Russell Hemsworth, the "Paper Guy"
Dave Jaffer
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photo: Joseph Yarmush
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He didn't want to work for the man, he wanted to be the man. So Russell Hemsworth opened Papeterie Nota Bene (3416 Parc Ave.), an eclectic new-school stationery store that also furnishes artists with a gallery space to show their work.Name Russell Hemsworth
Job title Proprietor of the most "pimped-out stationery store on the planet"
Education I took night courses here and there on starting your own business, marketing and accounting.
Who is the person most responsible for you being where you are today, either through encouragement or inspiration? My mum. She did an amazing job keeping her six kids safe in the sometimes unsafe environment of living with an alcoholic. And my grandmother, the indomitable Mrs. Kling.
Where were you five years ago and what were you doing? Working at getting my enterprise off the ground. By night, working as a software analyst. Paying the rent late.
Where do you see yourself five years from now? Still paying the rent late. Selling my soul to get into architecture school. Having a bigger gallery. Supporting the LGBT community by starting a snowboarding club.
How much of a role did official, institutionalized schooling play in furthering your life or career aspirations (or not)? [Via night courses] I put together my own Executive MBA (non-accredited, of course).
What makes you
good at your job? The ability to find the most unique products and the diplomacy to convince suppliers to forget New York. I relate well to people and especially well with the insane.
What makes you lose sleep at night? My father finding out I plan to study architecture and going to CÉGEP to prepare for it.
I first spotted this jem of a store on my way to the Sunday Tam-Tam affair up the street from its' location. As I was on the 80 bus I didn't jump off, but knew I would return to visit, and I can say - I'm glad I did. Russell sure knows his stuff. I'm not simply talking product knowledge, but how to display it. His night classes surely paid off. Nota Bene is a great alternative to the Big Box places that have no service and move on price only. Russell has established knowledge of the stationary market and peoples' desire to hold something special and create keepsakes. Just go sit in any Montreal Cafe or the Grande Biblioteheque Nationale du Quebec and note (pun intentional) the equipement folks are using. They do buy and use quality stuff. Thier University or school notes are part of thier life. Nota Bene targets this niche perfectly and offers them excellent choices to make the task of studying enjoyable and memorable. Pencil this place on your calendar as a place to visit. It is worthy of cheking out.
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Dave Coffin
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I've got to admit that I'm a stationery freak. And frankly, I'm torn, because I think it's horrible to chop down old-growth forests just to have pretty notebooks (especially since I find that I write more easily, and maybe even better, in those crappy 50-cent, 80-page Hilroys), but in the end, I'm a writer who loves keeping a hard-copy journal and the aesthetic pleasure of handwriting physical letters. I can't always afford these things (especially if you factor in recycled paper to ease your mind about that environmental dilemma), but they're something I like to splurge on. So I delight in stores like Nota Bene to begin with... but the fact that they ALSO house a gallery, which brings together artists and writers and people who are just plain obsessed with writing utensils and paper, just kicks it up a notch and really does make this the most pimped-out stationery store on the planet. All this place needs is a café and then I'd never leave.
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Laura Roberts
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