Before Louise Carmen opens at noon nearly every day, young women in long beige and navy trench coats form a line inside Paris’ glass-ceilinged Passage du Grand Cerf shopping center.
They’re here to buy and personalize leather notebooks, which start at 122.55 euros each — or roughly $143.14 — and can cost as much as 609.55 euros after accounting for customizations like personal engravings, paper styles and attached charms. A medium-sized notebook, plus minimal customization, may run closer to 170 euros, or just under $200.
“The lines started one year after we started [posting] on TikTok” in 2023, says co-founder Nathalie Valmary, who launched the company with her husband in 2016.
Louise Carmen’s TikTok videos reached a new and ravenous American audience, who are now responsible for 60% of the brand’s online orders, Valmary says. Some Americans now post videos about flying overseas to buy their notebooks in person, or swinging by one of the brand’s two Parisian shops while vacationing in France. Others post about sourcing or creating similar leather journals for a fraction of the price.
DON’T MISS: The leadership skills that can help you stand out at work
