T-Shirts by Tresnormale
German Traces in Montreal

  • Tresnormale - Atelier & Boutique © Goethe-Institut Montreal

    Tresnormale - Atelier & Boutique

  • Different printed T-Shirts from Tresnormale © Goethe-Institut Montreal

    Different printed T-Shirts from Tresnormale

  • Jörn Schmidt at his screen printing machine © Goethe-Institut Montreal

    Jörn Schmidt at his screen printing machine

T-Shirts by Tresnormale

By the time it opened its atelier and shop on Avenue Fairmont in 2014, “Tresnormale” - a small silkscreen and design label - had already been in existence for a few years. As production grew, the screens, inks, and dryers had started taking up more and more room in the owner’s small 4 and a half room apartment, eventually making it impossible to live there. Therefore, when there was a small store available to rent in the popular Mile End neighbourhood, there was no hesitation in going for it.
 

Since the shop’s opening, the business has not only added more machines and materials, but also employees, business hours, and something like a regular daily routine. Tresnormale’s printed t-shirts, bags, etc. are sold both in diverse boutiques in Montreal as well as directly to clients, who can follow along with the silkscreening process on site.

When Jörn Schmidt met his future wife Madeleine, a Franco-Canadian, on a trip to Thailand in 2001, he had never been in Montreal or even North America. He visited Montreal for the first time in 2003 and fell in love with the place. He had been living in Berlin (which was also where he learned silkscreening) and found it a great city, but Montreal immediately felt like home to him. Jörn and Madeleine married in 2005, and Jörn originally began selling hand-printed t-shirts instead of continuing with his academic career. However, the success and freedom that came with working for himself made the idea of returning to university unattractive, and it was soon abandoned.

Tresnormale - Atelier & Store
207 Avenue Fairmount Ouest
H2T 2M8 Montreal
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