Jeannette's Needlecraft Shoppe customer Helena Damiao (left) who has been a regular at the needlecraft shop/art gallery on Coolbrook Ave. since she was 17-years-old, looks over yarn colours with owner Leonard Katz's wife, Frayda.

CREDIT:RICHARD ARLESS JR, THE GAZETTE

Making a point in Montreal is what Jeannette's Needlecraft Shoppe is all about. For more than four decades, the store has been making its point as a Montreal landmark.

Started by Jeannette Katz in 1958, the store describes itself as the largest in Canada to specialize in imported tapestries and exclusive needlepoint canvases.

The shop is known for its Tramme - a kind of canvas that uses yarn, instead of paint, to indicate the pattern.

Now owned and managed by Jeannette's 59-year-old son, Leonard Katz, this Montreal. store is a cross between a needlecraft shop and an art gallery.

Upon entering the 45-year-old store, one would be transported back in time to the Renaissance period, with scenes from that era preserved on tapestries on the wall. Tramme reproductions of da Vinci's The Last Supper are on display. Canvases with replicas of other famous paintings are framed throughout the shop's two levels - some using as much as 2,000 colours and are twice the size of the Mona Lisa.

As expected, tapestries of all styles adorn the store's furniture. Jeannette's own chair from 1939, with flowers embroidered on the cushion, is prominently placed by the entrance.

"The tradition of needlecraft is an art form," Katz said. "Before taking over the store in the 1970s, I went to museums in Germany, England and Austria, which exposed me to the culture of paintings and tapestries," Katz said.

Now the traveling has stopped. He relies more on the Internet to sell and purchase materials.

About 30 per cent of his clients are south of the border, and he imports canvases mostly from Europe.

"The Web is a big part of the business," he said. "We have to watch our expenses when times are tough and the Internet is a great way to cut costs."

He said his international and local clientele are either direct clients of his late mother or their descendants.

"Tapestries become heirlooms, which are passed from generations to generations. In most cases, the descendants go back to the shop their grandparents dealt with."

One such client is 79-year-old Paula Katz, no relation to him.

"This was my mother's hobby," she said. "Now I do it in my spare time to relax."

Even eye surgery did not stop her from doing needlepoint. She recently did a tapestry with 330,000 stitches.

Although older women make up most of the clientele, about 10 per cent of his clients are male, Katz estimated.

"Some of them are doctors who do it to steady their hands for surgery."

Katz said enthusiasts believe the art is therapeutic, especially for stroke victims and people with arthritis.

He relies mostly on word-of-mouth advertising, but also does print and Internet advertising, direct e-mails and a lot of telephone calls to entice clients.

Although he has no formal training in business management, Katz has a strong business knowledge acquired through years of experience. "I learned the hard way," he said with a smile.

Katz has no employees and only has his wife, Frayda, to help him. It's an arrangement that cuts costs, but means less vacation time.

"We vacation separately because he is not comfortable leaving the store in someone else's hands," Frayda said.

Indeed, Katz works with his own hands. He does restorations, finishing, upholstering and framing of finished projects himself. He also specializes in tapestry appraisals for insurance companies.

He claims needlecraft is a good investment with its value increasing annually.

"A $5,000 tapestry could easily be worth $25,000 when finished."

One client from Boston has spent over $15,000 on different projects since 1993. These projects are worth more than $100,000 today, according to Katz.

But needlepoint is not only for the rich, he said. Canvases are priced from $25 to $6,000.

"But remember, whether you spend $100 or $1,000, you're creating an heirloom that you can pass to your kids."

He said he will sell the business when he retires, but only to someone with great passion for the art.

"A person has to be happy with what he's doing to succeed in this business, because this is all about making other people happy."

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