Cécilia Mergui revived the perfume and cosmetics brand, Beloved.
Founded by Robert Bienaimé in 1935, this eponymous brand has a very strong history that it was essential for Cécilia to preserve, while developing new products.
And in the second life of Beloved, I feel that you really sense this connection to the past without being stuck in the past, a true harmony between history and innovation.
We had an extensive chat, to the extent that we didn't have time to finish during the first recording and so I opted for a two-part episode, the chronology of which fell into place quite naturally.
In this first part, we begin by looking back in detail at Cécilia's journey — her studies and various professional experiences, right up to her extraordinary venture with Bienaimé.
Then we discussed the buyout of the brand, the fundraising rounds, the manufacturing and production challenges, the product composition, olfactory direction, the art direction, communication…
In short, all aspects of this brand's launch.
And see you in the second part to learn more about the team, the shop, the commercialisation, and the development prospects.
If you’d like to find out more about what I call Creative Management, I dedicated a full episode to it a few months ago.
Today, I would like to take a closer look at one aspect of Creative Management: team-building.
What exactly does it involve?
What are the benefits?
I also share a great example, as well as a counter-example, from my own experience as an employee.
And bonus: I talk about my favourite sports coach, Ted Lasso. (no spoiler as I haven’t started Series 4 yet).
If you're interested in offering your team a workshop / team-building / training session, do drop me an email! lbm@lilibonnet.com
I can organise and facilitate almost anywhere in the world 🙂
I’ve known Fabien for over 20 years, back when he was a graphic designer.
We worked together on a project and have stayed in touch — partly because it’s something I enjoy doing, of course, but mainly because I’ve always admired his entrepreneurial spirit.
Even when he enrolled at art school, he didn’t know what he was going to do later on; he just had a fairly broad vision of his future:
– getting up whenever he wanted;
– not working for a boss;
– and living in a loft.
Today, that’s exactly what he’s doing.
He’s the owner of UNSEEN, a vintage shop in Brussels, but he’s also a designer, a carpenter…
it’s clearly impossible to define him in a single word, as he has developed and put to use a wide range of skills.
And it’s quite fascinating to see how much this multi-potential individual needs to free himself from the constraints that a single skill entails, to allow himself not to be confined to just one profession. Not to limit himself. And that is precisely the driving force behind everything he undertakes.
this episode, we also talked about:
– pop culture,
– imposter syndrome,
– mental health,
– and identity, thanks to his recent reconnection with his country of origin, Vietnam.
