24 hours in the life of Marie-Caroline, founder of Petites Reines

"IN THE MORNING, EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE"

06.30 I have always been a city girl. I like to enjoy it when it is still asleep. I put on my sneakers, sneak out of the house, and go for a run along the Saint Martin canal, with good music in my ears. On the way back, my little pleasure is to grab a breakfast at Aux Péchés Normands , 9 rue du Faubourg du Temple. Two worlds meet there: those who have danced all night at the Gibus and those who are starting their day. An improbable crossover, reminiscent of the field of possibilities!

08.20 My son has already left for college, and I am taking Laura and Ambre to school, two blocks from the house. In general, it's the first "big debate" of the day: who will ride my bike? Since I adopted the Bellecour thanks to my meeting with Grégoire, the founder of Voltaire , I haven't retrofitted it with a luggage rack, so I have the girls take it in turns. They love this moment, the opportunity to talk about my “startup company”, as they like to call it. I describe to them my program for the day, they make me promise to sell hundreds of baskets, their eyes sparkle with enthusiasm, and of course I agree!

#minikiff of the day.

" BY BIKE, THE CITY IS MY VILLAGE"

8.45 Between the school and the Petites Reines showroom, 28 rue Boissy d'Anglas , at the Madeleine, I have 15 minutes by bike. A bubble, a moment to me. Getting around Paris by bike has literally changed my view of the city, and saves me a lot of stress: disconnected from my laptop, my nose in the wind, I go up the rue de Rivoli, I walk along the Louvre, my feet on the pedals , head in the clouds. Before returning to the office, “pit-stop” at François Félix for a strong coffee: a shot of caffeine, but above all good vibes. I quickly sympathized with Franck and Valérie, and their legendary black kilt, an address to know urgently, you will be received there with so much good humor.

9.00 Let's go for my day. At Petites Reines, we are still a small team, and we constantly have to juggle between daily emergencies and the development of the company. Since Lysiane in my team offered me “ The 25th hour ”, I try to listen to my natural rhythm to optimize my days and I concentrate on substantive subjects in the morning, in airplane mode. I who don't like to choose, I also force myself to limit my goals to 3 per week and 3 per day. A formidable method that I recommend.

2.00 pm It's often the time when I realize that I haven't had lunch yet… Like what, I'm not yet completely in control of my agenda. Apart from Wednesday when I pick up my daughters from school, I rarely leave the showroom before 7 p.m. Even if no day is alike, the afternoon is more often the time for team discussions, and it is not uncommon for the showroom to turn into a creative anthill when we all get together. Part of the Petites Reines team is not based in Paris, and we have therefore become masters in handling time differences. I particularly like our sessions with the design dream team that has accompanied me since the first day of the adventure, the Frety&Co workshop: Fred Frety, Katja Liebig and Anne Sheldon-Duplaix. Together, we create chic and practical objects to accompany our nomadic lives. After more than two and a half years of building, brick by brick, the foundations of our brand, we have developed a strong bond, where complicity and sense of humor are also the signature of Petites Reines.

"BALANCING"

19.40 I pedal... fast …. It's often the time of day when I measure how much the bike is the ally of my agenda, especially during strikes! Stop for a minute to fill my basket Laura with a few extra groceries… and head home.

20.00 Home! The end of the day is the perfect illustration of the lives of tightrope walkers: on a bike, I often have the feeling of juggling between the different dimensions of my life: entrepreneur, mother, friend, and simply a woman, when there is a little energy !! …. I would so love to have the magic formula to harmoniously reconcile all these facets. At the risk of disappointing you, I don't have it, but...

11.00 pm … since the creation of Petites Reines I find a certain beauty in accepting to be just “in balance”, and daring to move forward without having the certainty of doing things perfectly.

It is with these thoughts in mind that I fall asleep soundly. Tomorrow will be another day and the world belongs to the Little Queens who go to bed early :-)

#Good evening