Mr Bricolage Blog

Céline, an employee at the Mr Bricolage head office

Mr Bricolage participated in the “Try my handicap” operation organised by the “Club Emploi et Handicap” (Employment and disability club). This event was organised from 16 to 22 November 2010 in the context of the national week for the promotion of the disabled.

Personnel from companies, members of the Club, visited the ESAT (Employment-based Assistance Service and Site) in the Couronnerie at Saint-Pryvé-Saint-Mesmin (southern suburb of Orléans). This operation allowed personnel to find out how the ESAT works. The site visit mainly allowed Mr Bricolage personnel to meet with ESAT site personnel. Disabled workers explained their jobs. Each visitor was able to put themselves in the position of a disabled person and execute their tasks. Beyond life at work, other types of role play were used to try day-to-day acts such as cooking from a wheel chair, or changing a baby’s nappy with a visual handicap.

Sabrina was among the Mr Bricolage employees present and found the visit worthwhile. “Site employees were delighted to show us what they could do and explain their jobs”. She added that the “try my handicap” experience in a wheel chair or with black glasses to simulate blindness, made her realise the daily difficulties faced by the disabled.

Mr.Bricolage has recently published a corporate book to celebrate its 30th anniversary. The group tells the tale of the first grouping of independent DIY stores in France. A human tale.

It all started with a hardware merchant coming from Orléans, Bernard Ivernel, in the mid-1950s. He heard tell of a new form of distribution gaining ground in the United States, known as, “Do it yourself”. He received increasingly urgent demands from his customers looking to find articles to fit out, maintain and decorate their homes, all under the same roof. Bernard Ivernel decided to use the American approach in France. Assuming others would have the same idea; he sought out and met up with other traders applying the same policy. Bernard Ivernel was a visionary and a leader and brought together the 12 pioneers within a club for sharing and discussion. L’Association Nationale pour la Promotion du Faites le vous-même (ANPF – The National association of DIY promoters) was officially founded in 1965. The association rapidly integrated many independent traders. A few years later, they decided to take things a step further and created the Mr.Bricolage store name.

A book on the history of a company

Inner double page of the book in the early 1980s

This book tells this human tale. The book is presented in landscape format with a sleeve. The book is filled with images and articles by eye-witnesses, plus a chronological strip highlighting the major events of each era (politics, society, inventions, culture, music, cinema, sport, etc.). The layout accords priority to images, backed up with dynamic and eye-catching graphics. More information on the history of the Mr.Bricolage group..