Hélène Vié, a life dedicated to the violet of Toulouse
Hélène Vié, the bubbly founder of the Maison de la violette has dedicated her life to restoring color to the violet, the emblem of the Pink City. At 61, this cheerful and somewhat whimsical entrepreneur has lost none of her enthusiasm for this multifaceted flower.
Hélène Vié is a colorful character, in the true sense of the term. Indeed, this sparkling 61-year-old entrepreneur, founder of the Maison de la violette, has pushed her almost obsessive passion for the emblematic flower of the Pink City, to the point of always wearing purple clothes. “I’ve always worn it. It’s a color I’ve loved since childhood. So of course, when I started my activity around the violet, I told myself that I could wear more. But I didn’t need to force myself”, confides this Carcassonnaise who has devoted most of her life to restoring color to this little piece of local heritage which, before falling into disuse, had earned Toulouse, nickname of City of the violet.
“The violet is my daily life”
So, in the middle of the month of the violet and a few days after the Feast violet, Hélène Vié is not unemployed. Between her boutique barge, her gardens and the development of her cosmetics range, she lives her life as an entrepreneur with intensity and, above all, infectious enthusiasm. “The violet is my daily life. I don’t plan to do anything else and I will grow violets as long as I can. I need it,” she says. Moreover, in her childhood, Hélène Vié was already planting flowers in the family home. “I come from a humble background. But I was lucky to have grandparents who worked for the SNCF, which gave us access to the gardens of the railway workers. I went there every day with my father. In addition to the vegetable garden, I insisted on planting flowers… in violet shades of course. Lilacs, violets or irises,” she adds. A happy childhood where she cultivated, in addition to flowers, a taste for cooking, sewing, friendship and family celebrations.
A “provincial” in Paris
So, when this “young provincial” decides, at 18, to follow “a love of vacation” in Paris, she misses her garden. But, nature abhorring a vacuum, it quickly filled this absence. Randomly visiting booksellers, she falls under the spell of old postcards and engravings dedicated to the violet and begins a collection on this theme. Far from her native country, Hélène Vié began studying economics before training as a social worker. And, once he graduated, it was the army that opened its doors to him. Temporarily abandoning shades of parma and lilac, she then put on a navy blue uniform. “I started at the Brétigny-sur-Orge flight test base. I was a civil social worker assimilated to the army corps with the rank of captain. I was entitled to a house of function as well as an official blue 4L, with the wings adorned with the tricolor flag. But I never really liked the outfit,” laughs Hélène Vié who, in 1985, was transferred to the Supaero Institute.
From navy blue to purple
Accompanied by her holiday love, now her husband and the father of her two daughters, she then moved to Toulouse. A city that has always defined her. But little by little, her need for freedom becomes more pressing and she decides to leave La Grande muette to start selling ready-to-wear. An activity that she carried out until 1990, when the crisis caused by the Gulf War and competition from major retailers forced her to close down. She then turns, to reconnect with her passion, to the creation of floral compositions and potpourri, mixtures of plants and dried flowers chosen to perfume the ambient air. “I converted in a very natural way. I’m lucky to have always been able to follow my desires and my intuition,” she says. Very naturally, her inclination pushes her to offer violet scents.
A scent of success
But it was during a trip to Holland that her project, which she launched under the name Les Jardins d’Elen, took on its full meaning. “I was impressed by the way they promoted their identity to tourists. There was nothing comparable in Toulouse and the culture of the violet, perceived as antiquated, was disappearing. This made me want to rehabilitate this heritage and ensure that Toulouse regains its emblem. May its scent once again float over the city,” explains Hélène Vié, who sees the importance of getting closer to professionals in the local hotel and catering industry.
From his first meeting, with the owner of the Hotel Le Capoul, his proposal of potpourris hit the mark. His intuition pays off and success is there. A year later, she hired her first employee. In 1995, she opened a small shop then, during the 1998 football world cup, brought together local craftsmen (perfumers, confectioners or liquorists) around an ephemeral project: the violet house. “There were herds of tourists from dozens of different countries,” recalls Hélène Vié. Faced with the enthusiasm, she decides to perpetuate the structure and register the name. The adventure is now well acquired.
On the art of being violet without being priced for a blue one
It will take another two years for Hélène Vié to find the ideal location for her new boutique, entirely dedicated to violets and their by-products. True to her unpredictable character, she decides “on a whim” to settle on a barge. After some work, she opens the final version of the Maison de la violette. Ali Baba’s cave which concentrates a hundred violet products produced by nearly 40 producers (chocolates, mustard, biscuits, etc.) and where nearly 25,000 customers flock each year. “When I bought the houseboat, my family insisted that I take the opportunity to clean up the house a bit, where everything revolved around violets. Even my car was purple. Today, without losing any of my passion, I took a step back,” confesses Hélène Vié. Before admitting to having nevertheless negotiated to keep a room in the house on this theme.
“Giving extraordinary and prestigious life to the violet”
Far from being satisfied with these successes, Hélène Vié continues to explore the secrets of the violet, which she now cultivates in a garden that produces 3,000 pots a year. In connection with a laboratory, it also develops a whole range of cosmetic products. “I’m incredibly lucky to be able to do what I love. But it was also a fight, sometimes difficult, where I was not given any gifts”, tempers the entrepreneur who had to face the ordinary sexism of the entrepreneurial world. “It often happened that I was not taken seriously or that I was asked who was ”the” boss”, she testifies. A lack of consideration, sometimes aggravated by her cheerful and whimsical attitude, which pushed her to found, in 2012, the local delegation of Women business leaders.
An insatiable appetite for violets
Far from wanting to retire, Hélène Vié now aims to bring the violet into Toulouse plates. “I dream of having a restaurant where the chefs will come in turn to offer menus around the violet. Bringing it to the table is necessary for Toulouse residents to appropriate this element of their heritage even more. It would erase its label as a tourist and commercial product to make it a real local product. Basically, my aim has always been to give an extraordinary and prestigious life to the violet,” she explains.
Practical information
Violet House, 116 avenue de Fronton
Open days on Saturday February 26 and Wednesday March 2 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.