Freitag Concept

Who doesn’t love Friday? When Sonia Escriva opened Freitag Concept on The Main, Montreal’s trendiest strip, in May 2000, she had just taken a German class. “I said, ok, it would be nice, instead of an English word or a French word. It’s German for Friday.”

The name certainly reflects the joie de vivre that Montrealers have come to be known for: greeting the weekend with style by kicking off their work shoes, putting on their best bling, and hitting the town.

It was happenstance that led Sonia to open her own jewelry store. “I was just coming back from L.A., and I was looking for a little job for two months before going back,” she says. “And my friend had a store on St-Denis Street. I started to work with him and I never left.” She remained there for many years, and eventually, when it was time to move on, she chanced upon a space for rent on St-Laurent. “I was happy and ready to start my own thing,” she says. “I saw it and I just jumped.”