today, but like so many vintage styles, the mid-century era is back in fashion, particularly among those too young to remember it the first time around. (Carrière was born in 1971.)
Q I understand your previous apartment was decorated in a similar way but that it was in Verdun?
A Yes. I was living there and Jean-Luc was in Old Montreal. He’s from Lyon and had his own atelier from the time he was a 16-year-old apprentice. He trained as a jeweller the old way. These days, people like him are few and far between. We met on a mutual friend’s boat, fell in love and after that, were rarely apart!
Q So is that when you decided to move to N.D.G.?
A Our store is in this neighbourhood, but I’d always loved this area. Also, I work part time at the new super hospital, which isn’t far away.
Q Goodness, yet another job! How on earth do you manage it all?
A (Laughs.) My husband and I work very well together. It’s a good life!
Q Did it take you very long to find your apartment?
A Not really. I knew what I was looking for and I knew that N.D.G. had a lot of older properties. Because of my decor and my furniture, that’s what I wanted. I found the apartment and a lot of other things on Kijiji. This was the fifth place I looked at and, as soon as I walked in, I knew it was perfect for my collection. I figured out right away exactly where I was going to put everything. It was just too cool!
(Carrière takes me on a tour of the living/dining room, which is separated by a pillared wood frame painted white, inset with frosted panes of etched glass. The dining area has walls the colour of what she calls “Moroccan spice.” The neighbouring wall is a neutral beige and hung with a framed collage of comedian and television executive Lucille Ball — a business icon to women in the 1950s.
The rooms are scattered with oddball ornaments, like glass slippers, a gold-painted mannequin head and a wall-mounted “sunburst” clock. As we walk around, Carrière points out the vintage furniture she has found on the Internet, in garage sales or at auctions.
At the far end of the living/dining area is a heavy, old-fashioned sofa (“it’s sturdy, sturdy, sturdy”). The matching armchair is covered in crimson upholstery with a dizzying mustard and brown pattern. A yellow suitcase, resting on tapered wooden legs with metal tips, functions as a footrest. An open suitcase is a cat bed!
The pièce de résistance is an all-in-one stereo unit, faux fireplace and cocktail cabinet — an astonishing piece of quirky memorabilia. Made of highly polished wood, the base of the unit is covered with fake, caramelcoloured marble and artificial logs that light up when you turn on the power. The “fireplace” is flanked by fabric-fronted speakers for the audio system.
Q What an amazing contraption! How on earth does it work? A This is the cocktail cabinet. (Carrière pulls down a hinged flap and swivels out a round shelf on which stand a liquor bottle and a row of glasses embellished with red and black playing card symbols.) This would have been the “boys’ area,” where they also kept their magazines — Playboy probably. You know how it was back then.
Q I think you must have been born in the wrong era. A That’s what everybody says!