Are you tired of harassing your neighbor to borrow his giraffe, this handy tool used to sand plaster? Or spend 80 euros on an electric tajine dish, all that to shine once in front of the guests before storing it in the cellar? Two people from Toulouse have found a solution to these recurring, but occasional, needs for devices of all kinds, those for which we often have occasional use and which we hesitate to buy. To consume differently and avoid overconsumption, Marie Boillot and Fabien Estivals have created “My Object Library”.
Sewing machines, flippers, raclette machines, camping kit, high-pressure cleaner and even games console are among the 250 items that can be rented for a week at more than affordable prices. “The idea for this project stemmed from a desire to encourage more reasonable modes of consumption. Rather than feeling guilty, it’s a practical solution to avoid buying, a rental service that meets occasional needs for domestic use”, explains the co-founder of this non-profit association whose premises are settled north of Toulouse.
Practical and “accommodating”
For the past three months, Toulouse residents have been able to rent one of the devices from their “library” for a week and pick it up at one of the relay points located in the Pink City. For the moment, the shampooer, the moving kit or the plant shredder are among the most reserved objects on the site.
Michael Lartigue, he called on their service to rent a “follow-me”, a towing system that allows you to attach an adult bike to that of a child. “It’s a specific tractor that is quite expensive, between 250 and 270 euros. Before buying it, I wanted to rent one to try it out. It was by looking on the Internet that I saw that it was possible in Toulouse, ”says this father. For 30 euros for the week, Michael was able to test it during his holidays to get an idea. But what he appreciated was the “accommodating” side of the founders of “Ma Libraries of Objects”. The latter made the bicycle tractor available a day before the date and found the part that made it possible to adapt his daughter’s bicycle to the system during the day.
A little extra that makes the difference with more traditional equipment rental companies. “We don’t feel in competition with them. They have more prohibitive prices and are mainly focused on equipment for major works, we more on domestic use,” argues Fabien Estivals, who also offers training in both DIY and sewing.
Today, My Object Library starts with a few hundred users. Eventually, this new structure, awarded for its concept, hopes to enrich its stock of objects and gradually open around thirty relay points to facilitate the collection of rentals almost everywhere in the agglomeration.
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