Dimitri’s first years in Canada
Dimitri begins framing artwork for people in his new community. The work is exacting and personal; every piece asks for a slightly different solution.
A family workshop, since 1967
This is where our family
learned to make for artists.
Apollon grew around the workbench. Dimitri began by framing pictures in Montreal. His son Costa carried that knowledge into canvas making, and the family kept building from there. The tools and the scale have changed, but we still come to the work in the same way: carefully, patiently, and with respect for the artist who will use it.
Dimitri outside the first Apollon workshop, Montreal, 1967.
How the story began
It began with a frame
and an open door.
In 1957, Dimitri Apokatanidis arrived in Canada and returned to the craft he knew: framing artwork by hand. He believed a frame should do more than surround a picture. It should honour the work and help someone see it more clearly. That idea became the beginning of Apollon.
What has been passed down is a way of working: pay attention, make it well, and remember who will use it.
A shop of their own
In 1967, the first Apollon store opens in Montreal. Artists and framers come through the door with questions, unusual dimensions and work that matters to them. The shop grows by listening and finding a way to help.
Costa carries the work forward
When Costa takes the lead, he sees an opportunity to make the surfaces artists depend on—not only frame the finished work. Apollon begins producing artist canvas and painting panels while holding on to Dimitri’s standards of care.
The workshop today
The workshop is larger now,
but the work still feels close.
Today, more than 75 people work across three Quebec facilities. Some have spent years learning the feel of canvas, wood and stretcher bars; others keep orders, customers and deliveries moving. Together, we supply retailers, studios and working artists across Canada and North America.
What we make
Artist canvases & painting surfaces
Wood panels
Canvas rolls
Stretcher bars & easels
Custom stretching services
Shipping crates
65+Years in business
75+Team members
3Quebec factories
~60,000Sq. ft. of space
Inside our workshop
A day inside
the workshop
The workshop is practical, busy and full of small decisions. Wood is measured and joined, canvas is stretched by hand, and custom pieces take shape one problem at a time. Much of what we sell passes through the hands of people who know the materials intimately.
The family and team
The people carrying
Apollon forward
Apollon remains a family business, but its story belongs to everyone who has helped make the work possible. Leadership, production, sales, logistics and administration all meet around the same promise: listen carefully and take responsibility for what leaves our doors.
A place for the family todayReserved for a relaxed, current photograph of the Apokatanidis family or the wider Apollon team—not a formal corporate portrait.
Costa ApokatanidisPresident
Gregory ApokatanidisSales Director
Dominique TanguayFinance & Administration Director
Adam AwadWarehouse Director, Laval
Marc Anthony BambaceAccount Manager / Marketing
Loula LadasAdministration
A conversation
If you would like to work with us, we would be glad to hear what you are making.
Whether you are looking for a familiar surface or trying to solve something unusual, tell us about the work. We will listen, ask questions and help you find a thoughtful way forward.
Tell us about your project →