Over the past decades our village has changed a great deal. While not that long ago it was enough for it to be self-sufficient and meet the needs of its residents, the arrival of tourists has caused businesses to respond to their requirements and their needs.

If we’re honest, we have to admit that we have somewhat set aside the traditional to make room for industrial objects. But those who visited us wanted to know our traditions, our language and our furniture.

Paul Paradis, born in Brébeuf in 1916, was a motor mechanic and handyman. He was very good with his hands and when he saw that there was a problem with the supply of hockey sticks for the local youngsters, he simply decided to make some. He even invented the way to join the stick and the blade, and his technique is still used today by the big industrial hockey stick manufacturers.

When his wife wanted an expensive piece of furniture she had seen in a store, he decided he was certainly skilled enough to make it himself. The piece was barely finished when a customer of his happened by and offered to buy it. That was all it took to start the new business.

In fact, Québecois furniture grew in popularity with the visitors at the resort. They appreciated the art and talent of the artisan as well as the quality of the solid wood he used. Discovering that tourists adored this type of furniture, the hoteliers decided to provide their customers with this decor … and with that, the Paradis workshop saw the light of day in Saint-Jovite in 1950.

That era also saw the arrival of Arthur le scieur – Arthur the Sawyer – in our landscape. Arthur, with his lunch box, who worked sawing logs day-in, day-out in front of the Paradis workshop, became their trademark. It’s interesting to note that, in his first version, Arthur had had to add a doodad so as not to have to replace the log.

Paul’s son, Jean-Yves, born in 1938, joined his dad in the workshop where he learned cabinet-making. Some pieces required weeks of work. He used a small wooden penknife to sculpt the diamond-point designs that were so much in demand. I remember a small occasional table of my mother’s; it was a work of art, delicately carved with scrolls and turned feet. She liked to say that Mr. Paradis had made it. Many years later, it was my wife’s and my turn to buy a Paradis buffet.

Jean-Yves married Noëlla Therrien from Lac-des-Écorces and together, they raised four children, two girls and two boys. The third generation thus allowed the family business to continue. Daniel (born in 1963), continued the tradition of excellence by going, for a year, to study with the famous Bourgault cabinetmakers of Saint-Jean-Port-Joli. It was Pierre Bourgault himself who taught the various traditional techniques.

How many pieces of furniture did they make? Thousands, says Daniel. The customers were a varied group: from the person who saved to be able to buy a collector’s quality piece, to wealthy people who could have a house completely furnished with authentic Québecois furniture.

While many pieces were sold at the Coq Rouge in Saint- Jovite, people knocked at the door of the famous Paradis workshop to order the pieces they were looking for.

Paul died in 1990 and the workshop closed its doors in 2022. Not long after, Jean-Yves died, as well, and it is the memories of Daniel who keep this lovely story – history – of Québecois creations alive.

What happened to Arthur the sawyer? Well, he finished his career in front of the Saint-Arnould brewery and now enjoys a comfortable retirement in what was formerly the Paradis workshop.

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