On the second floor of a large red-brick building divided into three sections, just past the spot where you cross the railroad tracks on foot in Saint-Henri, you’ll find the Goth Shop—after wandering around a bit in the large, creaky hallways of Château Saint-Ambroise.
It’s not a real castle (not even a fake one)—it’s a former toy factory with a garden featuring a stone fountain that’s half-romantic and half-unsettling.
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It’s the perfect place for a touch of goth, a touch of alternative—taxidermy, iconoclastic jewelry, dark and twisted things.
At the Goth Shop, the atmosphere is like an episode of The Addams Family, and it’s owned by Astrid Apissoghomian, a jewelry designer who works best at night. That’s when she hears ghosts running through the hallways, even though the castle is empty for the night…
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GOTH SHOP, INCHOO JEWELRY, AND THE MALEFICARUM MARKETS
The shop is decorated with a stuffed bear’s head, repurposed and repainted church altars, and recycled theater set pieces to create a truly gothic atmosphere.
When Astrid talks about “Gothic,” she’s referring to Gothic as defined by the Romans during the Renaissance: a disorganized and chaotic aesthetic, disproportionate and without rules. Gothic is outside the system, a little weird, sometimes a little perverse. That’s what you’ll find at the GOTH SHOP.
There’s taxidermy, pieces by Montreal, Canadian, and international designers (with about a hundred vendors working with the shop), jewelry, candles, vintage items, and some very pretty antique candlesticks refurbished by Astrid and her team in the jewelry workshop located just across the hall.
This is where she and her two incredibly talented jewelers design and craft Inchoo jewelry, inspired by cathedrals and ultra-romantic darkness—in gold and silver.
Inchoo also offers mourning jewelry—and soon, Victorian-style jewelry where you can preserve the hair of loved ones. It’s a bit macabre, but it fits the spirit of the place, and there’s always a little more soul in the shadows than in the light.
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Astrid also organizes markets at the store, called the MARCHÉS MALEFICARUM. There are five of them a year, more or less timed to coincide with the celebrations of the Wheel of the Year in pagan religions.
- SOMBER SOLSTICE (for the winter solstice and the end-of-year holidays)
- PHANTASME (erotic art, for Valentine’s Day)
- RESURRECTION (in April)
- PASTEL GOTH (in June, for summer)
- HALLOWEEN (no explanation needed for this one)
To celebrate the 5th anniversary of Montreal’s most gothic store, the special Halloween MALEFICARUM market is drenched in blood and boiled in a witch’s cauldron. There will be artisans, jewelry, decor, and plenty of atmosphere.
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PRACTICAL INFO
Where? GOTH SHOP MTL, Château Saint-Ambroise Suite #278, at 4000 Saint-Ambroise Street
When? Open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
What? Website and more info here
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