{"id":6130,"date":"2026-09-16T21:46:34","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T19:46:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/?page_id=6130"},"modified":"2026-10-08T19:15:50","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T17:15:50","slug":"benoit-milan-and-soula-boscoupsios-founders-of-la-maison-fives","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/benoit-milan-and-soula-boscoupsios-founders-of-la-maison-fives\/","title":{"rendered":"Benoit Milan and Soula Boscoupsios, founders of La Maison Fives"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>#lmf-equipe{--ink:#223c50;--muted:#53636c;--paper:#ffffff;--line:#d8ddd9;--accent:#9c462f;color:var(--ink);background:var(--paper);font:18px\/1.8 system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,\"Segoe UI\",sans-serif;max-width:1200px;margin:0 auto;text-align:left;overflow-wrap:break-word} #lmf-equipe *{box-sizing:border-box}#lmf-equipe p{font:inherit;margin:0 0 1.2em;padding:0;color:inherit}#lmf-equipe a{color:var(--ink);text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:4px}#lmf-equipe a:hover{color:var(--accent)}#lmf-equipe a:focus-visible{outline:3px solid var(--accent);outline-offset:5px}#lmf-equipe img{display:block;max-width:100%;height:auto}#lmf-equipe h2,#lmf-equipe h3{color:var(--ink);font-family:Georgia,\"Times New Roman\",serif;font-weight:400;line-height:1.16;padding:0;text-transform:none;letter-spacing:-.025em}#lmf-equipe h2{font-size:clamp(29px,3.6vw,43px);margin:0 0 28px}#lmf-equipe h3{font-size:29px;margin:38px 0 22px}#lmf-equipe .lmf-kicker{font:600 12px\/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif;letter-spacing:.16em;text-transform:uppercase;color:var(--accent);margin-bottom:18px}#lmf-equipe .lmf-hero{padding:64px 6% 42px;border-top:5px solid var(--ink)}#lmf-equipe .lmf-title{font-size:clamp(42px,6vw,76px);max-width:850px;margin:0 0 25px}#lmf-equipe .lmf-lead{font-size:21px;max-width:790px;line-height:1.6}#lmf-equipe .lmf-tags{display:flex;gap:12px;flex-wrap:wrap;margin-top:30px}#lmf-equipe .lmf-tags span{border:1px solid #b5c2c8;border-radius:2px;padding:6px 13px;font-size:12px;letter-spacing:.05em}#lmf-equipe .lmf-profiles{display:grid;grid-template-columns:1fr 1fr;gap:32px;margin:0 6% 54px}#lmf-equipe .lmf-profile{border-top:1px solid var(--line);padding-top:28px}#lmf-equipe .lmf-profile img{width:145px;height:145px;border-radius:50%;margin-bottom:24px;object-fit:contain;background:#fff}#lmf-equipe .lmf-profile h3{font-size:32px;margin:0 0 10px}#lmf-equipe .lmf-role{font-size:13px!important;letter-spacing:.045em;color:var(--accent);margin-bottom:18px!important}#lmf-equipe .lmf-profile p{font-size:16px;line-height:1.8}#lmf-equipe .lmf-banner{margin:0 6% 60px}#lmf-equipe .lmf-banner img{width:100%;max-height:520px;object-fit:cover;object-position:center}#lmf-equipe .lmf-storyhead{padding:42px 6%;background:var(--ink);color:var(--paper)}#lmf-equipe .lmf-storyhead h2{color:var(--paper);margin-bottom:20px}#lmf-equipe .lmf-storyhead p{max-width:780px;font-size:17px}#lmf-equipe .lmf-layout{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:32px;padding:50px 6%}#lmf-equipe .lmf-nav{align-self:start;position:static;top:auto;font-size:13px;line-height:1.6}#lmf-equipe .lmf-nav a{display:block;padding:13px 0;border-bottom:1px solid var(--line);text-decoration:none}#lmf-equipe .lmf-nav strong{display:block;font-size:11px;color:var(--accent);letter-spacing:.08em}#lmf-equipe .lmf-chapter{padding:0 0 44px;margin:0 0 48px;border-bottom:1px solid var(--line);scroll-margin-top:90px}#lmf-equipe .lmf-chapter p{font-size:17px;line-height:1.9}#lmf-equipe .lmf-chapter h2{font-size:34px}#lmf-equipe .lmf-chapter h3{font-size:27px}#lmf-equipe figure{margin:30px 0}#lmf-equipe figcaption{font:12px\/1.6 system-ui,sans-serif;color:var(--muted);padding-top:10px}#lmf-equipe .lmf-photo img{width:100%;height:auto}#lmf-equipe .lmf-gallery{display:grid;grid-template-columns:1fr 1fr;gap:18px;margin:28px 0}#lmf-equipe .lmf-gallery figure{margin:0}#lmf-equipe .lmf-gallery img{aspect-ratio:4\/5;object-fit:cover}#lmf-equipe .lmf-player{position:relative;aspect-ratio:16\/9;padding:0!important;height:auto;overflow:hidden;background:#162c3c}#lmf-equipe .lmf-player iframe{position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0}#lmf-equipe .lmf-note{border-left:3px solid var(--accent);padding:18px 24px;background:#eeeae0;margin:28px 0;font-family:Georgia,serif;font-size:26px}#lmf-equipe .lmf-end{background:#e5ebe9;padding:45px 6%}#lmf-equipe .lmf-end h2{font-size:36px}#lmf-equipe .lmf-links{display:flex;gap:16px;flex-wrap:wrap}#lmf-equipe .lmf-links a{border:1px solid var(--ink);padding:10px 18px;font-size:14px;text-decoration:none}#lmf-equipe .lmf-credit{font-size:12px;margin:26px 0 0;color:var(--muted)} @media(max-width:800px){#lmf-equipe .lmf-layout{display:block;padding:32px 6%}#lmf-equipe .lmf-nav{position:static;display:grid;grid-template-columns:1fr 1fr;gap:0 20px;margin-bottom:45px}#lmf-equipe .lmf-nav .lmf-kicker{grid-column:1\/-1}#lmf-equipe .lmf-hero{padding-top:40px}#lmf-equipe .lmf-profiles{gap:25px}#lmf-equipe .lmf-chapter{scroll-margin-top:35px}}@media(max-width:520px){#lmf-equipe .lmf-profiles{grid-template-columns:1fr}#lmf-equipe .lmf-profile{display:block}#lmf-equipe .lmf-profile img{width:110px;height:110px}#lmf-equipe .lmf-lead{font-size:18px}#lmf-equipe .lmf-chapter h2{font-size:29px}#lmf-equipe .lmf-gallery{gap:12px}#lmf-equipe .lmf-banner{margin-bottom:35px}#lmf-equipe .lmf-chapter p{font-size:16px}} @media print{#lmf-equipe .lmf-nav{display:none}#lmf-equipe .lmf-layout{display:block}#lmf-equipe .lmf-player{display:none}#lmf-equipe{background:white}} #lmf-equipe{container-type:inline-size;container-name:lmf-team;width:100%;min-width:0} #lmf-equipe .lmf-layout{display:flex!important;flex-wrap:wrap!important;align-items:flex-start;gap:32px!important;width:100%;min-width:0} #lmf-equipe .lmf-nav{position:static!important;top:auto!important;float:none!important;flex:1 1 210px;width:auto!important;max-width:100%;min-width:0;display:grid!important;grid-template-columns:repeat(auto-fit,minmax(min(100%,160px),1fr));gap:0 18px;margin:0 0 16px;align-self:flex-start} #lmf-equipe .lmf-nav .lmf-kicker{grid-column:1\/-1;margin-bottom:8px} #lmf-equipe .lmf-nav a{padding:10px 0;min-width:0;font-size:13px;line-height:1.55} #lmf-equipe .lmf-biography{flex:999 1 520px;width:auto!important;min-width:0!important;max-width:100%!important} #lmf-equipe .lmf-chapter{width:100%;min-width:0;max-width:100%} #lmf-equipe .lmf-profiles{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:32px} #lmf-equipe .lmf-profile{flex:1 1 280px;min-width:0;max-width:100%} #lmf-equipe .lmf-gallery{grid-template-columns:repeat(auto-fit,minmax(min(100%,220px),1fr))} #lmf-equipe .lmf-player,#lmf-equipe figure{max-width:100%;min-width:0} @media(max-width:980px){#lmf-equipe .lmf-layout{padding:28px 5%!important;gap:24px!important}#lmf-equipe .lmf-nav{position:static!important;top:auto!important;flex-basis:100%!important}#lmf-equipe .lmf-biography{flex-basis:100%!important;width:100%!important}#lmf-equipe .lmf-chapter p{font-size:16px;line-height:1.8}} #lmf-equipe .lmf-player{aspect-ratio:16\/9!important;padding:0!important;height:auto!important;min-height:0!important;max-height:none!important} #lmf-equipe .lmf-player>div,#lmf-equipe .lmf-player .fluid-width-video-wrapper,#lmf-equipe .lmf-player .wp-block-embed__wrapper{position:absolute!important;inset:0!important;width:100%!important;height:100%!important;padding:0!important;margin:0!important;min-height:0!important;aspect-ratio:auto!important} #lmf-equipe .lmf-player:before,#lmf-equipe .lmf-player:after,#lmf-equipe .lmf-player .fluid-width-video-wrapper:before,#lmf-equipe .lmf-player .wp-block-embed__wrapper:before{display:none!important;padding:0!important} #lmf-equipe .lmf-player iframe{position:absolute!important;inset:0!important;display:block!important;width:100%!important;height:100%!important;min-height:0!important;max-width:none!important;padding:0!important;margin:0!important;border:0!important;aspect-ratio:auto!important} #lmf-equipe .lmf-nav{position:static!important;top:auto!important} @media screen and (min-width:1100px){@container lmf-team (min-width:900px){#lmf-equipe .lmf-nav{position:sticky!important;top:100px!important}}}#lmf-equipe .lmf-hero .lmf-title,#lmf-equipe .lmf-hero .lmf-lead,#lmf-equipe .lmf-hero .lmf-lead strong,#lmf-equipe .lmf-tags span{color:#223c50!important}#lmf-equipe .lmf-tags span{background:#ffffff!important}<\/style>\n<div id=\"lmf-equipe\" style=\"color:#223c50;background:#ffffff;\">\n<header class=\"lmf-hero\">\n<p class=\"lmf-kicker\">La Maison Fives \u00b7 About the team<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"lmf-title\">Two journeys.<br \/>One shared story.<\/h2>\n<p class=\"lmf-lead\"><strong>Benoit Milan and Soula Boscoupsios<\/strong> are the founders of La Maison Fives in Lille. A couple and a team bringing together architecture, art, ceramics and entrepreneurship to create places people love to stay.<\/p>\n<div class=\"lmf-tags\"><span style=\"color:#223c50;background:#ffffff;\">5 rooms in Lille<\/span><span style=\"color:#223c50;background:#ffffff;\">A ceramics studio<\/span><span style=\"color:#223c50;background:#ffffff;\">A story beginning in Mons around 2000<\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"lmf-profiles\">\n<section class=\"lmf-profile\" aria-label=\"About Soula\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/La-Maison-Folia-devient-La-Maison-Fives-08-EDIT-01.png\" alt=\"Portrait of Soula Boscoupsios\" width=\"145\" height=\"145\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 145px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 145\/145;\"><\/p>\n<h3>Soula Boscoupsios<\/h3>\n<p class=\"lmf-role\">Architecture \u00b7 Interior design \u00b7 Ceramics<\/p>\n<p>Belgian-Greek, born in Charleroi and an architecture graduate from Mons, Soula has worked in Belgium, Canada and France. She designs and transforms spaces, oversees projects through construction and now develops <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/l-atelier-boutique-lille-fives\/\">her work as a ceramicist<\/a> at La Maison Fives.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"lmf-profile\" aria-label=\"About Benoit\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/La-Maison-Folia-devient-La-Maison-Fives-08-EDIT-02.png\" alt=\"Portrait of Benoit Milan\" width=\"145\" height=\"145\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 145px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 145\/145;\"><\/p>\n<h3>Benoit Milan<\/h3>\n<p class=\"lmf-role\">Visual arts \u00b7 Entrepreneurship \u00b7 Communication<\/p>\n<p>Trained in the arts in Tournai and Mons, Benoit worked in contemporary art before co-founding Cirkwi and helping create N\u00e9o-Nomade. He brings the duo&#8217;s projects his artistic perspective and experience in products, the web and business development.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"lmf-banner\"><img data-src=\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Sejour-petit-dejeuner-Bibliotheque-La-Maison-Fives-Hotel-Lille.jpg\" alt=\"The bright shared lounge at La Maison Fives, with its large wooden table\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1536px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1536\/1024;\"><figcaption>At La Maison Fives, the spaces also tell the stories of those who imagined them.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"lmf-storyhead\" id=\"lmf-biographie\">\n<p class=\"lmf-kicker\" style=\"color:#e8c3a2\">Biographies &amp; shared story<\/p>\n<h2>The journey, in detail.<\/h2>\n<p>From their meeting in Mons to their current projects in Lille, this is Benoit and Soula&#8217;s story: their education, travels, businesses and the places they have transformed together.