2019

It all started in June 2019 with a table. The idea of ​​fixing a small tablet on an existing urban bollard, I wanted to create one with my own design and only wood from recovery, in an upcycling spirit. After a few tests to validate the idea, I made a first prototype with scraps of wood and a beer can cut in half as an ashtray or flower pot.

Alongside my architecture studies (from 2018 to 2021), I developed the object and created a fastening system using butterfly screws, which allows for perfect stability. I knew nothing about carpentry and I had to learn everything with the help of a Versailles association called ADN. I did what I could: I collected scraps of wood after workshops and projects and I made prototypes after classes. 

I also created an ashtray that attaches to a pole. I carried out some tests on public roads to validate this second idea. So I deployed 3 ashtrays on poles, in front of metro stations, in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. The tests were conclusive: with an original object, passers-by are tempted to throw their cigarette butts in the ashtray. My long-term goal would be to prevent thousands of cigarette butts from ending up on the ground and why not one day integrate them into a recycling chain.

After having built up a sufficient stock of tables and ashtrays, I went around Paris by bike to approach restaurateurs. Most of the time they found the object "cool" and "innovative" which reassured me and made me want to continue.

I remain convinced that we must create a solid urban ashtray to reduce pollution caused by cigarette butts on public roads. That is why I continue to innovate and design new objects!

2020

After a few weeks of discouragement, the Mayor of Paris announced the free extension of terraces at the end of the first lockdown due to the Covid-19 epidemic. I jumped at the chance and decided to call back a few restaurateurs who were interested at the time. I then came across Maxime, the owner of Sophomore ( ^11th ). A great adventure had just begun.

Everything happened very quickly. I quickly understood that there was a Demand. It was necessary to create the Supply. Small problem: I have nothing, almost no machines, no workshop and only my own hands to produce. So I start as best I can, to produce a few tables on my balcony, in Paris, to the great displeasure of my parents, both teleworking. My neighbors were lulled to sleep by the sound of the circular saw for a few weeks before I found a more viable solution.

Good media coverage allowed me to get started fairly quickly after the lockdown was lifted. I had the chance to talk to a journalist from Le Parisien , which allowed me to get a few clients and gain a lot of visibility. In the process, I appeared on the 7:45 p.m. news on M6 and in “L'innovation du jour”, a column on Europe 1 radio.

With the help of 2 friends, we found a location, which allowed us to produce on the assembly line and meet delivery times. I learned a lot of things, whether in assembly line production, customer relations, marketing or negotiation!

I am very proud to have created a startup using recycled wood and I want to continue.

2021

After 1 and a half years of work, I sell products made of steel and recycled wood! Everyone has the choice. Restaurateurs can opt for a handcrafted object made of recycled wood, or for a galvanized steel object, made in the south of France!

2022

Alongside my urban planning studies at Sciences Po, I continued to develop the Urban Furniture branch of Extra Terrasse. I then decided to partner with La Tôlerie Forezienne, a Saint-Etienne industrialist located in Bonson, in the Loire.

Thanks to their expertise and professionalism, we released 2 products that I designed that year: the Mégonette and the Cyclaccroche. In both cases, they are durable and solid products that are designed to avoid sealing furniture to the floor and therefore cluttering up public spaces.

2023

After making a wooden balcony table in 2021, I decided to create a new one in steel, which attaches to all railings, even if there is no balcony! Following Covid, city dwellers are spending more and more time at home, particularly because of teleworking and I really wanted to offer a useful product that meets these new lifestyles. I then decided to develop products for individuals by releasing a new product for individuals in 2023: the Balconie.

“I imagined the Balconie during an evening,” Félix

The Balconie is a table that allows you to create a new living space right at home, to share a drink at the window, place an ashtray and why not grow plants there.

2024

After selling a significant number of Balconies in 2023 and completing my studies and my work-study program, I decided to devote myself full-time to my entrepreneurial project.

I then joined a "Pépite", the network of student entrepreneurs of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research. I am attached to the CNAM and the Pépite Hesam Entreprendre for 2024 and I take the opportunity to release new Balconie with 4 different colors!

That year, I was invited onto the BFM Business set and my product was presented in several French and international magazines such as AD Magazine.

The launch of the new colours and the Balconie Grand is a real success! I then open new markets: Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Germany! I set up my first premises in Pantin, in the Paris region and I take care of shipping and packaging all by myself.

In June 2024, I participated in the Jardins Jardin exhibition at the Parc de la Villa Windsor, where I had the honor of winning the 2024 Innovation Prize!