{"id":5999,"date":"2025-05-29T14:54:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T18:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/museejuifmontreal.ca\/?p=5999"},"modified":"2026-06-23T11:50:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T15:50:06","slug":"fisher-press-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/museejuifmontreal.ca\/en\/fisher-press-release\/","title":{"rendered":"Press Release: MJM Reopens Century-Old Montreal Sewing Shop as Living Exhibit"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"mjm-general-info mjm-general-info--columns-1-2 mjm-general-info--has-top-separator\">\n            <div class=\"mjm-general-info__inner\">\n                <h2 class=\"mjm-general-info__section-title\">Press Release: MJM Reopens Century-Old Montreal Sewing Shop as Living Exhibit<\/h2>\n                <div class=\"mjm-general-info__grid\">\n                <div class=\"mjm-general-info__column mjm-general-info__column--left\"><div class=\"mjm-general-info__left-title\"><p>For Immediate Release<br \/>May 29, 2025<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n                <div class=\"mjm-general-info__column mjm-general-info__column--right\" style=\"--mjm-general-info-right-font-family:var(--font-body);--mjm-general-info-right-line-height:1.18\"><div class=\"mjm-general-info__right-content\"><p><strong>MONTREAL \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0The Museum of Jewish Montreal (MJM) is excited to announce that as of June 5th, it will open a pop-up experience at the historic H. Fisher &amp; Fils Building located at 4129 St. Laurent Blvd.<\/p>\n<p>A perfectly-preserved time capsule\u00a0from Montreal\u2019s once-thriving\u00a0<em>shmata<\/em>\u00a0(Yiddish for \u201crag\u201d or \u201cgarment\u201d) industry, H. Fisher et Fils was a sewing supply store active from 1922 to 2022 and was founded by Eastern-European Jewish immigrant Harry Fisher. The store\u2019s longevity can be attributed to its relationship with many Canadian garment factories and its ability to provide high-grade sewing notions. The shop\u2019s late owner, Esther Fisher, maintained a rapport with high-profile clients such as Cirque du Soleil and the Op\u00e9ra de Montr\u00e9al.<\/p>\n<p>According to Zev Moses, MJM\u2019s director: \u200b\u201cThis new pop-up space in a historic store is an invitation for visitors to step into the everyday lives of those who built our community and the garment industry in Montreal. We are now writing the next chapter of H. Fisher &amp; Fils starting with the story of Esther Fisher, and we hope to hear the stories of Montrealers who once did business with Esther or frequented the shop.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>From Thursday June 5th, MJM will be reopening H. Fisher to the public, providing access to this time capsule of a once-thriving garment business with the following activities:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Interactive guided visits<\/strong>\u00a0will inform guests about the H. Fisher business, Montreal\u2019s garment industry, and Jewish immigration in the early 20th century. Plan your visit at:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/museejuifmontreal.ca\/en\/fisher\/\">museejuifmontreal.ca\/en\/fisher\/<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>A story-collection project<\/strong> for visitors with experiences related to the H. Fisher Building and the garment industry. Guests can submit stories and contact information via QR code or at the front desk.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Contemporary art exhibitions<\/strong>\u00a0installed in Fisher\u2019s front window will highlight artists and artisans whose practices touch on themes related to the textile industry, immigration, and more.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Annie Polland, President of the Tenement Museum in New York City, shares her excitement on MJM\u2019s new project: \u201cWhat is so amazing about the H. Fisher space is that you feel like the proprietress has just stepped out, but as you wait, you can start imagining the customers, the interactions, and the connections to Montreal\u2019s Jewish and garment community, and the thousands of clients over time across Canada. The richness of the oral history left to MJM from Esther Fisher, the remarkable space, and the conversations sure to emerge will create a remarkable educational and cultural opportunity for all who visit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The H. Fisher &amp; Fils Pop-Up will operate Thursdays through Mondays from 10am to 5pm. MJM\u2019s historical walking tours will meet outside of the H. Fisher Building. Guests can book a guided visit of H. Fisher before or following their walking tours.<\/p>\n<p>For all updates and notices pertaining to this exciting project, we encourage guests to regularly check MJM\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/museemtljuif\/\">Instagram<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/museedumontrealjuif\/\">Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/museemontrealjuif.ca\/\">website<\/a>, and subscribe to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/museemontrealjuif.us5.list-manage.com\/subscribe?u=28f2b529d6f0a21018d982548&amp;id=83b0b66801\">our monthly newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Press Inquiries:<\/strong><br \/>Austin Henderson, Arts Programming &amp; Communications Manager, austin@imjm.ca<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-announcements"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/museejuifmontreal.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/museejuifmontreal.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/museejuifmontreal.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museejuifmontreal.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museejuifmontreal.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5999"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/museejuifmontreal.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5999\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/museejuifmontreal.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museejuifmontreal.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museejuifmontreal.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}