La Remise
La Remise is a Montreal non-profit solidarity cooperative operating a tool lending library, three workshops (woodworking, sewing, bike repair), and training courses for approximately 5,000 individual members, nonprofits, and small businesses across three city locations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersMontreal, Canada
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What La Remise does
La Remise is a Montreal-based solidarity cooperative (coopérative de solidarité à but non lucratif) founded in 2015 by the citizen collective "Villeray en transition" and recognized as the first tool library in Quebec. The cooperative operates a physical lending library of more than 2,000 tools and objects (carpentry, kitchen, camping, painting, cleaning, gardening) available to roughly 5,000 members, alongside three integrated workshops: Atelier Bois (woodworking), Atelier Couture (sewing), and Atelier Vélo (bicycle repair). It complements borrowing with hands-on training courses (Bois 101, Couture 101, VéloFormation 101) delivered through the Simpletix registration platform.
The underlying technology stack is intentionally lean and community-oriented. La Remise uses the MyTurn third-party inventory platform for catalog browsing and loan management, Square as the payment gateway for memberships and services, and Simpletix for course scheduling. There is no proprietary technology platform, no mobile app, and no disclosed AI capabilities. Member onboarding, subscription selection, and tool browsing happen through the La Remise website and the MyTurn catalog.
Revenue is generated primarily through a two-tier subscription model (solidaire and accessible pricing), pay-as-you-go tool rentals, workshop session fees, training course fees, producer-member subscriptions for businesses and nonprofits (revenue-tiered from $175–$700/year), one-time social shares ($10 regular / $50 producer), donations, and grants from partners such as Desjardins (FADM), the City of Montreal, and FIRM. The organization is operated by a three-person paid coordination team supported by approximately 140 volunteers, with any surplus reinvested into service improvements rather than distributed. La Remise serves individual community members (primary segment), nonprofit/social enterprises, and small businesses/self-employed professionals through three active Montreal locations (Villeray, Petite-Patrie, and Atelier Vélo), with a fourth Plateau location having closed in November 2024.
La Remise firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- La Remise
- Legal name
- La Remise
- Website
- https://laremise.ca
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- La Remise is a Montreal non-profit solidarity cooperative operating a tool lending library, three workshops (woodworking, sewing, bike repair), and training courses for approximately 5,000 individual members, nonprofits, and small businesses across three city locations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
La Remise industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Tool Library Services
- NAICS
- Personal and Household Goods Repair and Maintenance (8114), Other Personal and Household Goods Repair and Maintenance (811490)
- SIC
- Services-Miscellaneous Repair Services (7600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- DIY & Home Skills Workshops (Woodworking, Carpentry, Home Repair, Gardening) (THAJAKAI)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Donation, Resale & Textile Recycling Coordination (HSAFABAI)
Keywords
Where La Remise is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Montreal
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
La Remise business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Membership subscriptions (bibliothèque d'outils): Members pay annual or monthly subscription fees for access to the tool library, borrowing up to 12 items at a time for 7 days, renewable once. Fee tiers (solidaire/accessible) ensure accessibility.
- Workshop access fees (Atelier Bois, Couture, Vélo): Members pay per-session or subscription fees to use workshop spaces (woodworking, sewing, bike repair). Pricing follows time-based or unlimited monthly/annual models with two tiers.
- Training course fees: Members pay for structured training courses (Bois 101, Couture, VéloFormation) priced per course depending on duration and materials included.
- Donations and grants: The cooperative is financed through member subscriptions, grants, bursaries, and donations. As a non-profit solidarity cooperative, any surplus is reinvested into service improvements.
- Tool and object donations: Most tools come from community donations; some purchased second-hand and a minority purchased new, generating in-kind value rather than direct revenue.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Monthly Solidaire - $55/month |
| Subscription | Monthly | Monthly Accessible - $37/month |
| Subscription | Annual | Annual Solidaire - $120/year |
| Subscription | Annual | Annual Accessible - $80/year |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Per-tool manual - $4/week; renewal $2 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Per-tool electrical - $12/week; renewal $5 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Formidable tools - $10/week; renewal $10 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Atelier Bois - time-based Solidaire from $9 (≤30 min) to $50 (3h+) |
| Subscription | Monthly | Atelier Bois - unlimited 1 month Solidaire $135 / Accessible $90 |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Atelier Bois - unlimited 3 months Solidaire $330 / Accessible $221 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Atelier Couture Villeray - per session Solidaire $10 / Accessible $7 |
| Subscription | Annual | Atelier Couture Villeray - annual Solidaire $50 / Accessible $34 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Atelier Vélo - day pass Solidaire $13 / Accessible $10 |
| Subscription | Annual | Atelier Vélo - annual Solidaire $70 / Accessible $35 |
| Subscription | Annual | OBNL/Coop/Social enterprise annual - $175-$495/year (based on revenue) |
| Subscription | Annual | PME/Enterprise annual - $200-$700/year (based on revenue) |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels8 records
La Remise product offering
Product offeringCore offering
La Remise operates a community tool lending library in Montreal offering members access to over 2,000 tools, alongside shared workshop spaces for woodworking (Atelier Bois), sewing (Atelier Couture), and bicycle repair (Atelier Vélo). The cooperative complements physical tool access with hands-on skill training courses (Formations) for individual members across Montreal.