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lmf-layout\">\n<nav class=\"lmf-nav\" aria-label=\"Biography contents\">\n<p class=\"lmf-kicker\">Through the story<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#lmf-ch-0\"><strong>2000\u20142006<\/strong>Meeting &amp; collective<\/a><a href=\"#lmf-ch-5\"><strong>2008\u20142010<\/strong>California &amp; Montr\u00e9al<\/a><a href=\"#lmf-ch-8\"><strong>SINCE 2010<\/strong>Entrepreneurship<\/a><a href=\"#lmf-ch-10\"><strong>2013\u20142025<\/strong>Architecture &amp; Normandy<\/a><a href=\"#lmf-ch-12\"><strong>2023\u20142024<\/strong>A change of pace<\/a><a href=\"#lmf-ch-13\"><strong>SINCE 2025<\/strong>Lille &amp; what comes next<\/a><\/nav>\n<div class=\"lmf-biography\">\n<section class=\"lmf-chapter\">\n<p class=\"lmf-kicker\">The common thread<\/p>\n<p>Before La Maison Fives came the travels. A collective journey across Europe to Greece, an exhibition in Santiago, Chile, the Atacama Desert and South America. Then two months in California, a year in Montr\u00e9al and several years in Brussels, including one living on a sailboat. Later came Normandy, a property to transform and three months travelling as a family through Canada and the United States&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Benoit Milan and Soula Boscoupsios have built their story around a desire to discover, create and share experiences. He came from visual arts and contemporary art before becoming a digital entrepreneur. She was an architect and then a ceramicist. Over the years, their couple also became a team able to design a place, renovate it and develop a business there.<\/p>\n<p>Today they bring these experiences together at <strong>La Maison Fives, in Lille&#8217;s Fives Cail district<\/strong> : <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/the-five-room-hotel-la-maison-fives-lille-fives-cail\/\">five rooms for travellers<\/a>, a ceramics studio and a planned coffee counter.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"lmf-chapter\" id=\"lmf-ch-0\">\n<p class=\"lmf-kicker\">01 \/ Shared story<\/p>\n<h2>Mons: where two creative journeys meet<\/h2>\n<p>Benoit and Soula met around 2000 in Mons, Belgium. They were about twenty and studying in the same city.<\/p>\n<p>Originally from northern France, Benoit studied art at secondary school at Saint-Luc in Tournai. He continued for five years at the \u00c9cole sup\u00e9rieure des arts plastiques et visuels in Mons, at the Carr\u00e9 des Arts, in Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Octave&#8217;s studio.<\/p>\n<p>Soula, Belgian-Greek and born in Charleroi, studied architecture at I.S.A.I.M. in Mons. She qualified there as an architectural draughtsperson, then graduated in architecture in 2005.<\/p>\n<p>In this student city, the schools mingled at parties and friendships grew into projects. Around Benoit and his friend Frantz Gault, the collective <strong>Un Paxilus dans la liti\u00e8re<\/strong> took shape. Organising exhibitions, bringing artists together and finding places to show their work became an activity in its own right.<\/p>\n<p>For Benoit, it was his first experience of creating collective projects: an idea needs a team, resources and an audience.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"lmf-chapter\" id=\"lmf-ch-1\">\n<p class=\"lmf-kicker\">02 \/ Shared story<\/p>\n<h2>2003: crossing Europe as a collective<\/h2>\n<p>In 2003, Benoit, Soula and their friends travelled across Europe to produce reports about the enlargement of the European Union.<\/p>\n<p>Their route took them through Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, with stops in Sarajevo and Belgrade, before reaching Greece. They also visited the village where Soula&#8217;s family comes from.<\/p>\n<p>The journey combined photography, video, sound and writing. Reports were sent back as they travelled and broadcast by Canal Sambre and L\u2019Observateur. The team learned to work on the move, meet local people and tell the stories of places through those who live there.<\/p>\n<p>This experience foreshadowed a way of travelling they would keep: taking their time, looking beyond sightseeing and building connections with the places they visited.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/category\/memories-of-benoit-milan\/\">Explore the archives and reports from the 2003 European journey.<\/a><\/p>\n<figure class=\"lmf-film\">\n<div class=\"lmf-player\"><iframe class=\"fitvidsignore lazyload\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/QhBq7cKh6vk\" title=\"Archives \u00b7 Le d\u00e9part du voyage europ\u00e9en, 2003\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div><figcaption>Archives \u00b7 Setting off across Europe, 2003 \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=QhBq7cKh6vk\">Watch on YouTube \u2197<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"lmf-chapter\" id=\"lmf-ch-2\">\n<p class=\"lmf-kicker\">03 \/ Shared story<\/p>\n<h2>Brussels: the first professional years<\/h2>\n<p>Brussels features in several years of their story. After Benoit shared a home in Koekelberg, the couple lived in a loft in Anderlecht, in a city bringing together artistic creation, architecture and international encounters.<\/p>\n<p>With Un Paxilus dans la liti\u00e8re, Benoit had a studio for a year at <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/recyclart.be\/fr\/a-propos-de-recyclart\/info\">Recyclart<\/a><\/strong>. Exhibitions followed one another, sometimes every fortnight. The collective produced, invited and experimented.<\/p>\n<p>He then worked in contemporary art galleries, including <strong>Tach\u00e9-L\u00e9vy, which became Twig Gallery<\/strong>. Preparing exhibitions, assisting artists, installing works and taking part in art fairs became his daily life.<\/p>\n<p>Soula began her professional career at Atelier Espace Architectural Somers in Brussels, then worked from 2006 to 2008 with <strong>Jean-Marc Romain in Charleroi<\/strong>. She contributed to housing, office, renovation and outdoor landscaping projects, from design documentation to construction supervision.<\/p>\n<p>Both learned to turn an intention into something real: an exhibition for Benoit, a building or interior for Soula.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"lmf-chapter\" id=\"lmf-ch-3\">\n<p class=\"lmf-kicker\">04 \/ Shared story<\/p>\n<h2>Paximobile: from the collective to Santiago, Chile<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>Paximobile<\/strong> project took Un Paxilus dans la liti\u00e8re to Maubeuge, Eupen and then Santiago, Chile.