The Mimipots | When concrete becomes art

It all started with small pots with geometric shapes. Perfect for hosting a cactus, a succulent or a tillandsia on a windowsill, this tiny spider-legged plant that needs neither soil nor abundant watering.

Laila Maalouf
The Press

Then, little by little, Les Mimipots became a collection of all kinds of objects, both decorative and practical, in artisanal concrete.

Plant pots of all shapes and sizes, jewelry boxes, soap dishes, candle holders, candles, multipurpose cabbage holders, cups, magnets, trays, coasters, trinket bowls, bowls, small decorative animals… The Myriam Soucy’s creativity seems to have no limits.

However, the founder of the Mimipots was destined for a completely different career. Before embarking on the adventure, the 27-year-old young woman knew no more about the art of working with concrete than about the challenges of creating her own business.

Three years ago, Myriam Soucy was still studying psychoeducation. After a separation, she started looking for a creative hobby. Pastry, painting… “I tried a lot of things, but I wasn’t passionate enough,” she says.

Then she comes across an Instagram page that talks about a creative concrete studio in Toronto. Rather than make the trip, she buys a pocket of cement at a renovation center and does her first test at home. She quickly gets into the game.

One thing leading to another, she built Les Mimipots, “quietly not quickly”. Then comes the decision to turn the page on a career in psychoeducation to devote herself entirely to her business – a choice she does not regret for a second. Since then, she has participated in two business incubators, notably at HEC, and she even won a scholarship from the Ministry of Economy and Innovation. The next step was to get his gear out of his parents’ basement.

A workshop… and a host of projects

In the Mascouche workshop where she moved in early June, she proudly shows us her new tools, just bought to be able to test new processes and expand her collection. “If I want to be independent, I have no choice but to equip myself,” she says.

It took him more than a year of trial and error to finally find his own recipe for concrete. Following her inspiration, she adds color pigments to the concrete to obtain a solid color or create a marbled result that is a hit with her clients.

She even makes her own silicone molds now, allowing her to design some very unique items. Always with the same audacity that pushes her to go for it without hesitation… Because when she has an idea in mind, nothing seems to scare her. “I wasted some, silicone that leaked onto my table because I forgot to plug a little hole! says Myriam Soucy, laughing, while showing us her recent failed attempt to make a river table with concrete and epoxy.

“I’m learning,” she says, smiling. But I have to be passionate. »

Even if it’s a craftsman’s job – her pieces are designed one by one, so all unique – orders by the hundreds don’t put her off. It even offers a customizable corporate gift service with the addition of registration.

And now she is launching into the production of small furniture after having made her first corner tables. Another novelty: the arrival of seasonal collections in the world of Mimipots – the autumn collection with its shades of yellow and orange is already ready.

In addition to being sold online on the company’s website, Mimipots’ creations are offered in nearly fifteen points of sale, from Gatineau to Saguenay via Montreal and Sherbrooke, and make flash appearances in the markets.

“You have to go everywhere. You have to move forward, believes Myriam Soucy. Entrepreneurship is not a recipe; you have to find your color. And that’s what’s fun, but it’s also a challenge. »