Art and the goddess meet at Chelsea gallery

June 25 - July 1, 2008
The Low Down to Hull & Back News, Page 17
By Cynthia Vukets

Coconut bracelets, lamps made from old wine bottles and purses made from fabric scraps are just some of the things to fall in love with at Arthena.

“We really hope to become a gift destination,” says co-owner Sophie Tremblay. “Our ‘coups-de-coeurs’ are all going to be fair trade from around the world.”

Coups-de-coeurs, as Tremblay calls jewelry and gifts, are just one aspect of the gallery.  Arthena also showcases eco-design and visual arts.

One eco-designer featured at the gallery is Montreal’s Rachel Fortin, who creates bags and wallets with leather salvaged from old couches.  Tremblay says the purses are practical and travel-friendly as well as cute.  Her favourite is a black clutch with a bracelet for a handle.  You can just slip the ring around your wrist and never again wonder what to do with your purse while dancing, ladies!

Tremblay is enthusiastic about each and every one of the designers and artists at the gallery, most of whom are from Quebec and Ontario.

“The mission of the boutique-gallery is to change the awareness of who is behind things,” she says.  “People will leave with not only a great thing but also knowing a bit about the person who created it.”

The small space packs a surprising number of different types of creations.  Coasters made from recycled rubber rest on a shelf below colourful tableaus of recycled glass suspended in the window.  Metal sculptures shares one shelf with drawings and spoon rests made from melted down old wine bottles.

“Our goal with the house was to keep the character,” Tremblay says of the 1914 building.  She and partner Jasmine Sasseville even reused original parts of the house in different places.  A stained glass window that once separated the front and back of the old house had to be taken out to make room for a mandatory fire door, but is now part of the bathroom.

Tremblay says she and Sasseville decided to open this gallery as a complement to the pair’s Soapery, Olivier, on Old Chelsea Rd.  The name is a fusion of “art” and the goddess Athena, whose symbol was the olive tree. “She’s this really strong woman,” says Tremblay.

Arthena, which opened May 19, can be found at 205 Old Chelsea Road, 819-827-0191.