Rémi Tarricone was not predestined to become an umbrella manufacturer.
He started out with an office apprenticeship, before going on to university to do a Masters in law. He then worked as a company accountant for several years.
His desire to create a business began in 2007 when he created a real estate agency. Then in 2014, he opened a photography agency specializing in property.
But Rémi was dissatisfied. Creating businesses that offered services wasn’t enough. He wanted to create objects.
Without leaving his job, he decided to do a three-year remote course in design. At 51 he was ready. He decided to create his own umbrella factory with one of his former employees. Maison Mireille was born.
Rémi is a pugnacious optimist. He gave himself the means to succeed and followed his star. “My models are people like Ferdinand Cheval and Raymond Loewy. They both did what it took to live their dreams in their chosen field.”
“You have to be stubborn
to make it.”
(Ferdinand CHEVAL
inscription on Villa Alicius)
Passion is what has led us to founding Maison MIREILLE.
Above all, a passion for umbrellas – objects requiring diverse skills and a keen sense of aesthetics to produce. This passion has driven us towards personally designing every aspect of our umbrellas and pondering each technical detail to optimize production and the user experience. Although umbrellas have been around for over three centuries, we believe that there is still room for innovation and improvement. Innovation is and always will be our golden thread. We will never stop improving our products.
Our passion for excellence has also steered us towards having our components produced by French companies. The “Made in France” label is very important to us and guarantees our customers excellent workmanship that is both socially and environmentally responsible. France is brimming with talented artisans and SMEs that we want our customers to benefit from. Keep reading to find out more about the values that motivate our work.
Did you know ? Each year, millions – yes, millions – of umbrellas are thrown out around the world. Faced with such staggering numbers, and as a new player in the world of umbrellas, we knew we had to react and offer a different kind of non-mass-produced item.
We do not believe in the inevitability of overconsumption. As a result, following two years of research and development, we are proud to offer a completely new umbrella emphasizing natural and recyclable materials such as metal, wood, leather, and natural textiles.
Ecodesign also means thinking about the end of a product's life cycle. We design our umbrellas so that each part can easily be dismantled for recycling. It's that simple !
At Maison MIREILLE, we believe that repairability and durability are the watchwords of simplicity.
Our products allow you to rediscover the pleasure of manually opening and closing an umbrella. We have proscribed all automatic spring-loaded opening/closing mechanisms, which only serve to complicate things.
Our umbrellas are designed like Meccano models and can be manually assembled in just a few minutes. This means that any part can be replaced easily in the event of breakage, extending the umbrella's longevity.
Simplicity also means “timelessness.” Our umbrellas can adapt to every trend thanks to their interchangeable canopies and handles. The structure stays the same, but the umbrella's apparent elements can be switched out depending on the user's tastes.
We also plan on designing new canopy and handle collections every year.
Over 80 % of each umbrella is manufactured in France – a fact we're very proud of! We have selected the very best artisans and SMEs to produce our components.
Our preference for French contributors yields higher quality and efficiency, and helps us reduce our carbon footprint. These efforts are part of our DNA and give meaning to our products.
80 % is good. But we're aiming for 100 % French production within the next two years.
