Meet Charlotte Cadé

“Charlotte is the founder and Creative Director of Selency, the first inspiration-based marketplace for unique furniture and home decor. Originally from Bordeaux, she moved to Paris seven years ago to work for L’Oreal, and then a boutique packaging design agency, Little Agency. After founding Selency three years ago, Charlotte and her partner, Maxime, now manage a team of 30.”

♫ LISTEN TO CHARLOTTE'S PLAYLIST | ⌨ LAST GOOGLE SEARCH

Shoes: Sarenza, Pants: Scotch & Soda, Print: Etsy, Cushion: Etsy — *Shoes: Sarenza*, *Pants: Scotch & Soda*, *Print: Etsy*, *Cushion: Etsy*

Charlotte Cade - Passerbuys - Victoria E. Paterno-0039.jpg

Charlotte Cade - Passerbuys - Victoria E. Paterno-0055.jpg

Top: Attic & Barn, Jeans: Les Petites: Shoes: GH Bass & Co. — *Top: Attic & Barn, Jeans: Les Petites:* *Shoes: GH Bass & Co.*

ON HER MORNING ROUTINE

I am not a very early bird, I wake up at around 7:30am and rush to eat breakfast: muesli and a fresh fruit. Then I hurry to get prepared and to go to work, where I don’t have much of a routine so it really depends.

ON Launching Selency

Starting Selency came out of my passion for home decor, something passed on to me from my mother. When I started to work, I wanted to have a great interior with personality—not something I could see in other places. So at night I spent hours on Pinterest looking for inspiration and creating moodboards, and then many more hours on Ebay, Le Bon Coin or at flea markets to find great items at good prices. I realized I could save so much time there was one website that would gather home decor inspiration and a great curation of the best pre-loved furniture and home accessories. I also spoke with antique dealers to understand the way they were working, and learned that they didn’t have a tool that was truly catered to their needs for selling on the internet. They only had global marketplaces—and they didn't feel comfortable with all those platforms. With the needs of both the customer (me) and antique dealers not being met, I realized I had a great business opportunity in my hands.

“When I love a book, I almost always offer it to someone, so these aren’t my actual favorite books. I’ve chosen a book from Stefan Sweig because he’s one of my favorite writers and I love his very short novels he wrote. My top 1 is “24 heures dans la vie d’une femme.” I love the 36 hours in Europe from the New York Times and I use it to plan all my weekend trips.”

— On the books she picked

On Going Into Business With a Romantic Partner

You have to be careful about the roles in the business just like you would with another partner. Be sure you are very complementary. The specific point for a couple is to find the great balance between professional and private life, which is an everyday challenge because the professional takes a lot of space. Find moments for you, for the couple, and keep leading your life.

On Her Beauty Routine

My routine is to hydrate: I use Chanel Hydra Beauty day and night. I love the texture and the smell of it. I also love the packaging, and it's a pleasure to have beautiful products in your bathroom; it makes me feel great in a way. No doubt this is due to my previous job...In terms of makeup, I use an BB eye cream from Erborian, vital in the morning. After that my favourite since 10 years now is the Terracotta from Guerlain. I cannot go out without this! And finally a touch of blush (pink), just for freshness, and I always just buy what’s cheapest. At the end some mascara and I am done. Lipstick is only for nights!

Charlotte's Beauty Tip

My only secret is to do things that make me feel good. If you feel good, your body will probably thank you. It's all about "balance", a great balance between food, sport, night out, sleeping, etc.

Shoes, Sarenza ; Pants, Scotch & Soda — *Shoes, Sarenza* ; *Pants, Scotch & Soda*

ON Shopping and personal style

I don't go shopping, shopping comes to me ;) I love shopping at home from my sofa on internet. My style is casual, I often wear sneakers and rarely heels. I need to feel comfortable. I love basics. I buy mostly at Zara as I think it's the greatest shop to get quality at affordable prices. And I love having some trendy pieces to boost it. There's a shop I love in Bordeaux to get some unique clothes, which is Sceno10.

ON Her Approach to home decor and design

My approach is to change very often and to mix many differents styles. So I have vintage stuff, some more classics, some design pieces, some Art Deco items and also new stuff! In terms of colors, I don't like having too many colors in my living room, it's where I spend the most part of my time and I want it to be a peaceful room so one or two colors maximum. Obviously I shop a lot on Selency. For new (and affordable) items, I like AM-PM.