thread your way back in time - the mercerie - silk thread

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Thread your way back in time - the Mercerie - Silk Thread

Ultramod - the Mercerie and hat shopA quest for silk embroidery thread leads me to a haberdashery on a narrow Paris street. The only name visible at this address behind the green façade is "Mercerie". The mercerie on the rue de Choiseul sits a few doors north of the Passage Choiseul entrance along rueSaint-Augustin. Unlike the first chapter setting in Emile Zola's novel, Thérèse Raquin, this display window lacks the dust anddinginess. The interior is lit with brilliant colors of the past and present. The roses are freshened weekly. Ultramod lacks the depressing spirit of Zola's main character. If you visit between two and three in theafternoon, you will encounter a conviviality doubtfully found in any other mercerie shop in Paris. One day while waiting for the owner, Mr. Jean-François Morin, the sounds of laughter and chatter and theclinking of the cutlery against the porcelain and the scent of a warm lunch mingled with the sight of coloredjewels of buttons, boxes, ribbons and threads. Ultramod is a haberdashery shop -- a mercerie. They have two shops across the narrow street from eachother. The mercerie on the one side of rue de Choiseul sells vintage silk ribbons that feel as if you are buryingyour fingers in goose down. If you are looking for a button, you have hundreds or "thousands" from which to choose.

They sell silk threads from Au Ver à Soie or the complete color range of DMC, traditional braids, ribbons of alltypes, embroidery and tapestry threads. Across the street, is the vintage hat shop with its vintage patterned straw and other materials, furniture braids,coarse-grains (gros-grains), and supplies (fourniture) for hat making. Givenchy once bought here, Lanvin doesand Jean Paul Gaultier visits personally to select his materials. If no one is in the shop, someone in themercerie will open the door for you. Consider the vintage materials in the two shops as unique -- once they are gone they are gone forever! Experiencing the momentThis mercerie spells ambiance with a capital “A”. The little shells above the entry door tingle continuously as thecustomers move steadily in and out looking for that special color…. A French couple comes in looking for thread. Her button has come off the bottom of her pants.The color has to match her shoes, her stockings and the color of the button. With help, they find the taupe colornecessary to pull the look together. The Japanese girl in the raincoat wants to replace the black buttons on her coat and sets about to patiently lookfor and to find the replacements in one of the button boxes. The French woman holds two rolls of printed ribbon and needs a specific measure. Another tries to imagine how the olive felt ribbon will look tied; Marc demonstrates how to lap the pieces toachieve the effect she wants. A green, hand-crank cash register and hand written receipts monitor all sales. Often tourists come in browsing and still end up leaving with something, Mr. Morin says. We speak JapaneseGuidebooks and fashion magazines in Japan mention Ultramod often. Momoko found her job with Ultramod after reading about the mercerie in the Japanese Elle magazine. Shewanted to work here and followed the channels. She is here on an exchange visa so she can work and learn French and the business simultaneously. Thismercerie is a favorite destination for Japanese tourists, and she acts as the translator. HistoryThe oral history of Ultramod dates to between the 1860s and 1880s. The last of the family sold out in the

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1990s. Mr. Morin formerly had a career in finance, until about 1991. In 1996 he was smitten as soon as he walked intothe mercerie side run by Madame Léone Santais. Mr. Morin then had the opportunity to buy the store acrossthe street, the original with all of its vintage stock. The last of the original family was selling (the name of thefamily was not exactly clear -- Mr. Morin is not even sure of the name any longer). The original families’ factory and storage facilities in the north of France was bombed in the 1940s. Theybrought the salvageable stock to Paris and rue de Choiseul. The collection of the vintage treasures for sale is amazingly large. When the stock is depleted, that’s it! Useful informationUltramodOpen Monday to Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.3 and 4 rue de Choiseul 75002Tel: 01 42 96 98 30 Fax 01 42 60 45 57Metro: Quatre Septembre (near the Opera) Additional triviaA haberdasher is a person who sells small, commonly used items in clothing via retail. This can include ribbonsand buttons, or completed accessories, such as hats or gloves. A haberdasher's shop or the items sold thereinare called haberdashery -- Wikipedia Au ver à SoieThe wholesale business of Au Ver à Soie (founded in 1820) is located on rue Réaumur. The woman with whom I spoke at Au Ver à Soie was very secretive about their factory. She spoke to me from behind a massive, solid wood, old-fashioned counter, topped by a gigantic gold cashregister, the atelier (studio) windows behind her. She was among the wood bookshelves that reached to the top of the high ceiling room filled with thin boxesand tightly wrapped grey packages. Other women were at work over to the side behind other partitions andwalls.Samples hung on the wall and on the display hooks to the right of the two entry doors made of wood and oldglass imprinted with the complete name of Au Ver à Soie written on an angle. What I left with, however, was the name of Ultramod and their address. This was also my introduction to silk thread. A reader wanted to visit Au Ver à Soie thinking that the factory was located in Paris. During the SeptemberJournées du Patrimoine, it might be possible to visit the factory which is located in Bracieux (Loir-et-Cher, Centre).

Let's visit UltramodCome with me on a tour of Ultramod, a haberdashery (mercerie) from long ago that lives a popular presenceon rue de Choiseul in Paris.

Jean François Morin and Momoko Ultramod - 3 and 4 rue de Choiseul 75002


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The mercerie interior - front to back

When entering the mercerie, you arefaced with buttons on two walls

A collection of the various Au Ver à Soie products

The window display never stays the same;it stays as lively as the interior!

Marc and Masako Taniuchi (Hokkaido BunkaFashion College)


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Antique hat pins - not for sale

Cabinet that holds the antique hat pins -for display only


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Ultramod interior front to back

Buttons! have they got buttons

A small selection of beautiful embroidered ribbons


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A piece of equipment that is now used tocount out mega meters of ribbon

A wall full of fringe for household decorating

Gorgeous!

This rayon (silk) product can be shaped to any form


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More selections on the hat side of the street

Hat samples to decorate

Queen Elizabeth II's hat form from wild hare


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Straw used for hats

Hat form


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thread your way back in time - the mercerie - silk thread

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