<\/p>\n<p>After a stop in Eupen in 2005, the exhibition was presented in 2006 at the <strong>Galer\u00eda Concreta at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.m100.cl\/\">Matucana 100 cultural centre<\/a> in Santiago<\/strong>. It brought together twenty Chilean artists and twenty European artists. <strong>Frantz Gault and Benoit Milan curated it<\/strong> for the collective. Frantz was then in Chile on an internship with the United Nations.<\/p>\n<p>For this small collective from France, the event marked a change of scale: posters and clips in Santiago&#8217;s metro, an opening attended by a large audience and an ambassador\u2026 The exhibition brought them unprecedented visibility.<\/p>\n<p>Benoit stayed for about a month to work with the artists and help install the exhibition, with works and equipment shipped by cargo from Belgium whose return also had to be organised.<\/p>\n<p>Soula joined him for fifteen days in northern Chile, particularly the Atacama Desert. Benoit then crossed the Andes by bus with European participants in the exhibition to spend about ten days in Buenos Aires, before returning alone to Santiago to dismantle it.<\/p>\n<p>Paximobile combined creation, curating, international logistics and travel. The exhibition still appears in the biographies of Chilean artists such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.artistasvisualeschilenos.cl\/658\/w3-printer-40060.html\">Leonardo Portus<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.artistasvisualeschilenos.cl\/658\/w3-printer-40302.html\">Jorge Opazo<\/a>, whose records are held by Chile&#8217;s National Museum of Fine Arts.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"lmf-chapter\" id=\"lmf-ch-4\">\n<p class=\"lmf-kicker\">05 \/ Shared story<\/p>\n<h2>Art galleries: behind the scenes and new horizons<\/h2>\n<p>For several years, Benoit worked in contemporary art in Brussels and abroad. He accompanied galleries to fairs such as <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/artbrussels.com\/\">Art Brussels<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.artbasel.com\/\">Art Basel<\/a><\/strong>, assisted artists and installed works in collectors&#8217; homes.<\/p>\n<p>He notably assisted the American artist <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/traceysnelling.com\/home.html\">Tracey Snelling<\/a><\/strong>. At fairs he also encountered internationally renowned artists, including Takashi Murakami, with whom he spoke briefly. During installations he met assistants and teams from other galleries and discovered their methods and the workings of this world.<\/p>\n<p>Installations took him to houses in Uccle, villas in Notting Hill and apartments on avenue Montaigne in Paris.<\/p>\n<p>He also discovered attitudes to money far removed from those he knew. In Basel, some collectors could spend \u20ac70,000 on several purchases during a fair. In the galleries where he worked, he saw works by Anish Kapoor sold on the secondary market for \u20ac700,000.<\/p>\n<p>These experiences widened his sense of the paths life could take. Benoit grew up in a family rooted in salaried work: his mother, initially a cashier, returned to study at thirty to become a primary school teacher and then a headteacher; his father spent his career as a manager at Vallourec. His mother&#8217;s journey gave him an early example of a career change. Galleries and travel then showed him other ways to work, start businesses and build a life.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"lmf-chapter\" id=\"lmf-ch-5\">\n<p class=\"lmf-kicker\">06 \/ Shared story<\/p>\n<h2>2008: California and the desire to start an online business<\/h2>\n<p>In September and October 2008, Benoit and Soula spent two months in California. After about two weeks travelling, they stayed for around six weeks in Oakland, in the loft Tracey Snelling lent them during a residency in London.<\/p>\n<p>Tracey&#8217;s friends welcomed them and introduced them to local life, while Oakland became their base for exploring San Francisco and its bay, Berkeley, Stanford and Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n<p>In Palo Alto and Mountain View, Benoit met French entrepreneurs. After the collective and art projects, these conversations made the idea of starting an online business more tangible.<\/p>\n<p>The stay mattered as much for what they discovered as for how they experienced it: staying long enough to form habits, meet people and temporarily feel at home.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"lmf-chapter\" id=\"lmf-ch-6\">\n<p class=\"lmf-kicker\">07 \/ Shared story<\/p>\n<h2>Montr\u00e9al: architecture for Soula, learning to sell for Benoit<\/h2>\n<p>After California, they moved to Montr\u00e9al for about a year.<\/p>\n<p>Soula worked at the architecture practice of <strong>Gilles Vergnolle<\/strong>. She was responsible in particular for the Zone store project through tender submission and worked on restoring the fa\u00e7ades of the Batshaw Youth Centre. She also helped prepare specifications and tender documents.<\/p>\n<p>After about two weeks, Benoit found a communications job at <strong>T\u00e9l\u00e9fax Communication, which became Al\u00e9zi<\/strong>, working alongside <strong>Marcel Perazzelli<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>With Marcel, his brother Valentin Milan and Frantz Gault, he helped set up a communications agency. It closed after about a year, but left a lasting mark on his career.<\/p>\n<p>Coming from the art world, Benoit had already considered website projects without really learning to sell. Marcel introduced him to prospecting, calling clients and the need to advocate for his own offer.<\/p>\n<p>One phrase stayed with him: <strong>\u00ab Get the check. \u00bb<\/strong> An idea and a product need customers willing to buy them to become a sustainable business.<\/p>\n<p>Living in Montr\u00e9al also let them return regularly to New York, a city Benoit first discovered on a major solo trip in 2001. They explored New York State, visited natural parks and rented cabins. Big cities and nature already played complementary roles in their way of travelling.