Take a small neighborhood cemetery.
It's a safe bet that you will find near the funeral directors, with a window presenting all the classics of the genre, between artificial flowers, sepia portraits and commemorative plaques in gray marble.
"Everything is ugly, sinister or cheap, it's hell," sighs Clémentine Piazza.
At 37, this entrepreneur intends to dust off the dust with inmemori, her funeral services company, whose doors have just opened in the historic heart of Bordeaux.
The support offered to bereaved families is indeed unprecedented.
Here, thanks to software developed by fine blades of technology, the relatives of the deceased are relieved in less than 30 minutes of the heavy administrative burden of the funeral (legal authorizations, care and transport of the body, date of burial or cremation) to allow them to dedicate themselves more deeply to the time of farewell and its personalization.
All at a fairer price, according to Clémentine Piazza.
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A symbolic shift
“In homage to those who leave, at the service of those who remain”, promises their website.
The concept is the result of several years of reflection.
In 2016, Clémentine Piazza, a graduate of HEC, launched a free platform specializing in online funeral announcements.
7 years later, her site has more than three million satisfied users and convinced her to open her funeral home last June.
The one who was one of the youngest marketing directors of a CAC 40 real estate group (Unibail-Rodamco) owes this 360°C turn to the experience of a close friend.
In mourning, the latter was confronted with "the archaism of the solutions proposed": "In these situations, families are often left to their own devices in an emergency and struggle to make the difference between the essential and the optional, until you find yourself financially with a knife to your throat, ”laments Clémentine Piazza.
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Clémentine Piazza, founder of the inmemori funeral services company inmemori
Half the price of the competition
And for good reason.
If the cost of living increases, so does that of death.
The entrepreneur does not hide her anger in the face of an “oligopoly” situation where death is made to rhyme with profitability, and in which certain funeral directors grant themselves, according to her, too high margins.
With inmemori, Clémentine Piazza prides herself on offering “unbeatable prices, half the price of the competition”.
While companies charge 2000 euros for a coffin, the Bordeaux company therefore offers an average price of 3500 euros to organize the burial from A to Z. Clearly, this includes the purchase of an eco-responsible oak coffin and linen padding natural, crests made by local artisans, transportation, the personalized and sometimes lively ceremony, seasonal flowers and the online tribute page.
Comfort with beauty
The inmemori house also takes care of "those who remain", as their slogan reminds us.
In concrete terms, this translates into meticulous attention paid to the customer reception area, the company's headquarters.
With the help of an architect friend, the entrepreneur modeled a typical 18th century Bordeaux apartment to transform it into a warm and delicate setting.
“Beauty remains a first consolation.
It is our duty to reinject it in the face of suffering,” assures Clémentine Piazza.
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The height under the ceiling of the entrance has been reduced by hanging strips of Japanese paper.
inmemori house
There is no window here, especially not.
Behind the heavy door of the establishment, located on the first floor, an enveloping scent of musk floats in the air and reveals with it an immaculate corridor where strips of Japanese paper are hung.
For the central room, it was necessary to attenuate the high ceilings and the moldings, deemed too impressive and less prompt to the desired intimate setting.
The advisers, or “companions”, as they are called at inmemori, now receive bereaved families in sort of glass bubbles, furnished with linen curtains, sienna wall sections and sleek furniture.
Once the appointment is over, there is no question of throwing customers on the sidewalk.
A final room awaits them: the large living room.
The latter has a library on which sit novels, comic strips talking about mourning, love, travel but also beautiful objects, sculptures and inspiring lithographs.
“We continue to unload the emotion here, by reading or drinking tea.
A phone booth is also available to contact and inform relatives of future funerals, "says Clémentine Piazza.
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The layout of the place has been designed to accommodate speech in complete
confidentiality.
inmemori house
Cry and smile again
Since its opening in June, in Bordeaux, the inmemori house has collected hundreds of glowing comments and fond memories.
Many of its clients are delighted with the gentle support and the farewell ceremony for the deceased, personalized and imagined with the advisers.
Like this family who, during a funeral, brought a vial of water from a place that is dear to them.
Or those relatives who tell of having placed a rain of origami on a coffin.
By 2024, the company hopes to offer 15 similar establishments in Paris and in the largest cities of France.
Whether they are customers, employees, investors, healthcare professionals, no one contacts this unusual company by chance.
Recently, inmemori was asked by EPHADs to write a white paper on funeral rites.
“Death is paradoxically accompanied by moments of poetry, of human warmth.
Hence the importance of paying the most significant tribute possible,” explains Clémentine Piazza, who works in association with psychiatrists or anthropologists specializing in these issues.
Not far from her, Annabelle, counselor and secular mistress of ceremonies, nods.
“If a loved one cries but finally smiles, our mission is accomplished,”
Funeral directors inmemori Bordeaux, 21 Cr de Verdun, 33000 Bordeaux. Tel: 05 54 54 55 13. More information on
inmemori.com
.