jamais assez - oh, really?

A confirmed minimalist, I am not a big consumer - and the name on the window of the design-friendly Plateau boutique, Jamais Assez (Never Enough) got my dander up.

Pausing in front of the St Laurent shop on my way to Aux Vivres (I do consume more than my fair share of good food), I began an internal rant to the effect of “Never enough?? Our economy is in shambles because of that philosophy.”

Yet I couldn’t resist entering. Spending philosophies aside, it’s the kind of place that makes me smile.

I consider well-designed retail spaces as mini-museums. Fun, imaginative products inspire me. I hang around just to revel in originality. To be charmed by color, composition and humor.

Fanciful, full of good design, well lit, and spacious in its arrangement of furniture, tableware, accessories for the home and body - Jamais Assez is very appealing.

A rocker that substitutes a polar bear for a horse; a wooden book case shaped like a ladder; a way cool high chair are all examples of well made Canadian made crafts.

At least shopping here stimulates the local economy.

Still, I resist their subliminal plea to buy. Isn’t it enough just to enjoy?

One of my favorite Paris shops, with similar designer eye appeal, is Pylones. The gift shop has spread world wide, thanks so its affordable, brightly colored tea pots, cheese graters, eye glass cases and more - all highly endowed with personality.

Another is The Cornershop - a home design store that carries the work of several European designers. My favorites are the larger items: a glass and chrome coffee table, club chairs in leather and velour. But I’ve also found tableware that had me mentally throwing out clothes to make room in my suitcase. And a side table that I wanted to build a room around. Unfortunately, they don’t ship.

Jamais Assez strikes me as somewhere in the middle. A place to dream, take inspiration, maybe even shop for a gift.

Sometimes, when I think about the grim state of the world, just remembering these places is enough for me.

If you go: 5155 Blvd St Laurent, at Fairmont.

st michael’s church open to visitors

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve passed St Michael’s Church while wandering Mile End and thought: maybe this time it will be open. There’s almost always someone on the stairs of the imposing, Byzantine-looking structure - munching a sandwich, reading, talking on a cell phone, or just whiling away the afternoon.

But, alas, the double wooden door is closed and locked, with no notice of when it will open.

I’ve wondered: Is the interior like Sacré-Coeur in Paris, brimming with golden mosaics?

Or more like the Greek-Orthodox church of my childhood, where I attended Easter services with a friend? My memories of her church center on the aromas of pirogees served on Fridays, and the colorful icons in gilded paintings and radiant stained glass windows.

En fait, Eglise St Michael is unlike either. And I have the Canada Summer Works program to thank for setting me straight.

I arrived earlier this month to find the doors open and a young man from Massachusetts waiting to give me a free tour. He unlocks the doors daily as part of a program that helps not-for-profit organizations increase visibility, while giving college students valuable work experience.

His enthusiasm is respectful but not dry - and he is delighted to hold forth on the statues, symbolism, history and art history of the parish.

To my surprise, the church is not Greek-Orthodox as the dome and minaret suggest, but Catholic, under the auspices of the Franciscans. The original worshippers were Irish; that population has dwindled, and the church now serves the Polish community.

My guide pointed out the saints adorning the inside of the dome (which was the largest dome in Montreal before St Joseph’s Oratory was built). He told stories depicted in Guido Nincheri’s stained windows and murals. He explained how the Stations of the Cross were copied from a church in Munich.

I love the way tour guides make even stone - and in this case, concrete - come alive. My tour was worth the long wait. This young man’s insights helped me appreciate faith, architecture, and the history of this splendid neighborhood.

Ca vaut le coup d’y passer.

If you go: 5580 Rue St Urbain, at St Viateur O. Visits in French and English, M-F, 9:30am-5pm, July-Aug.

Photograph courtesy Mourial.

les étoffes has fine cloth and attitude

Innovative design meets distinctive fashion at les Etoffes, a new clothing boutique on the Main.

What drew me in last winter was the vitrine - impeccably strewn with boots, bowlers, antique lace and trendy lamps. It was original, inventive, and highly textural, and had my mind spinning as I tried to come up with a narrative tying the elements together.

Then last month, a window displayed plastic human organs on a table set with Fiesta ware. What??

I knew the answer, though, even before one of the shop’s young owners pointed to the custom papier peint on the back wall. The wallpaper is a jaunty backdrop to the gorgeous clothes hanging from meat hooks affixed to grids on the ceiling.

Created by a Quebec designer, it parodies the French standard toile de jouy. Instead of beautiful women inked onto on a cream colored background, we see naked men performing various bodily functions. The meat hooks and cadaverous display are natural extensions of the theme.

Okay, edgy design - but what about the clothing?

Les étoffes means “fine cloth” and the shop carries new designers and quality used garments - distinctive shoes for men and women, and clothing for women - all made from top quality materials. Lines are classic, even minimal, and fabrics make shirts, jackets, and especially dresses, unforgettable.

Young Swedish designers Rodebjer, Carin Wester and Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair hang beside LA-based Grey Ant, and vintage pieces found in NY and Toronto warehouses. It’s sometimes hard to tell the used garments from the new. Visually and texturally, the place is a hit.

Conceptually, it’s full of surprises. There’s a pink kitchen in the back, visible through an opening in the wall at eye level - very feminine, and yet the offers to make a cappuccino while you shop come from Chris, the male half of the romantic and business partnership.

Diana, adorable in some of the lines they sell, or a hip mix of old and new, is a fabulous ad for their wares. It’s unlike anyplace else in Montreal.

If you go:  5253 Blvd St Laurent, open T W, 12-6, Th F 12-8, Sat Sun 12-6.  No website.

montreal update - jazz, sales, and bikes

July is in full swing with special events - so slather on sun block (yes, the sun will return), grab a bottle of water, and head out into the streets to wander and partake.

The Jazz Festival has Rue St Catherine closed to traffic from St Laurent east, and the fun is not reserved for the weekends or big concert venues. Walking toward Place des Arts from St Laurent midweek, I found the street filled with people.

Bands played on both sides of the street, and I could hear three different free concerts at any one time. Stages were small, medium and - where 4 young men played guitar and harmonica with a cap upturned on the concrete in front of them - nonexistent.

Fans slouched on benches, perched in camping chairs, sat on striped blankets laid over the curb. Body language registered above the music: everyone was loose, relaxed.

Folks ambled by, stopping to hear a few bars and decide whether to stay put or walk on. Street performers set up for a high wire routine.

A cotton candy vendor crisscrossed the pavement, with a stack of pink poufs over one shoulder, and grilling sausages perfumed the air.

Far from the music, on Rue Notre-Dame Ouest, Elaine Léveillé climbed in and out of the vitrine at ERA. July 1 marks the start of summer sales, and the owner of the three year old vintage shop was creating a new display - plus answering the phone, welcoming customers, and creating sales signs.

Everything in the store was on sale, and her staff was off for the holiday. Racks displayed halter dresses, short sleeved cashmere sweaters, lace and cotton skirts, cocktail dresses, jackets, wraps, and more - all sorted by color: turquoise, pink, saffron, crimson.

In the Plateau, sale signs covered the windows, and I went into shopping mode. At Retromania, I learned they no longer sell vintage - but I found a white V-neck top from Rayure (one of my favorite Paris shops) at 20% off.

Cyclists were all over the bike path - and I do believe more are wearing helmets.

For my part, I was going to rent a Bixi (no helmet, I should be ashamed) - but I soon learned that the handlebar baskets are open shells. I had umbrella, two small bags, a notebook and camera - which would not be contained without a knapsack or equivalent holding everything in check.

So I walked some more.