Document demands force architect to create her own leathergoods brand
15/12/2016
New York-based Cece de la Montagne had begun to think she might never find a satisfactory way of transporting her drawings until, during a trip home to Montreal, she showed some ideas of her own to an experienced leathergoods artisan, Michel Maltais, who promptly produced a bag she calls the Enveloppe.
Not only was the Enveloppe perfect for carrying her architect’s drawings around Manhattan, it was highly stylish and attracted lots of questions about its provenance, to which Ms de la Montagne was able to answer truthfully that it was handmade with the greatest care in Montreal. People began to place orders and a new leathergoods brand, Atelier YUL, was born.
Mr Maltais worked for more than 30 years at Fuller & Holt, an iconic Montreal manufacturer and retailer of leathergoods. In recent comments to the New York Times, he confirmed that when Cece de la Montagne showed him her design idea for the Enveloppe, he had never seen anything like it. It folds over and has a cord and wood closure that will not crease documents.
The range has now expanded to include seven more styles and more are on the way. Cece de la Montagne is still working as an architect, but is finding the world of leathergoods interesting too.
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