This is one sale that even Santa’s elves will be visiting due to the drastic reductions just in time for the holiday season. Gian Rocco Creations has closed their doors to designers, decorators, florists, event planners etc, but Encanteurs Universel has re-opened them to the general public to take advantage of their beautiful merchandise and low, low prices.

You may find all you need to beautifully adorn your home or business for the fast approaching holidays, with their vast array of Christmas trees, decorations, wreaths (some pre-lit), holiday ribbons, ornaments and garlands. At these prices you may also want to stock up on their selection of  artificial flowers, vases and pots, trees and plants, floral arrangements, shrubs, artificial fruit, greenery and exterior decorations.

There is over $2,000,000 of inventory to liquidate. Dealers are welcome as well. You may pay with debit, Mastercard, Visa, certified cheque and cash. All sales are final.

Location: 459 rue Deslauriers, VSL QC H4N 1W2
corner: Stinson
Phone: 514-990-1888
Dates: Til all is sold
Times: Mon-Wed 10-6, Thurs & Fri 10-9, Sat & Sun 10-5
www.universalauctioneers.com
www.encanteurs-universel.com
email: info@encanteurs-universel.com

Ugarit has taken over what you might have known as Foyer d’Artisanat Raymond (or Halcraft Canada). After 60 years, the company had hit a rough patch so a former employee scooped it up. Right now, anything with the old labels on it is being sold off for 50% off. Beads are going for $6 lb. The 60 years of inventory includes: buttons, artificial flowers, chains, pompoms, tulle, ribbons, paints, brushes, glitter, shiny balls, threads of all kinds, jewelry, wedding decorations, baptism, party supplies

For addicted craftspeople, getting right up to the source of supplies is a real high. With 3500 items to peruse, you wander through their warehouse of treasures to find – beads, ribbons, tulle, feathers, mini flowers, glitter, thread, card-making supplies, pipe cleaners, raffia, fun foam, pom poms, wax, cellophane, styrofoam, acrylic paint and an entire section just for jewelry making. Go get em!

Location: 9600 Boul. St-Laurent, suite 605
corner: Louvain
Tel: 514-387-8181
www.ugarit.ca or www.ugarit.com

The granddaddy of all the crafts stores in Montreal (since 1952) keeps getting bigger, with everything you would need for your projects. Just was in there and found a section for 3-D cards: the embroidery ones and the glitter ones too and even coloring books for adults

The rest of the shop is full of supplies for:  drawing, painting, quilling, card-making, tole painting, stencilling, origami, faux finishes, chocolate molding, candlemaking, beading, rubber stamping, lettering, scrapbooking, knitting and needlework, fimo, soap making. There’s crafts for kids, adult coloring books, fabric paint, model cars and planes, ribbons and books to learn it all. Courses are given in many areas: painting on silk, 3-D cards, candles, soap, stained glass, jewelry and more.

Location: 4146 Ste-Catherine est
corner: Pie IX
Tel: 514-527-3456
Other locations: St-Hubert, 1651 Boul. des Promenades; Laval 3932 Autoroute 440 o (514-527-3456).
www. loiseaubleu.com

Creations and Stuff by me is cleaning out the furniture painting and refinishing atelier. After many years of collecting, saving, salvaging and dumpster diving, it’s time to de-clutter. Many unique items are about: ribbons, lampshades, lamps, chandelier crystals, craft items, old windows, light fixtures, furniture, etc.

As usual their work goes on  painting, refurbishing, and upholstering, a lot of the furniture that they have been collecting. If you have a piece of furniture at home and you would like to re-purpose it (turn it shabby chic, make a chest into a baby changing table, pad your headboard), then this is the woman for you.

You can look at her website to get an idea of the amazing transformations possible and what she has for sale.

You can also find her creations at Vie de Campagne in Westmount, Buk & Nola and Terrafolia in D.D.O. She can also help you with: light fixture rewiring, and redesigning , furniture repair, custom lampshades as well as custom furniture searching for the piece you want.

Location of sale: former Aux Petites Indulgences boutique, 3833 rue St Jacques
Corner: Laporte
Phone:514 707-2365
Dates: Fri, Apr 16, 9-4, Sat, Apr 17,9-3
www.creationsandstuffbyme.com

If you would like to purchase or visit in advance, then pop in!  She’ll be working in the atelier, so just call out for her when you come in. Hours during the week vary.

Q1: Today you want to talk about Montreal’s fabric district, where is it?

We are lucky in Montreal to have a fabric district. St Hubert Street, north of Jean-Talon, which has evolved from the 1940’s to the 90’s from a couple of stores to two dozen or more great places to find any fabric you could need. Where fashion fabrics once were its mainstay, nowadays with all our cocooning, the split is about 50% fashion fabrics and 50% for the home.

