2019

It all starts in June 2019 with a table. The idea of ​​attaching a small shelf to an existing urban post, I wanted to create one with my own design and only recycled wood, in the spirit of upcycling. 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.

In parallel with my architectural studies (from 2018 to 2021), I developed the object and created a fastening system using butterfly screws, which allows 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 around a post. I carried out some tests on public roads to validate this second idea. So I placed 3 ashtrays on posts, 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 butt into 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 stocked up on a sufficient table and ashtray, I went around Paris by bike to approach restaurateurs. Most of the time they found the object “cool” and “innovative” which comforted me and made me want to continue.

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

2020

After a few weeks of discouragement, the Mayor of Paris announces the free extension of the terraces at the end of the first confinement 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 come across Maxime, the boss of Sophomore ( ^11th ). A great adventure has just begun.

Everything happened very quickly. I quickly understood that there was a Demand. The Offer had to be created. Small problem: I have nothing, almost no machines, no workshop and only my own hands to produce. I then start as best I can, to produce a few tables on my balcony, in Paris, to the great annoyance of my parents, both working from home. My neighbors were lulled 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 quite quickly after the end of lockdown. I had the chance to speak with a journalist from Le Parisien , which allowed me to obtain a few clients and great visibility. At the same time, I move on to 7:45 p.m. on M6 and in “Innovation of the day”, a column on Europe 1 radio.

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

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

2021

After a year and a half of work, I am selling steel and recycled wood products! Everyone has a choice. Restaurateurs can opt for a handcrafted object made from recycled wood, or an object made from galvanized steel, made in the south of France!

2022

In parallel with my urban planning studies at Sciences Po, I continue to develop the Urban Furniture branch of Extra Terrasse. I then decided to join forces with La Tôlerie Forezienne, an industrialist from Saint-Etienne located in Bonson, in the Loire.

Thanks to their expertise and professionalism, that year we released 2 products that I designed: the Mégonette and the Cycléché. In both cases, these are durable and solid products which are designed to avoid sealing furniture to the ground and therefore cluttering public space.

2023

After making a wooden balcony table in 2021, I decided to create a new one in steel, which attaches to all the 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 responds to 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 in the evening, when I didn’t know where to put my drink”, Félix

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

2024

After having sold a significant number of Balconies in 2023 and finishing 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 am taking the opportunity to release new Balconie with 4 different colors!