My grandfather, Armand, was one of the European-trained, Jewish furriers who began arriving in Montreal in the early 1900s. While some garments had long been made here, the story of Canada’s modern fur-manufacturing sector began in the 20th Century. Early each morning, Armand would stand in the street in front of the Old Montreal fur ateliers, his sewing machine slung over his shoulder, hoping to be called in for a day’s work. A skilled “operator”, Armand and his cousins soon started their own company – one of several-hundred fur manufacturers that set up shop in Canada during the inter-war period.

They were joined, after World War II, by craftspeople from the mountain villages of northern Greece, fleeing civil war in their own country. While as many as 500 small-scale fur manufacturers were established in Montreal, Toronto and Winnipeg, they still catered primarily to the domestic market. It was only in the late 1960s and 1970s (with the new popularity of long-haired “fun furs”), that Canada emerged as a major exporter of made-up garments – a role that was further strengthened with the launching of the North American Fur & Fashion Exposition in Montreal (NAFFEM) in 1983, and by a new generation of creative fur designers.

Zuki is one of the world’s great fur designers; his exciting “picture” coats are sought after by fashionistas around the globe. But when Zuki first began dyeing furs in bright reds, greens and yellows, his father-in-law thought he’d gone mad.

“My father was a traditional furrier; it took someone from outside the trade to break all the rules,” says Betty Balaila, Zuki’s business (and life) partner, and president of the Montreal NAFFEM.

Paula Lishman was also classed as “nuts” when she cut top quality beaver pelts into thin strips to knit her first “fur fabric” garments. Yes, knit! While Zuki’s love of colour was nurtured by his childhood in Israel, Paula was inspired by rabbit fur blankets that First Nations women traditionally wove for their babies. And by her experience in making clothes for herself. She explains: “When you are as tall as me, growing up in Goose Bay, Labrador, you either learn to make clothes or you go naked!”

Today, Lishman's workshop in rural Blackstock. Ontario, employs dozens of local artisans making lightweight blankets, shawls, coats, jackets and accessories. She also sells her unique (and washable) beaver fur yarn at craft shows and over the internet, so people can add "a touch of fur" to their knitting projects. In business, as in her role as president of the Fur Council of Canada, Paula Lishman lives by her motto: “A fur for everyone, and everyone in fur!”

Zuki and Paula Lishman are prime examples of the creative spirit driving the current fashion revival in Canada’s founding industry.

“Fur is back and it’s better than ever, thanks to talented designers who are re-inventing fur for more casual and active lifestyles. This is definitely not your mother’s old mink coat,” says Steve Zuckerman, of Jean Crisan Fourrures. Zuckerman (who likes to survey the New York fashion scene on roller blades, with a jet-pack on his back) likes working with young Canadian and US designers to produce furs for the young, hip crowd. Worldwide, more than 300 top designers now use fur, compared with barely forty a decade ago. 

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