La Rochelle: a pop-up store all summer long for a 100% La Rochelle brand

At 22, Hermine Couratier, creator of the Lylyboy brand, is a hit on social media. Headbands, bandanas, pareos—the young woman from La Rochelle knows how to use the art of communication to sell her creations.

On Monday, July 11 at 2 p.m., the doors of the Lylyboy pop-up will open at 11 rue Chaudrier in La Rochelle. "We're going to offer the people of La Rochelle a beach immersion all summer long," promises Hermine. Every Friday and Saturday in July, the store will sell products already available on its website. "Everything is handmade in my workshop in La Rochelle." This isn't her first physical store: at the end of June, she opened a pop-up store in Bordeaux. Customers flocked there. "I was afraid I wouldn't see anyone come. That feeling disappeared when I saw the queue outside the store," she says. The goal of this initiative is to meet people who follow the brand and its progress. "Even if it works much better online , direct sales bring our project to life." People who don't dare to buy online can now test products, touch fabrics and try on models.

In 2022, Hermine was in her first year of a bachelor's degree in La Rochelle and went to Sri Lanka as part of her studies. There, she met a woman with whom she created the first product for the Lylyboy brand: scrunchies. She returned to France, her suitcase filled with the products made there. She initially sold them to her family and friends. She later tried to develop other accessories and started creating and selling jewelry. "But it wasn't my thing," she says.

In March 2024, she decided to start designing hairbands, a trendy accessory on social media. "I didn't know how to do it, so my grandmother and a friend showed me how to sew these famous headbands." It was thanks to this product that her sales would grow.

“The networks made my brand take off”

"I had no choice but to get on social media. At first, it was just an Instagram account . It was ugly, but I persisted in posting every day." She finally opened a TikTok account the day the headbands launched. One evening, she held a contest for her followers: she gained 1,500 in one evening. From then on, she understood the importance of social media. She started posting three times a day, every day.

In January 2025, Hermine flew to Bali to unwind but also to develop the brand. There, she created reversible bandanas. The batik fabric used was printed using a technique involving the application of hot wax using a copper instrument. This way, the product was unique. Its content changed; she put herself in the spotlight, telling her story and that of her brand. And it worked: she reached 8,000 followers on Instagram in two months. "I also started to show myself, because people become attached to you and your brand. They don't just buy for the product, but also for the person and everything behind it. Storytelling matters."