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"lmf-chapter\" id=\"lmf-ch-7\">\n<p class=\"lmf-kicker\">08 \/ Shared story<\/p>\n<h2>Back to Brussels: a family, a sailboat and new businesses<\/h2>\n<p>Back in Belgium, Soula briefly joined the practice of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/wbarchitectures.be\/fr\/architects\/Frederic-Haesevoets\/118\">Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Haesevoets<\/a><\/strong> from November 2009 to February 2010, then worked with <strong>Laurent Quenon for Liegeoisgroup Invest<\/strong> from 2010 to 2013.<\/p>\n<p>She notably took responsibility for converting an office building into a care home for the Noble Age group, in a full commission from design to completion.<\/p>\n<p>Their first daughter, <strong>Ma\u00efa<\/strong>, was born in Brussels in 2010.<\/p>\n<p>During their Brussels years, they also realised a cherished project: buying a sailboat and living aboard for a year with their baby. Benoit had spent part of his childhood and summers sailing with his parents along the French coast. Soula discovered this love of sailing with him.<\/p>\n<p>They sailed in the Netherlands among other places, then sold the boat without making the long voyage they had envisaged, happy to have shared this different way of living as a family.<\/p>\n<p>It was also during this period that their first digital businesses took shape.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"lmf-chapter\" id=\"lmf-ch-8\">\n<p class=\"lmf-kicker\">09 \/ Shared story<\/p>\n<h2>Cirkwi: from artistic creation to digital tourism<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pro.cirkwi.com\/\">Cirkwi<\/a><\/strong> project began in July 2010. The company was officially founded in January 2011 by <strong>Benoit Milan, Valentin Milan and Frantz Gault<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The business develops tools for exploring places: routes, walks, hikes and tourism content.<\/p>\n<p>Valentin, Benoit&#8217;s brother, is a passionate developer who enjoys researching, inventing and building the technical solutions that give ideas shape. His creativity complements Benoit&#8217;s, rooted in visual arts and collective projects. Together with Frantz, they brought together the skills needed to launch and develop Cirkwi.<\/p>\n<p>Benoit led the company during its first growth phase and was president of the SAS until 2020. He worked on products, their presentation and business development. He gradually handed over, notably to Sylvain Caucheteux, before leaving his operational roles in 2023.<\/p>\n<p><strong>He remains a Cirkwi shareholder.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In 2026, the company is led by <strong>Manon Lorang<\/strong>, who joined in 2011 as its first employee outside the founding team. She succeeded Sylvain Caucheteux, who left in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Cirkwi continues to grow with a team, a profitable business and products used each year by millions of users and many tourist offices.<\/p>\n<h3>Iceland and CES: travelling to tell the company&#8217;s story<\/h3>\n<p>Travel still had a place in this professional adventure.<\/p>\n<p>In November 2019, Benoit travelled around Iceland with <strong>Frantz Gault and Jean-Yves Delfosse<\/strong> on a road trip for Cirkwi&#8217;s communications. They filmed and told the stories of their stops, returning to the spirit of the collective&#8217;s first projects: setting off together, producing on location and sharing discoveries.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PL4rkvYyhY_9kDtBnB4Tt2si9vVLtWlZZH\">Watch the Iceland travel video series.<\/a><\/p>\n<figure class=\"lmf-film\">\n<div class=\"lmf-player\"><iframe class=\"fitvidsignore lazyload\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/videoseries?list=PL4rkvYyhY_9kDtBnB4Tt2si9vVLtWlZZH\" title=\"Carnet de route \u00b7 Islande, novembre 2019\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div><figcaption>Travel journal \u00b7 Iceland, November 2019 \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PL4rkvYyhY_9kDtBnB4Tt2si9vVLtWlZZH\">Watch on YouTube \u2197<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In January 2020, Benoit travelled with Sylvain Caucheteux to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ces.tech\/\">CES in Las Vegas<\/a><\/strong>. They documented the show, innovations and encounters.<\/p>\n<p>The trip ended with an improvised getaway to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/search\/?api=1&amp;query=Pioche%2C%20Nevada%2C%20USA\">Pioche, Nevada<\/a><\/strong>, a village chosen on a map. After Las Vegas and the technologies at CES, they discovered another America.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4q788kLRE28\">Watch the first footage from CES 2020.<\/a><\/p>\n<figure class=\"lmf-film\">\n<div class=\"lmf-player\"><iframe class=\"fitvidsignore lazyload\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/4q788kLRE28\" title=\"Cirkwi au CES \u00b7 Las Vegas, janvier 2020\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div><figcaption>Cirkwi at CES \u00b7 Las Vegas, January 2020 \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4q788kLRE28\">Watch on YouTube \u2197<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"lmf-chapter\" id=\"lmf-ch-9\">\n<p class=\"lmf-kicker\">10 \/ Shared story<\/p>\n<h2>N\u00e9o-Nomade: another entrepreneurial adventure<\/h2>\n<p>Alongside Cirkwi, Benoit and Valentin took part in the <strong>LBMG \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/www.journaldunet.com\/management\/ressources-humaines\/1521575-worklib-leve-10-millions-d-euros-et-acquiert-neo-nomade\/\">N\u00e9o-Nomade<\/a><\/strong> venture, together with Frantz Gault, Nathana\u00ebl Mathieu and Baptiste Broughton, among others.<\/p>\n<p>A co-founder and shareholder from the beginning, Benoit helped launch it before concentrating his professional activity on Cirkwi, while Frantz became more involved in the daily development of LBMG and N\u00e9o-Nomade.<\/p>\n<p>In 2023, <strong>N\u00e9o-Nomade was acquired by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.worklib.io\/\">Worklib<\/a><\/strong>. This success rests on the work of its leaders and teams, in which Benoit participated as a co-founder and minority shareholder.<\/p>\n<p>The sale allowed Benoit and Soula to step back, change pace and choose the projects to which they would devote their time.