Q2: Who’s shopping here?

The typical buyers are fashion designers and design students, decorators with their clients and without clients (then they can charge much more because they can mark up more), theatrical productions, mothers of skaters and of course, you and me.

Q3: So this is where you would go to find fabrics if you want to have clothes made to fit you perfectly or if you are redecorating your home.

Outside of North America, it is still quite popular, no matter what the income bracket, to have your wardrobe made by the neighborhood seamstress. It makes life so much easier that way, and for those of you who hate to shop, this is the ultimate way to never have to buy clothes again. The clothing will always fit your body properly and you will have the colors or fabrics that you like. For your home this is a treasure trove of designs.

Q 3: If we don’t have the time or patience to go into all 2 dozen shops, can you give us some of the highlights?

Starting at Jean Talon and going north on St. Hubert, here is a small menu of what is sold in the fabric businesses on that street:

7186 – Ultratext (514-271-9929) – ribbons, boas, sequin trimmings, elastic, buttons, fringe, peacock feathers, beads, styrofoam balls, boxes of  zippers
7193/5 – Saratex/Sam – one side dedicated to home fabrics and the other side to fashion fabrics. With its very organized huge inventory chock full of a rainbow of colors and kind, you can find it all – including vinyl, beaded ones, bridal and tassels, and they also can make drapes and slip covers. On the 2nd floor there is a liquidation center with bolts as low as $2.99-$9.99 a meter.
7194 – Draperies Georgette (514-270-2045) – made-to-measure  draperies and bedspreads, upholstery, lace
7196 – Draperies St. Hubert (514-274-0364) – fabric for draperies, sheers, laces and made-to-measure
7207 – Myrlene Decor – sheers, cottons, panels, strings, valences, bedspreads made-to-measure
7234 – B.M.Z. (514-272-4334) – inexpensive fabrics and clothing
7254 – Textiles Debouk (514-276-3278) -this is the little store that grew, and it now encompasses enough floor space to satisfy most of your sewing needs. For re-upholstery, you can choose jacquard, moire and cottons, and pick up foam and Dacron for your cushions. For fashion sewing, the newest fabrics with lycra, stretch leathers, vinyl, and wools, Chinese silk, camouflage and netting and Italian light wools are all here, along with curtain panels, boas, buttons and a room of plastic coated textiles.
7282 – Goodman-Carlyle – Quality fabrics at very low prices (90% off) await you here amongst the 1,000’s of bolts in stock (and more in warehouse). The chock full selection for fashion, home and the theatre includes lots of  glitter and shine, there’s an upholstery room, another room of  woolens including cashmere,wool crepe,boiled wool and jacquards  from England, France and Italy. The rest of the store is full of  brocades, lames, lurexes and sequins and then velvets, Italian linen in all widths, cottons, silks, satins, taffetas, corduroys, nylon, stretch lace, fake fur, polar fleece, plasticized fabric, airfoam, and outerwear fabric all piled 10′ high.
7334 – Joliette Textiles (514-276-5444) – small, one aisle inexpensive fashion
7348 – Beads Planet (514-223-1000) – beads to make costume jewelry
7360 – Textiles Riatex (514-271-6050) – huge store full of fashion and upholstery
7361 – Textiles Couture Elle (514-271-1608) – imported fashion fabrics (related to 7399)
7363 – Rubans Boutons – endless display of buttons and 1,000’s of ribbons
7381 – Trim Cite (514-272-7733) – neat, lots of ribbons, beads, cord, appliques, collars, fringes, lace, sequins, tassels, beaded trim
7390 – A.C. Textile (514-279-6201) – 3 rooms lots of fashion fabrics
7399 – Tissus St-Hubert (514-277-5945) – spacious, airy neat, higher end lines (related to 7361)
7432 – Boutique Bilal (514-278-8007) – ribbons, lace trim and collars, all sizes of  zippers, buttons, interfacing, elastic, labels, fringe, boas
7442 – Tissus Tueni (514-277-4785) – neat, party fabrics, jacquards, wool, silk, laces, men’s suiting
7454 – Accessoires de couture St-Hubert (514-278-9416) – tons of trimmings, costume jewelry, buttons, zippers, appliqués, ribbons, large rolls of sewing machine thread
7479 – Fleche Verte (514-278-8507) – beaded trim, pearls for bridal, appliqués, button covering
7488 – Matar Textiles (514-277-6462) – fabric and trimmings, interlinings, buttons, zippers, closings, belt buckles
7498 – Decotec (514-927-5890) – upholstery, tassels, cord, sheers, drapes, foam, re-upholstery and shop-at -home available
7500 – C & M Textiles (514-272-0247) – granddaddy of street, middle to high end for fashion and home. Upon entering, you are assailed by the luscious selection for gowns and bridal wear: guipure, laces, taffetas, embroideries, organzas, silk shantung, tulle and netting. Then there’s silks, woolens, microfibers, linens and sequins. For upholstery and drapery, check out the racks of samples from the mills of Europe and the chenilles, velvets, damasks, tapestries, cotton prints, lace curtaining, ultra suede, outdoor fabrics, blinds & shades. cmtextiles.com
7515 – Le Marche de Textiles “Elzein” (514-271-6017) – fashion and curtains
7541 – Chaton Beads (514-278-8989) – beads, rhinestones, buttons, pearl trimmings, bridal headpiece parts, frogs, satin flowers, sea beads (see book listing for more details)
7609 – Kava (514-271-2888) – giant spools of threads, some notions, zippers, lace trim

