The story of Mamie Jo: a story of family, creativity and memories

There are projects that start with an idea. And then there are the ones that start with a memory.

Mamie Jo is a little of both.

Behind our creative café in Nice, behind the workshops, the creations and the teatime treats shared together, there is above all a family story. A story that starts with our granny.

Mamie Jo really is our granny

If you have ever wondered where the name Mamie Jo came from, the answer is actually quite simple: Mamie Jo really exists. She is our granny.

And if we chose to give her name to this project, it is not simply because we liked the sound of it. It is because it stands for everything we wanted to put into this place:

• Creativity.
• Sharing.
• Passing things on.
• Memories.
• Afternoons that go by far too quickly.
• And that particular feeling of being at your grandparents’ house, where you know there will always be something good to eat and probably a new idea to make by hand.

We were lucky enough to grow up right next to our grandparents. One street to cross, and we were at Grandad and Granny’s. So going to our granny’s to make something was simply a habit. Back then, we did not talk about a creative workshop. We just called it… crafting.

At Granny’s, crafting was an adventure

Mamie Jo has always loved passing on what she had learned. Some things she had taught herself. Others she had picked up from the people she met, from her own experiences or simply from her curiosity. And then she loved to share them.

At her house, you could discover a new technique, try something with your hands, make, decorate, start again… There was no need for a big project. What mattered was making things together.

And then, of course, there was the teatime treat. Because a creative workshop at Granny’s without a treat is not really a workshop at Granny’s.

Those moments built part of our childhood memories. Memories that are sometimes very simple, but that stay with you. Looking back, we realise that it was already a little bit Mamie Jo.

Two sisters, a slightly crazy project and a lot of memories

Then we grew up. Life took each of us in her own direction and, for several years, we lived far from each other. Inevitably, when you are sisters, distance changes a few things. You share fewer of the small everyday moments, the spontaneous ideas and the improvised projects. But some things stay.

And one day, the idea of creating something together started to take up room. We did not simply want to set up a business. We wanted to create a place that looks like us. A place that reminds us of what we love: creating, imagining, sharing, welcoming people, passing things on and above all having a good time together.

Little by little, we understood that what we were looking for was already somewhere in our memories. At Granny’s.

What if we recreated those memories?

That is how the idea of Mamie Jo was born. We wanted to take that feeling we had known since we were little and let it grow. To take the creative afternoons at our granny’s, the teatime treats, the crafting, the discoveries and the passing on… And turn them into a place where everyone could come and create their own memories.

A creative café in Nice where you can come with friends, with family, as a couple or simply to take some time for yourself. A place where you can discover a jewellery workshop, create with jesmonite, paint, customise… But above all, a place where you can have a go without needing to know how.

Because at Mamie Jo, we are not looking for perfection. We are looking for the pleasure of creating.

Creating with heart

There is one sentence that has stayed with us since the start of this adventure: a project made with heart can only be beautiful.

We do not know exactly where this adventure will take us. We simply know why we started.

• Because we are two sisters who wanted to build something together.
• Because we wanted to find a piece of our childhood again.
• Because we love creating and passing things on.
• Because we believe that making things by hand has that little power to slow time down.
• And because we wanted to create a place where people could also leave with something more than just an object.

A memory.

Today, Mamie Jo carries the story on

Today, everyone who joins a workshop writes a little piece of the Mamie Jo story in their own way. And that is probably what we love the most. Your creativity inspires us.

One single workshop can give birth to dozens of completely different creations. And that is exactly what we hoped for when we imagined Mamie Jo: a place where creativity belongs to everyone.

From our childhood memories to yours

In the end, Mamie Jo was born from quite a simple wish: to keep alive a little longer the memories that made us happy.

Because maybe, in a few years, you will remember a workshop at Mamie Jo the way we remember the afternoons at our granny’s today. And if that happens, then our project will truly have worked.

Welcome to Mamie Jo. A creative café in Nice imagined by two sisters, inspired by their childhood and built with a lot of heart.

Léa & Lorie
The sisters behind Mamie Jo