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Ines Issaad: “I am very happy to have settled in Montpellier, the city of my heart”

Information updated on 18/02/22

The founder of Côté Bohème opened her shop on Rue du Bras-de-Fer in Montpellier in September 2020. A beautiful story of a mother and her daughter, with the added benefit of her love for the city.

Inès Issad ©3m David Maugendre

Inès Issaad, founder of Côté Bohème ©3m David Maugendre

Côté Bohème is built on a passion for stones and minerals. The shop was created in September 2020 on Rue Bras-de-Fer, Tin the heart of downtown Montpellier. However, just a few weeks after it opened, the shop was faced with the new Covid-related lockdown declared nationwide in France on October 29. Just like all businesses considered at that time as being “non-essential”, along with establishments open to the public (such as bars, restaurants, health clubs...), the shop had to close for nearly two months.

“When you just start a business, it’s really hard to have to deal with something like that,” remembers Ines Issaad, the shop’s founder. “Fortunately, I was able to benefit from financial aid provided by Montpellier Métropole to pay the rent. That’s when I really understood that I was right to set up in Montpellier, the city of my heart. I had made the right choice."

Ines Issaad had really wanted to create her own shop.  When she was 21, a student in international business, she decided to stop her studies and pursue the passion that was pulling at her like a magnet: stones and minerals, a fascination transmitted by her mother Lynda, whose shop L’Olivier de Bohême is established in Alès, northeast of Montpellier.

“When growing up, I used to watch my mother spend her time searching for the prettiest stones from places such as Indonesia, Uruguay, Nepal, and the Congo. When I decided to make my move, she helped me find a location and supported me in my efforts regarding administrative obligations, and she gave me her list of suppliers. Today, she still handles my accounting,” explains Ines Issaad.

Above all, Lynda transmitted her knowledge about stones and their beneficial properties, notably amethyst and rose quartz. Inès has also developed a lithotherapy activity, that is, treatment using stones and California massage. She knows for sure that stones possess soothing and energizing virtues.

“Since the last lockdown, I have seen many new clients come in seeking some comfort from stones or care bracelets,” observes Ines Issaad.

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