The Victorian style crossed the U.S. border and took hold in Quebec at the turn of the century. In the Eastern Townships and the Quebec City and Montreal areas, fine specimens of Victorian architecture have survived the demolition frenzy that lasted from the 1960s to the 1980s, razing to the ground everything that didn't fit in with the dictum of the time: economy of materials, space and imagination. A warranted swing of the pendelum over the past five years has revived Victorian stryle, with its abundance of curves and decorative detailing, and its Roman, Greek, Gothic, Italian Renaissance and Queen Anne influences.
Former lumberjack and logdriver Claude Bérubé is now devoted to crafting ornemental woodwork and friezes. He started turning wood little by little in his basement evenings and weekends at a time when he was bored to death working on an automatic assembly line. Today he runs his own company, Les Tournages du Nord, employing 12 people, including 8 in the workshop. In addition to producing individually crafted columns, posts and balusters, Claude undertakes more complex projects, such as porches and verandas (in the Queen Anne style, among others--the ultimate in chic), as well as gazebos and mantelpieces, all of Victorian inspiration.
The walls of the workshop mezzanine are lined with more than 1000 veranda posts, all lined up like little wooden soldiers. They are all the models Claude has produced over the last ten years. "We never do the same thing twice", he emphasizes. For outdoor use, he uses pine or sometimes sequoia from California. For interiors, the range of wood is broader: oak, ash, mahogany, linden, maple and especially cherrywood, his favourite.
Claude Bérubé is naturally intuitive. And he's totally self-taught. Without any formal training, he combed the streets of San Francisco and typical little villages along the U.S. east coast, camera in hand. He later picked up books and catalogues (reproductions of the very catalogues that served to propagate the Victorian style in Great Britain and the U.S. from 1830 to 1910), and pored over the photographs and drawings, analysed the details, and noted differences. He is now sure of one thing: the lambrequins, decorative angle brackets, gables, pinnacles and fleurons he crafts in his Boisbriand workshop are every bit as fine as those found in Victorian homes anywhere from Kennebunk to Cape May.
He's got an eye, but more importantly, a thorough knowledge of wood. After much testing, he's been able to develop products that he believes will last longer than all the verandas in Outremont put together. "We have techniques that enable us to extend the life expentancy of a wooden ornemental feature." The finishing coat he uses (a super white-opaque satin-finish stain) is chip-and fungus proof. In addition, his veranda columns are slightly raised and the pedestals have ventilation holes drilled into them. All pieces are assembled witrh waterproof glue that has a significantly higher adhesion value that other commercial glues. "In ten years, I've never had a complaint from a customer", he affirms proudly his eyes sparkling behind his Jean-Paul Gaultier specs.
He finds, though, that Quebecers are not very daring. "Authentic Victorian homes use at least three colours, but people here prefer white. By being persistent, I've managed to convince some people to choose a color -- sometimes two, but it's rare." And what about his own home? He laughs heartily, "It's quite ordinary, and the staircase of turned wood at my cottage... all white!"
