Boutique Brock-Art

Any interior designer will likely tell you a time-tested way to add character to any décor is to add a carefully selected vintage piece here and there. This is an area where Montrealers seem to excel, and Chantal Trudel’s Esprit Vintage is definitely riding that wave. Her small Verdun shop is bursting with vintage treasure. “I have always loved rummaging through flea markets with my mother and grandmother, and we would always find unique and interesting objects. So I decided to make this passion into a career, and that is why I opened Esprit Vintage,” she says.

And while Chantal has been stringing her pearls for a long time now, it took until 2013 for her to open her Ali Baba’s Cave of Wonders to the public via an online boutique. “it was a real success," she recalls, "and I quickly found I had to open a bricks-and-mortar space because I no longer had the space at home for all these items; there were just too many of them!” On the topic of Verdun as a choice of location, Chantal is quick to brush off any negative preconceptions of a neighbourhood she is happy to help develop. “I am from Verdun and I know the neighbourhood well. It has been back on the up-and-up in recent years, it’s changing rapidly, and I’m proud of contributing to making it a destination for Montrealers. It’s a really cool part of town.”