Aldea & Monte Design

Aldea X Monte Design

Monte Design was founded in 2005 by Ralph & Michelle Montemurro. Founded out of the need to furnish their son’s nursery, together they launched a line of Canadian-made high-quality furniture. For the last 16 years, Monte Design products have always revolved around quality, sustainability and design. We are passionate about creating luxury furniture for the modern home.

Monte Design’s goal is to produce well-made design driven products while using sustainable high-quality materials, local suppliers and to manufacture in a responsible way. We aim to minimize the impact our products have on our indoor air environment, and the planet in general. 

Here are some of the ways our products are sustainably made:

• FOAM: High density, low VOC foam that does not contain any harmful flame retardant chemicals and is certiPUR certified
• FRAMES: Canadian hardwood & engineered plywood with interlock construction for maximum strength
• FABRICS: We offer a wide range of 35 different fabrics from performance heathered, to all natural cotton/linen. Our polyester fabric and thread options are manufactured according to Oeko-Tex Standard 100. Our all natural Italian made cotton/linen fabric options are biodegradable, untreated and contain no highly fluorinated chemicals. 
• SHIPPING: All of our shipping boxes are made in Canada from over 95% recycled materials

What makes you the best at what you do?

Every Monte Design product is built by hand in our Toronto factory. Our team is made up of dedicated, expert craftspeople, from the sewers, to upholsterers, to technicians and the last touch quality control. Everyone comes together with the shared pursuit of superior quality. Our skilled upholsterers take their time with each piece they create to ensure every Monte owner receives a quality piece of furniture they will cherish for many years. 

Monte Design is the original for Modern Nursery furniture, we saw a need and produced it! We are always coming up with new designs and materials to evolve our brand.

Our partnership is meaningful because…

Our partnership is meaningful because we have been on this journey together! Aldea has been a Monte partner since 2008 and it has been a partnership from the beginning. Aldea has always been dedicated when it comes to selling Monte products, immersing yourself and your team in our line. Aldea shares our same passion for quality, design, and sustainable materials and can attest to that when selling Monte products to your customers. Our successes are shared, and celebrated as we both encourage each other to do more, and change things up in manufacturing and retail! 

How do you feel you compete in the marketplace for the products you produce?

We offer a range of fully customizable products at a fair price, all manufactured in North America which we think resonates with a lot of our customers. Customers can select from a variety of products, base options, and up to 35 fabrics to design a chair, bed, sofa, or sectional that suits their unique style. We have made it easy for our stores to help a customer create the look they want. We believe that a glider or rocker should be the jumping-off point for the design of the nursery. Design that first, then the rest will come together!

Ways that we give back.

Giving back to the community has always been very important. When the pandemic hit in 2020, we donated a portion of our proceeds from all retail & online sales and to the Toronto Food Bank to help families that had been impacted by COVID-19. We have also donated for many years to SickKids Children’s Hospital in Toronto. 

How has the past year impacted your business?

The past year has been challenging in many ways. At Monte Design, we have implemented several safety procedures, wearing masks, social distancing, and rigorous cleaning. Thankfully we haven’t been impacted as far as shut downs so we have been able to still produce to supply our customers with Monte products. 

The one thing we have seen is how our retail partners have rallied for their customers. Whether it is doing Zoom consultations, appointments for expecting parents to shop before or after hours for safety reasons, or taking to social media to share information and products. Aldea does an amazing job of staying in touch with their customers. When face-to-face contact is not possible we see you on IG talking to your customers and giving them tours of what is in store!