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"lmf-chapter\" id=\"lmf-ch-10\">\n<p class=\"lmf-kicker\">11 \/ Shared story<\/p>\n<h2>From northern France to Normandy: Soula&#8217;s architecture career<\/h2>\n<p>After Brussels, Soula continued her work in northern France.<\/p>\n<p>In 2013, she carried out a full home extension project within the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.toerana-habitat.fr\/\">Toerana Habitat<\/a><\/strong> cooperative. She also worked at <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/sitesetarchitectures.com\/\">Sites Architecture<\/a> in Arras<\/strong> on design studies and planning applications for schools, medical facilities and private clients.<\/p>\n<p>The couple then moved to Normandy, initially around Putanges-Pont-\u00c9crepin and Argentan.<\/p>\n<p>From 2014, Soula worked independently in Normandy on renovations, extensions and full accessibility documentation for shops and premises open to the public, a significant part of her work at that time.<\/p>\n<p>From 2017 to 2022, she also worked for <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/clemillet.com\/\">Clemillet International<\/a><\/strong> supervising fa\u00e7ade refurbishment works for co-owned apartment buildings, particularly on the Normandy coast. She then developed her independent practice, first as a micro-entrepreneur and then through a SASU, advising on homes and renovation projects.<\/p>\n<p>Her work covers every stage of a project: designing, drawing, preparing documents, organising and supervising construction. Her additional training includes sustainable building, energy performance and timber and earth construction.<\/p>\n<p>Their second daughter, <strong>Lorette<\/strong>, was born in Saint-L\u00f4 in 2016.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"lmf-chapter\" id=\"lmf-ch-11\">\n<p class=\"lmf-kicker\">12 \/ Shared story<\/p>\n<h2>La Maison Folia: nine years transforming a place<\/h2>\n<p>In 2016, Benoit and Soula bought a property to renovate in <strong>Hauteville-sur-Mer<\/strong> in the Manche, near Agon-Coutainville and the Sienne estuary.<\/p>\n<p>Less than ten minutes from the beach, it brought together several buildings on one and a half hectares, a river and an open view without neighbouring properties overlooking it. From the outset, they wanted to welcome travellers there.<\/p>\n<p>The property would become <strong>La Maison Folia<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>For nine years, alongside their professional activities, they transformed the buildings and grounds: more than fifty trees planted in the former pasture, an old bakery restored and new openings created.<\/p>\n<p>They fitted out four bedrooms and four bathrooms, a large kitchen, a lounge and an expansive south-facing terrace. They created parking by the entrance, installed a reed-bed wastewater system, renovated the barn and progressed with converting another building.<\/p>\n<p>They made the plans and decisions together. Soula brought her experience of architecture and construction; Benoit his artistic perspective, approach to how spaces are used and entrepreneurial skills. Both took a hands-on part in the work.<\/p>\n<p>La Maison Folia became a place of hospitality as well as a transformation project. There they learned to combine design, hosting, communication and running a tourism business.<\/p>\n<p>The property was sold in 2025. After renovation costs, expenses and years of work, the sale released capital that allowed them to fund the next stage of their journey.<\/p>\n<div class=\"lmf-gallery\">\n<figure class=\"lmf-photo\"><img data-src=\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/20240516_145551-EDIT.webp\" alt=\"La Maison Folia \u00b7 The lounge and its library.\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1440px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1440\/1080;\"><figcaption>La Maison Folia \u00b7 The lounge and its library.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"lmf-photo\"><img data-src=\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/20240516_145643.webp\" alt=\"La Maison Folia \u00b7 The open kitchen and counter.\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1440px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1440\/1021;\"><figcaption>La Maison Folia \u00b7 The open kitchen and counter.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"lmf-chapter\" id=\"lmf-ch-12\">\n<p class=\"lmf-kicker\">13 \/ Shared story<\/p>\n<h2>2023: changing pace and finding time again<\/h2>\n<p>The sale of N\u00e9o-Nomade in 2023 opened a transition period.<\/p>\n<p>Benoit completed his operational withdrawal from Cirkwi. Soula began turning towards ceramics while continuing her last architecture activities until 2024.<\/p>\n<p>For six months, Benoit also joined a sea rescue team and took training courses. He did not complete the entire programme, but remembers the experience as a collective commitment in an environment he has known since childhood.<\/p>\n<p>Above all, the couple regained time to travel, from Marrakech to Greece, where family ties bring them back regularly, before setting off with their daughters on a long trip to North America.<\/p>\n<h3>Three months in North America with Ma\u00efa and Lorette<\/h3>\n<p>From November 2023 to January 2024, the family spent three months in Canada and the United States.<\/p>\n<p>After about twenty days in Montr\u00e9al and as many in New York, where they spent Christmas, they drove down the East Coast: Pennsylvania&#8217;s Amish country, Washington, North Carolina and Florida, with about twenty days in Miami.<\/p>\n<p>Back in Qu\u00e9bec, they spent more than a week in a secluded lakeside cabin in a national park.<\/p>\n<p>During the trip, Ma\u00efa and Lorette studied remotely. The stay let them pass on a way of discovering the world: taking time to live somewhere, walk, run and explore, alternating big cities with much more remote places.<\/p>\n<p>Their filmed runs in New York, Montr\u00e9al and Miami preserve a street-level record of the journey.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PL4rkvYyhY_9lFv0H9USey0_O2PoIAfnCl\">Discover the running videos, including New York and Montr\u00e9al.