Community Highlights: Meet Max Boutry of The French Broom

Today we’d like to introduce you to Max Boutry

Hi Max, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My father is the original inspiration for the French Broom. A Frenchman living in the US for 25 years, he was constantly frustrated by the lack of good brooms here. “Baguettes, croissants, even French onion soup,” he’d say, “but no brooms?”

That seed of an idea blossomed. Partnering with a traditional broom maker in France, I embarked on a journey to create The French Broom. We didn’t just want a better broom; we wanted a beautiful, sustainable one. Biodegradable plastic, elegant leather accents – we even learned to sew our own handles!

Building a business from scratch was an education. Websites, licenses, marketing – it was enough to make your head spin. But the first sale, a notification pinging on my phone while on vacation in France, made it all worth it. From that moment, there was no turning back. We listened to our customers, adding dustpans to the mix, and even started collaborating with social media influencers to spread the word. The French Broom is still young, but with every step, we’re growing and learning, driven by the desire to bring a touch of French elegance and quality to American homes.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road towards creating the French Broom has had its struggles and new challenges pop up all the time. This was the first business I ever tried to create and so there were plenty of learning opportunities along the way. Throughout the legal formation of the company and the establishment of the website and even our products, we had to go through several iterations to get to a final product we were happy with. Because our brooms are manufactured in France, dealing with the shipping and importation was difficult as well and we even went to pick up our first shipment with a boat trailer attached to our car, strapping down all the boxes as carefully as we could and driving them back at 25 miles per hour the entire way. Dealing with different manufacturers and services every day, there are plenty of opportunities for problems to arise from the software you use to the supplier you have for leather. Because there are so many moving pieces, it is important to be able to adapt quickly, act decisively and have a backup plan whenever you can.

We’ve been impressed with The French Broom, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We offer homeware items, crafted in the traditional French fashion with an emphasis on sustainability and quality. Leaning on the original design, we use boar hair for the bristles, offering a premier sweeping and dust collecting experience and wrap the beechwood handle in leather sleeves for a more comfortable grip and a more beautiful design. We’ve replaced any plastic with biodegradable potato-fiber material. We strive to offer a broom that you don’t feel you’ll need to hide in a closet and will actually accentuate your space rather than take away from it.
There’s no other broom on the market that looks like ours or that performs as well, setting us completely apart in a market dominated by plastic and corn brooms. We are proud to make a high-quality product that our clients love and to bring this new idea of homeware to the market.
We have been working with other French manufacturers to add more items to our line and eventually hope to have an entire set of home supplies that epitomize elegance, quality and sustainability.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Los Angeles is amazing in so many ways. The weather is beautiful, and the people are invested in sustainability and health. So many businesses have emerged in Los Angeles centered around the health of people and of the planet because of how engaged Angelenos and Californians in general are. Anything feels possible in LA, probably because of the magical history of the film and television industries there which contribute to its success as a city and a business hub. Personally, I love the basketball culture, the bike path along the beach which I usually ride from Venice to Will Rogers, the hikes, and sailing with my dad out of Marina Del Rey. The only downside to this great city is the traffic and the distances between things you’d want to see.

Pricing:

• Original French Broom $82
• Au Naturel French Broom $68

Contact Info:

• Website: https://frenchbroom.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefrenchbroom/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/The-French-Broom/61552422795631/?mibextid=AEUHqQ