1. Growing
I did not follow the chronological order of this year 2025 because you already know, the big event of 2025 was the opening of our second shop in Woluwe Saint Lambert!
When I was a teenager, I had a small card with a photo of a bicycle and underneath it a little mantra that said to move forward, you had to pedal... In other words, immobility causes your fall.
You know me, I can’t stay still and Gaetan and I had been looking for about two years for a larger space in Ixelles because our first store was becoming too small. That was the plan... but we changed the plan largely because of the rental or purchase prices in Ixelles and the lack of municipal initiatives for the economic revival of our community.
So we started scouting at the beginning of the year in the surrounding municipalities: Auderghem, Etterbeek, Woluwe Saint Pierre, Woluwe Saint Lambert... always telling ourselves that we would slightly move the Ixelles store by a few hundred meters. To be honest, we almost moved to the Etterbeek barracks before giving up on this project, which was ultimately too costly in renovation work.
When the municipality of Woluwe announced in May the rental availability of the superb space at 328 Avenue George Henri, we applied, not without hesitation, doubts, reflections, and discussions between managers... because yes, it was a big leap and above all it was no longer a move but the opening of a second store!
Moving from a 120m2 store in Ixelles to adding a second one of 280m2 is no small feat; it actually triples our sales area and creates a second workshop! Waiting for the response was a bit stressful because we were no longer in control of the decision. We knew we had a strong, well-documented, and complete application but also that we were not the only ones applying! At the beginning of July, we received confirmation that our application was selected and that we would have the keys on October 1... We couldn’t back out anymore 😂
We announced it to the team during a very nice restaurant meal. Marie and Céline were excited about the project, seeing all the possibilities it opened up while wondering how we were going to manage!
To be honest, Gaetan and I were torn between the joy of having such a beautiful space and the stress of having to open it in such a short time, requiring a very significant financial investment! We got to work right away because we had 3 months left to develop the project: purchasing, logistics, interior design, but also recruitment... with an opening planned for October 13 and a party on the weekend of the 19th!
We did it, we succeeded!By the way, I tell you here about the move and setup: 15 crazy days with amazing friends!
What an adventure!
Céline and the boxes
Noémie and I sorted through 2 tons of fabric
My friend Patricia is finalizing the displays
Another big challenge was recruiting people with the right profile to join our team. We wanted people with a good attitude (the desire to do things well), obvious artistic skills, the desire to teach and advise, and the right "fit" with the team (that we got along well and that each person brought something extra to the team)... in short, real gems!
I was initially supposed to recruit three or four new people for the courses and sales, and I was very proud to have secured commitments from the first three people in exactly one month, right on time...
You already know them:
Ségolène, our sewing and fashion design teacher
Noémie, our machine and hand sewing teacher
- Céline Decerf, our sewing teacher on Mondays and Saturdays in Woluwe
Quickly added to my recruitment was our sparkling Justine, a sewing teacher in Ixelles who was initially supposed to start part-time in November because she was finishing her commitments with a famous amusement park in Belgium...
Until then it was tense but the plan was unfolding smoothly!
That was without counting on Vanessa's absence starting mid-September. Gaëtan and I were coming back from a work meeting at 8 p.m. when we received an email with a one-month absence letter 😱... We looked at each other, stunned. We both have significant team management experience and immediately understood what that meant. Vanessa was supposed to give a course the next morning at 10 a.m., I was off schedule because I was preparing the setup of the Woluwe store... One month before the new store opening and 15 days before its fitting, a bomb exploded on the project's critical path. Fortunately, and they know how infinitely grateful we are to them, we could count on the rest of the team who immediately reorganized. We went from The A-Team to Mission Impossible. Crisis meeting at 8:45 p.m. after the course, adjusting Marie's schedule, Céline, who was on leave, cut it short, and we co-wrote a crisis schedule for the coming days. In addition to having to redo the schedule, on top of the preparations, I had to carry out an express recruitment in 15 days. No surprises, we didn't sleep much as our thoughts were all over the place!
But isn't it said that every cloud has a silver lining? Our sparkling Justine, who wanted more hours than we could give her, immediately benefited from it. We interviewed several people and I found Rose, who joined the team at the very beginning of October to help me in the shop because even by "stretching it," it was clear we wouldn't cover the full schedule of an absent person.
This stress and rush to recruit have obviously been detrimental to the setup and especially to the product entry. I am only now catching up on my backlog and this will probably last for the first three months of 2026. That's life, as I said earlier, not everything is rosy in a small business / start-up!
It's been three months since the new team was in place and even though we are still in a training phase (thank you Marie and Céline for your help), they are super independent and resourceful; I am delighted to work with them!
They all have their own personality, strengths, desires,... but one thing is certain: the recruitment was good in terms of mindset and the desire to do things well for themselves, for the students and customers, but also so that C'est du Joly evolves, grows, and is a stimulating and caring workplace.
As Gaetan and I often say: we work hard but we have a lot of fun! In fact, we don’t even have photos of our first restaurant outing with the new recruits because we had so much fun and laughed so much that we forgot to take pictures!
