Buttons in Montreal

Last Thursday I made a quick trip to Montreal, and in the middle of a flurry of activity I ended up searching out Rubans Boutons. My friend Mary was on the hunt for “little tiny buttons,” so after leaving Effiloché we began to wander further north on the Plaza St-Hubert, stopping occasionally watch massive piles of snow slide off the glass awnings in the sun.

My knowledge of how to get to the little ribbon-and-button shop was limited to a quick glance at Google maps at 5 am that morning, and all I recalled was “on St-Hubert, north of Jean-Talon.” This proved correct, though I had my doubts once the more reputable-looking stores became scarce.

It’s a tiny shop-cum-theatre, with ribbons one on side and buttons on the other, presided over by Richard Lentendre, fibulanomiste:

Like many tiny shops in Montreal, it’s full of an assortment of not just items for sale but interesting knickknacks and, well, stuff. Not shown are the anti-zipper posters and many, many buttons put up as decoration:

In the back of the store Mary found suitably little and tiny buttons, stored in tubes that pull out like colourful ice core samples (says the scientist):

No buttons for me, but by my next trip I’ll have finished another sewing class and will likely be in need of some…