October 15, 2019
Introducing the Montreal Store
Katie Kolodinski moved to Australia eighteen years ago, where she founded Silk Laundry. Last Summer, our Ontario-born designer decided she was ready to return home. Having attended Concordia University in Montreal years ago, she’d always felt an attachment to the energetic, creative and highly-social culture of the city. Katie was motivated to make this life change a reality with a desire for her two sons to grow up bilingual and be closer to her family. With her came the heart of Silk Laundry, and it only seemed right to open a store in her new home.
All metal displays and accessories including the central counter have been plated in a ''dull ivory nickel'' bath which gives a refined look and an undeniable guarantee of durability.
On an evening soon after her return to the city, Katie and her husband went to eat at the famed Le Vin Papillon (‘the wine butterfly’), a vegetable-forward wine bar by the esteemed owners of Joe Beef. The couple came across a vacant storefront a few buildings over on their walk home and Katie knew it felt right. She called to inquire the next morning. Serendipitously, the for rent sign had been placed a few hours before Katie came upon it and it became hers.
Ethereal dressing rooms inspired by Katie’s garden at her home in Australia feature carefully selected arrangements of silk flowers and plants suspended from the ceiling.
In February of 2019, the newest Silk Laundry store was unveiled, located at 2465 Notre Dame Street W., on a world renowned strip in a fast developing area of the city known for its many trendy restaurants. The store is situated in an old building, typical of the historical neighborhood of Little Burgundy, that had been an antique shop for many years. The space is true to Silk Laundry’s style in its’ simplicity, timelessness and refinement.
A piece of Alabaster Cappuccino weighing more than 150 kg found in a carving stone shop, polished on the surface and transformed into a coffee table.
For the space, we worked with the designer Myriam Vignes, who describes the process as “a minimalist approach, where each element [was] chosen and created with care for the sake of quality and sustainability.” In order to feel the influence of Montreal city in the store, we worked exclusively with local artisans to furnish and decorate the space.