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Kitsch, generic and mass-produced in China — souvenirs are for tourists, right?

That may be true in many cases, but over the past decade or so, a new kind of souvenir has emerged in Montreal: the artfully designed memento not only created by locals, but embraced by them.

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From cups sporting our city’s silhouetted skyline to T-shirts with images of métro stations, clever, often beautiful objects are gracing the homes, offices and bodies of Montrealers who are proud of their hometown.

Jonny Goldmaker, who co-founded Montreal souvenir business Main and Local last year, says there are plans to develop a tourist-focused line of merchandise, but “what we have now really is for Montrealers and ex-Montrealers.” Most customers are, he says, people who live here.

Photo by Main and Local

Main and Local’s products, which include soaps stamped with Québécois swear words, Expo 67 clocks and apparel celebrating Montreal’s defunct baseball team, the Royals, are intended to “give people something cool to take home about their city,” Goldmaker says. “Something different, something that isn’t so in-your-face Montreal.”