Product overview
La Remise is a non-profit solidarity cooperative operating a multi-branch tool and object lending library system in Montreal, Quebec. The core offering is the Bibliothèque d'outils (Tool Library), which provides members access to over 2000 tools across multiple categories. This is complemented by three physical workshops: Atelier Bois (woodworking), Atelier Couture (sewing), and Atelier Vélo (bicycle repair). The cooperative also offers Formations (training courses) to help members develop practical skills. All services are accessed through a membership system requiring purchase of a social share, with services available at different pricing tiers to ensure accessibility.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- Reduces individual tool purchasing — members share 2000+ tools vs. each purchasing their own
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use La Remise
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
La Remise technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
La Remise partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.
- Université de MontréalminorListed as a partner on La Remise's partners page, suggesting institutional collaboration or support.
- La Ruche QuébecminorLa Ruche Québec hosted La Remise's crowdfunding campaign (sociofinancement) for the Rosemont-Petite-Patrie location in October 2023, providing a crowdfunding platform and promotional support.
- TIESS (Territoire innovateur en économie sociale et solidaire)minorLa Remise participated in the TIESS 'Parcours Économie sociale et économie circulaire' publication (March 2023), highlighting its role in the circular economy movement.
- Plateau-Mont-Royal BoroughminorBorough-level support for community projects, historically associated with the Plateau location operations.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves3 records
Expansion highlights6 records
La Remise competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Toronto Tool Library: Toronto tool-lending library providing members access to hand and power tools; closely comparable to La Remise's Bibliothèque d'outils, with similar membership and loan model.
- Repair Café International Foundation: International movement of community repair events where volunteers help fix household items; directly comparable to La Remise's Atelier Vélo and sewing repair ethos and volunteer-driven service model.
- L'Atelier Paysan: French cooperative that develops, shares, and trains farmers in self-built tools; comparable European cooperative sharing model with workshop training and open-source equipment ethos.
- Portland Tool Library: Portland, Oregon nonprofit tool-lending library offering a curated catalog of tools to members; directly comparable lending-library model with workshop and training adjacencies.
- West Seattle Tool Library: Community-run tool library in Seattle offering members access to a wide range of tools; directly comparable membership-based tool-lending model with strong volunteer engagement.
- The Sharing Depot: Toronto-based nonprofit tool and kitchen-lending library operating since 2011 with multiple locations; the most direct Canadian comparator to La Remise's tool library + workshops model, sharing sliding-scale pricing and volunteer-driven operations.
Others
- Desjardins Coopérative (Caisse de Montréal): Quebec cooperative financial institution that has directly funded La Remise's Petite-Patrie branch via the FADM program; comparable as a Quebec-based solidarity cooperative with shared cooperative governance principles.
- La Ruche Québec: Quebec crowdfunding platform dedicated to social economy and cooperative projects; partnered with La Remise to fund the Petite-Patrie expansion and broadly comparable as a community-financed alternative-economy enabler.
Regional players
- Berkeley Tool Lending Library: Long-running municipal tool-lending program operated by the Berkeley Public Library in California; comparable tool-library concept delivered through a public library rather than a cooperative.
Emerging players
- MITERS / Make-It MIT: Student-run makerspace at MIT providing access to woodworking, metalworking, and fabrication tools with training and workshops; comparable to La Remise's atelier training model though anchored in an academic community.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
La Remise social profiles
Digital presenceLa Remise financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
La Remise leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
La Remise funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
La Remise M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about La Remise
What does La Remise do?
La Remise operates a community tool lending library in Montreal offering members access to over 2,000 tools, alongside shared workshop spaces for woodworking (Atelier Bois), sewing (Atelier Couture), and bicycle repair (Atelier Vélo). The cooperative complements physical tool access with hands-on skill training courses (Formations) for individual members across Montreal.
Is La Remise a public or private company?
La Remise is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was La Remise founded?
La Remise was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is La Remise based?
La Remise is headquartered in Montreal, Canada, in the North America region.
How does La Remise make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Membership subscriptions (bibliothèque d'outils) is the primary driver. The others are workshop access fees (Atelier Bois, Couture, Vélo), training course fees, donations and grants and tool and object donations.
Who are La Remise's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Toronto Tool Library, Repair Café International Foundation, L'Atelier Paysan, Portland Tool Library, West Seattle Tool Library and The Sharing Depot. Others are Desjardins Coopérative (Caisse de Montréal) and La Ruche Québec. Berkeley Tool Lending Library is listed as a regional player. MITERS / Make-It MIT is listed as an emerging player.
Does La Remise have an API?
No public API is recorded for La Remise.
What industry is La Remise in?
La Remise's product category is Tool Library Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAJAKAI, DIY & Home Skills Workshops (Woodworking, Carpentry, Home Repair, Gardening), with a secondary code of HSAFABAI, Donation, Resale & Textile Recycling Coordination. Its NAICS code is 8114 and its SIC code is 7600.