<\/a><\/p>\n<figure class=\"lmf-film\">\n<div class=\"lmf-player\"><iframe class=\"fitvidsignore lazyload\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/videoseries?list=PL4rkvYyhY_9lFv0H9USey0_O2PoIAfnCl\" title=\"Les voyages en courant \u00b7 La s\u00e9rie RUN\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div><figcaption>Travelling on the run \u00b7 The RUN series \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PL4rkvYyhY_9lFv0H9USey0_O2PoIAfnCl\">Watch on YouTube \u2197<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"lmf-chapter\" id=\"lmf-ch-13\">\n<p class=\"lmf-kicker\">14 \/ Shared story<\/p>\n<h2>Why Lille and Fives Cail?<\/h2>\n<p>After nine years near the sea in Normandy, Benoit and Soula wanted to be closer to family and return to city life. Visiting friends, they rediscovered Lille and appreciated its energy, greening and cycling culture: a more active daily life, less dependent on the car, close to Belgium and major European connections. Leisure and business travellers also offered the prospect of hosting guests all year round.<\/p>\n<p>At <strong>Fives Cail<\/strong>, the former industrial halls already house the <a href=\"https:\/\/brasseriefivescail.com\/\">Brasserie Fives Cail<\/a>, a food court, a design school and the international hotel school. A large park, a swimming pool announced for 2027 and the future <strong>M\u00e9ert<\/strong> workshops, including a space open to the public, continue this transformation. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lemonde.fr\/planete\/article\/2025\/01\/31\/a-lille-la-rehabilitation-de-la-friche-industrielle-de-fives-cail-laboratoire-du-zero-artificialisation-nette_6525521_3244.html\">Discover the redevelopment of Fives Cail.<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lille.fr\/Vivre-a-Lille\/Les-travaux-a-Lille\/Les-projets-urbains\/Fives-Cail2\/On-y-produit\">The M\u00e9ert project presented by the City of Lille.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Artist studios, galleries and the mix of long-standing residents, newcomers, students and creators remind them of Miami&#8217;s Design District and especially Brooklyn, where they have often stayed. This industrial heritage combined with a lively working-class and creative community, a few metro stops from the centre, appeals to them. Moving there in 2025 means joining the beginnings of a district still little known to visitors.<\/p>\n<p>The return also begins a new chapter for their daughters: Ma\u00efa studies photography at Saint-Luc in Tournai, hoping to work in cinema and then continue studying in Paris.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"lmf-photo\"><img data-src=\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Vignettes-hotel-09.jpg\" alt=\"Fives Cail \u00b7 The former halls brought back to life by cultural activity.\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1818px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1818\/1818;\"><figcaption>Fives Cail \u00b7 The former halls brought back to life by cultural activity.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"lmf-chapter\" id=\"lmf-ch-14\">\n<p class=\"lmf-kicker\">15 \/ Shared story<\/p>\n<h2>La Maison Fives: a project built together<\/h2>\n<p>In 2025, they bought a property of about <strong>230 m\u00b2<\/strong> on a street corner in Fives Cail and carried out much of the renovation themselves. They created <strong>five rooms with five bathrooms<\/strong> for travellers, while the adjoining building preserves their privacy with three family bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. The two former garages, with street-facing shopfronts, house the ceramics studio and future coffee counter.<\/p>\n<p>As at La Maison Folia, plans, materials and interiors are decided together. Soula brings her experience of volumes, circulation and construction; Benoit his artistic culture and command of communication, the web and search visibility. They seek places that make an impression on arrival and remain comfortable every day. Their shared work has also developed through discussions, tensions and learning to listen more closely to each other&#8217;s perspective.<\/p>\n<p>From modest backgrounds \u2014 a Greek immigrant family for Soula, a northern French family rooted in work for Benoit \u2014 they have built their projects without inheritance, through attempts cut short, decisive encounters and collective successes. Funds reinvested from earlier ventures finance the purchase outright, with borrowing for part of the renovation, and let them devote themselves to La Maison Fives.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"lmf-photo\"><img data-src=\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Facade-La-Maison-Fives-Hotel-lille.jpeg\" alt=\"La Maison Fives \u00b7 The corner building, photographed in 2025.\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1536px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1536\/1024;\"><figcaption>La Maison Fives \u00b7 The corner building, photographed in 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In September 2026, <strong>Le Figaro Voyage selected La Maison Fives among ten hotels to stay in during Lille&#8217;s Braderie<\/strong>, despite the property being new and having run no press campaign. Feedback from the first guests and visitor numbers reinforce their confidence in the project. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/voyages\/hotels\/braderie-de-lille-2026-10-hotels-ou-bien-dormir-des-nouvelles-adresses-aux-valeurs-sures-20260902\">Read Le Figaro&#8217;s selection.<\/a><\/p>\n<figure class=\"lmf-photo\"><img data-src=\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/La-Maison-Fives-SALON-clair.jpeg\" alt=\"La Maison Fives \u00b7 The lounge and library.\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 2048px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 2048\/2048;\"><figcaption>La Maison Fives \u00b7 The lounge and library.