A little additional note, we are still looking for the next gems for the team in 2026, I’ll explain why below 🤣... so if you want to join the team or if you know someone who might be interested in this challenge; don’t hesitate to send the contact details (CV and cover letter/presentation) to eugenie@cestdujoly.be
2025 Resolution: keep growing validated ✅✅✅
Ségolène
Noémie
Céline
2. Share
Among the great achievements of this year, I wanted to highlight the course offer and yes, with a second much larger workshop and a super motivated Ségolène; we were finally able to meet your request for patternmaking courses! And we can say it’s a success! The feedback from students is mostly very positive. I also thank all the students who sent me a little feedback on the various new courses this year! It’s a pleasure to read you! We will keep working on the small adjustments requested, don’t worry 😊.
Among the other big successes of this year, I must mention the hand sewing courses masterfully taught by Noémie! All the students are delighted to have gained new knowledge.
Another big new thing is the increase in knitting and crochet courses; Marie and Céline are thrilled and so are our students! We love seeing your smiles and your progress in creating stitches! 2026 will continue to bring its share of new courses!
And then among my own successes, it’s the offer of sashiko courses and especially boro but also patchwork!
I’m also going to congratulate myself for the blog which didn’t disappoint this year with always one blog article per week 🤘🏻 despite the workload I had to manage and the stress, I held on!
By the way, you are currently reading the 401st blog article! Imagine that! A real goldmine of information... maybe one day I should turn it into a book; if a publisher happens to pass by here, you never know 😂
Finally, among the beautiful achievements of this year is also our participation in the first Art du fil festival in Brussels! A great success for the event but also for our haberdashery... A wonderful event where we met many online customers who came to say hello... a lovely moment of sharing!
By the way, we are repeating our participation this year, so be sure to mark the dates March 28 and 29, 2026 in your calendar. Tickets are already on sale on the festival website.
I take this opportunity to tell you that we will also be a partner of the knit and watch at Kinepolis in January... stay tuned for information!
2025 resolution: share and offer an expanded range of courses validated ✅✅
3. Increase the product range
With the opening of Woluwe, we had to find new partners and develop the product range, especially the wool selection.
Our Ixelles store no longer allowed us, due to lack of space, to expand the wool offer; Woluwe would be able to meet this need!
One of the greatest successes of 2025 (not forgetting our great Japanese partners with whom we have collaborated since the beginning of C'est du Joly) is undoubtedly our collaboration with the French spinning mill Fonty. We went to meet them at the start of the year, in May 2025, hoping to collaborate quickly. The tour of the facilities and the explanation of their values were decisive in our desire to work together.When the Woluwe municipality announced the good news to us, we immediately placed an order for Fonty products. By the way, you can find the article about the visit to Fonty here and also the article about the wool selection we made here.
I have also strengthened existing collaborations that have over time become partnerships, notably with the company DMC, which honored us by making us the flagship store of Woluwe Saint Lambert! We offer a beautiful selection of cotton for knitting and crocheting (especially amigurumis) as well as embroidery (floss, écovita, kits...).
Finally, as part of our yarn offer, we have expanded our Katia yarn selection, especially for sock yarn.
We’re no longer just simple customers; we interact with our suppliers: product choices, color ranges... and ultimately we help each other; always for the benefit of our customers!
2025 Resolution: find great partners - achieved ✅
Among other wonderful collaborations, no fewer than 60 sewing pattern designers are available on our site in printed and/or PDF versions with more than 2700 patterns available! You’ll find everything for women, men, children, accessories... In short, everyone can find their happiness!
In any case, the whole team loves them and will continue to showcase all these beautiful designs in 2026!
2025 Resolution: find great partners - achieved ✅
The Miki wrap top from Lantoki and I’m wearing the Sanaz culotte pants/skirt from Coralie Bijasson
The Calao sweatshirt from Instinct Couture and the Toffee pants from Lamericana
I reread the 2025 resolutions to see if I had succeeded in my annual goal, and I must say overall I did well except... taking time for myself and recharging 🥲 You might say, you can’t do everything, but working 7 days a week and not taking a vacation for a year is tough!
2025 Resolution: Take time for yourself, recharge ❌❌❌
That’s why we’re launching a recruitment in 2026 so I don’t have to cover all the team members’ vacation replacements because with 7 people each taking at least 20 days off per year, that’s 140 days to cover 😂 almost half a year!
But when I fill in, I don’t do my manager’s job: schedules, course planning, restocking, finding new partnerships... that’s not working!
So if you’re interested, send your CV to eugenie@cestdujoly.be
Note that knowing how to sew is essential for the role, and mastering another creative art is a plus (crochet, knitting, embroidery, macramé...)
Here’s our 2025 review at full speed!
A year full of emotions and twists... I hope 2026 will be a bit gentler on my nerves 😂 but still just as rich in festive and joyful moments because, honestly, it was a great year!
I’m delighted to be surrounded by wonderful, caring, motivated, and smiling colleagues...
So, are you coming to see us and discover our workshops and haberdashery?
Get your needles ready!
