Welcome to the podcast Un p’tit tour et puis changeons. I’m Eloïse Paternotte – co-director of the French brand Midipy and responsible for interior design objects.
In 2022, with my husband Daniel and our three daughters, Swann, June and Violette, we left everything behind. Our demanding careers, the school system and our busy daily lives… to take a year-long family trip around the world. We decided to slow down, reconnect with what’s essential and explore another way of life. This trip wasn’t just a trip around the world: it was a plunge into other rhythms, other ways of thinking, other ways of looking at life.
On the road, we learned to see differently. To listen to birdsong at sunrise, to marvel at a simple shared meal, to feel the freedom of having little and being content with the essentials. Every encounter, every exchange, every silence transformed us.
We lived to the rhythm of the craftsmen, slept under the stars, and discovered skills handed down from generation to generation.
We’ve experienced the joy of living with less, the strength of the human bond, and the priceless luxury of shared time.
This podcast is a reflection of that adventure. Through 42 episodes, I take you along with us to those moments that changed the way we look at the world.
From the early stages of learning to let go, to the life-changing encounters that taught us to listen again, to culture shocks, trials and wonders, each episode is an invitation to rethink what makes us truly happy.
What happened next? This trip didn’t end when we returned. It opened a new page. Today, with Daniel, we’ve decided to put these insights into action by taking over Midipy, a brand of leather decorative objects and wool plaids made in France, committed to authentic, responsible craftsmanship.
Our aim is to give meaning back to objects, to promote know-how and the beauty of handmade products, and to support craftsmen who work with passion and perpetuate ancestral gestures.
“Un p’tit tour et puis changeons” is an invitation to travel differently, to slow down, to see the world with fresh eyes. Because sometimes a change of scenery is just what you need to change your way of being in the world.
Episode 1: Departure turned into departureS in the plural, as we gradually left our possessions and landmarks behind before throwing ourselves into the deep end of the adventure!
Before we even get on the plane, the journey begins. It begins here, in France, in the privacy of our home, which we empty room by room. We sort, donate and sell. We lighten up.
Every object in our hands raises a simple but dizzying question: do I really need it? Does it bring me something essential? In this gradual stripping away, we discover the flip side of abundance. What we thought indispensable becomes accessory. What we keep becomes precious.
We leave our house. We hand over the keys. We say goodbye to our loved ones. This moment is both gentle and powerful. It marks a rupture, a turning point. What we leave behind is as important as where we’re going.
Before jumping into the deep end of family travel, we spent a week in Madeira, surrounded by friends. A sort of airlock. The island welcomes us with its raw light, steep paths and Atlantic breeze. The pace slows. The days grow longer. Already, the journey is infusing.
Then comes the leap. Africa. The change of scenery is immediate. Our bearings are shaken. We discover another way of living in the world, together, as a family, outside the box.
Little by little, we enter a new reality. We experience detachment. Not abruptly, but in small steps. We understand that we can’t get rid of our habits all at once. It takes time to unclutter, and it takes time to unclutter internally. But this path sets us in motion towards something fairer and freer.
The chosen object as an extension of the journey
By unburdening ourselves, we’ve come to understand that certain objects carry an emotional charge. They carry a memory, a gesture, an attention. It’s these objects that we want to defend with Midipy.
Objects that we keep, cherish and pass on. Not because they’re numerous or trendy, but because they’re right, well-made and long-lasting. Objects that take their place in our daily lives and remind us of what matters.
In this first episode, what we’re experiencing is much more than a physical departure: it’s the beginning of a long inner transformation. It invites us to adopt a different posture towards things: one that’s more aware, more committed and more respectful. This is exactly what we’re translating into our entrepreneurial adventure today.