Do you know about the cupcake craze that is sweeping North America? I remember seeing cupcake stores open in New York City, and my thought was that any kind of store seems to be able to survive in my home town, with its eight million or so tightly packed shoppers nearby. But here?

Once the craze hit Montreal and stores dedicated to the little morsels started opening (Petits Gateaux in the Plateau, Itsi Bitsi on Notre Dame, Cocoa Locale on Ave du Parc, for example), I decided it was time to help you to start making cupcakes, because in a minute it’s going to hit your neighborhood. Cupcakes are cute. Cupcakes remind us of our youth. Cupcakes are so decorate-able. Cupcakes can be mixed and matched on a cupcake stand quite prettily for any kind of event, be it a little birthday party or a big wedding reception. I even saw a cupcake stand in a Walmart ad for $16.97 a couple of weeks ago.

If your arts and crafts genes are going wild from all those cooking and decorating shows, you can easily let them all out on wee cupcake toppings – and then you can eat your creations!

The stores below specialize in cake decorating supplies. With some of you planning weddings in the next few months, you too will need to know where to get the provisions to make that special cake for the big event. You can all meet at the stores below:

Vixit France Decor, 290 Henri Bourassa Blvd. West at Jeanne-Mance St. Phone: 514-337-0814. Hours: Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. For the multitudes of Montrealers who love baking, this is the shop for you! Treat yourself to professional equipment or just buy the many hard to find decorating items that you always need. Every kind and size of cake pan, mold (silicon ones too), decorating bags and tips, doilies, cardboard platters and cookie molds are piled as high as an elephant’s eye. Cake baking books can help you with ideas and cake decorating characters (even fisherman, hunters, sportsmen, graduation, etc.) can help with themes. Upstairs is the wedding cake, chocolate-making and candy-making center, with lots of boxes and ribbons to put them in. They stock Barry-Callebaut chocolates, which have different flavors depending on which part of the world they hail from – Cuba, Tanzania, Grenada, Santo Domingo, etc. Try them all and have a tasting party. http://www.vixit.com

Accessoires Rose Blanche, 665 1st Avenue at Provost St., Lachine. Phone: 514-634-0017. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. t o7 p.m., Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. When you plan to bake a wedding cake or any fancy creation, head for this spot. The special items you’ll need, like rolled fondant, almond paste, covo shortening, apricot glaze, tips, clear gel and sugar flowers are here. Your project might require cake boxes, boards, ribbons and leaves or the brides and grooms and all other cake ornaments to top them off, and they’re here too. To save a buck you can rent specialty shape pans (newest ones are Diago, Tinkerbell and Little Mermaid) or cake fountains. Stuffings for balloons are stocked, and to adorn the top of your cake you can have an edible image made from a digital photo. A large selection of chocolate and chocolate molds and paper party supplies line the shelves. They will even bake specialty and wedding cakes for you.

Epices “Anatol” Spices, 6822 St. Laurent Blvd at Dante St. Phone: 514-276-0107. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Thursday and Friday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. This by the pound wholesaler also sells retail, so the prices you pay are quite good. For baking decorating, there are all kinds of sprinkles: mixed rainbow sprinkles, mixed rice shaped sprinkles, chocolate sprinkles and ten shapes of the popular silver sparklies along with gold balls. You can top your cupcakes with caramel chips, carob chips, coconut chips, Smarties, M&M’s and other candies. Or how about some healthy dried fruits – papaya, pineapple, cherries or cranberries? For flavoring, Dutch cocoa powder comes in dark and light, and they stock coconut powder, carob powder, Belgian chocolate and vanilla beans. You may want to fancy up the outside with coconut flakes, sweet or unsweetened or toasted. And to wash it all down there is a huge inventory of tea with about sixty varieties, and it’s only $5.99 lb. for coffee.