Cofounding My Own Ecological Start-up - Priviliège

Since October 2023

Sainte-Anne's Entrepreneurship Program

In October 2023, I cofounded my own start-up, Priviliège, which is driven by the ecological mission of giving a second life to cork stoppers, which are neither recyclable nor compostable; hence, ending their lives in landfill sites.

Through Priviliège, we have decided to put an end to this cycle, which always ends up in the garbage can, and to use our artistic and creative flair to recycle these corks. Not only is cork a highly versatile material due to its natural characteristics (resistant, lightweight, thermal and acoustic insulator, impervious to liquids, fire-resistant and hypoallergenic), but it's also a very fashionable material that can be combined with all types of decor; in short, all the reasons were there for us to turn this ecological problem into an opportunity.

Over the months, Priviliège has evolved considerably. We started out designing flower pots, wine bottle centerpieces and coasters, and were able to tour a Christmas market with these products. It was great to be able to share our creative process with others, and we received a lot of constructive feedback.

We then felt the need to reinvent ourselves, which is why, as part of our internship period, we chose to redirect ourselves towards the creation of li pieces, which take much longer to make, but are really worthwhile and have enabled us to try out several avenues. For instance, for the Correspondances event, we conceived a 100% recycled world map, from the corks, to the bakground, to the painting. Our intended goal was that all students could pin on the map where they completed their integration project.

Recently, we were also able to secure our first business client, a restaurant in Outremont, which asked for customized coasters and wine pots; an order which made us really proud and motivated us to keep giving this business our all. In brief, since Priviliège's launch, I have been lucky enough to use my artistic and creative flair to transform these corks into a variety of decorative products, whether it’s a world map, a mirror, a flower pot or a coaster, and it has definitely been a very enriching journey.

I'm looking forward for what will come next for Priviliège!

To visit our website : priviliege.com