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"lmf-chapter\" id=\"lmf-ch-15\">\n<p class=\"lmf-kicker\">16 \/ Shared story<\/p>\n<h2>Ceramics, the counter and what comes next<\/h2>\n<p>Soula continues exploring forms, materials and everyday objects at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/l-atelier-boutique-lille-fives\/\">the La Maison Fives studio<\/a>. Plans include a coffee and tea counter with ceramics for sale in 2027, followed by an offering centred on <strong>spanakopita<\/strong> in 2028, connected to her heritage and their regular stays in Greece. In 2026, fitting out the space and arranging its opening to the public are underway to make it a neighbourhood meeting place.<\/p>\n<p>Over a horizon of about four years, they want to build a team and gradually entrust it with part of the day-to-day running. Their family floor could become independent accommodation with a kitchen, alongside the five rooms, in a small hotel project whose configuration remains to be defined.<\/p>\n<p>They want to keep La Maison Fives while regaining the freedom to stay elsewhere and create other projects: continuing the hospitality adventure with colleagues playing an increasing role.<\/p>\n<div class=\"lmf-gallery\">\n<figure class=\"lmf-photo\"><img data-src=\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/20250612_124855-980x1244.jpg\" alt=\"Soula's work \u00b7 Material and gesture.\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 980px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 980\/1244;\"><figcaption>Soula&#8217;s work \u00b7 Material and gesture.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"lmf-photo\"><img data-src=\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/20250612_125255-980x1089.jpg\" alt=\"Ceramic pieces presented on the La Maison Fives website.\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 980px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 980\/1089;\"><figcaption>Ceramic pieces presented on the La Maison Fives website.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<footer class=\"lmf-end\">\n<p class=\"lmf-kicker\">The next chapter is being written in Lille<\/p>\n<h2>Meet La Maison Fives.<\/h2>\n<div class=\"lmf-links\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/the-five-room-hotel-la-maison-fives-lille-fives-cail\/\">Discover the five rooms \u2197<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/l-atelier-boutique-lille-fives\/\">Explore Soula&#8217;s studio \u2197<\/a><a href=\"#lmf-equipe\">Back to the top \u2191<\/a><\/div>\n<p class=\"lmf-credit\">Photographs: La Maison Fives website archives. Videos: La Maison Fives YouTube channel. Biography updated in September 2026.<\/p>\n<\/footer>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>La Maison Fives \u00b7 About the team Two journeys.One shared story. Benoit Milan and Soula Boscoupsios are the founders of La Maison Fives in Lille. A couple and a team bringing together architecture, art, ceramics and entrepreneurship to create places people love to stay. 5 rooms in LilleA ceramics studioA story beginning in Mons around [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6130","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Benoit Milan and Soula Boscoupsios, founders of La Maison Fives - La Maison Fives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/benoit-milan-and-soula-boscoupsios-founders-of-la-maison-fives\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Benoit Milan and Soula Boscoupsios, founders of La Maison Fives - La Maison Fives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"La Maison Fives \u00b7 About the team Two journeys.One shared story. Benoit Milan and Soula Boscoupsios are the founders of La Maison Fives in Lille. A couple and a team bringing together architecture, art, ceramics and entrepreneurship to create places people love to stay. 5 rooms in LilleA ceramics studioA story beginning in Mons around [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/benoit-milan-and-soula-boscoupsios-founders-of-la-maison-fives\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"La Maison Fives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lalitiere.co\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-08T17:15:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/La-Maison-Folia-devient-La-Maison-Fives-08-EDIT-01.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"22 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/benoit-milan-and-soula-boscoupsios-founders-of-la-maison-fives\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/benoit-milan-and-soula-boscoupsios-founders-of-la-maison-fives\/\",\"name\":\"Benoit Milan and Soula Boscoupsios, founders of La Maison Fives - La Maison Fives\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/benoit-milan-and-soula-boscoupsios-founders-of-la-maison-fives\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/benoit-milan-and-soula-boscoupsios-founders-of-la-maison-fives\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/La-Maison-Folia-devient-La-Maison-Fives-08-EDIT-01.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-16T19:46:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-08T17:15:50+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/benoit-milan-and-soula-boscoupsios-founders-of-la-maison-fives\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/benoit-milan-and-soula-boscoupsios-founders-of-la-maison-fives\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/benoit-milan-and-soula-boscoupsios-founders-of-la-maison-fives\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/La-Maison-Folia-devient-La-Maison-Fives-08-EDIT-01.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/La-Maison-Folia-devient-La-Maison-Fives-08-EDIT-01.png\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/benoit-milan-and-soula-boscoupsios-founders-of-la-maison-fives\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Accueil\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Benoit Milan and Soula Boscoupsios, founders of La Maison Fives\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"La Liti\u00e8re - Expressions & R\u00e9flexions\",\"description\":\"Five-Room Hotel &amp; Atelier-Boutique \u00e0 Lille Fives Cail\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"La Liti\u00e8re\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"La Liti\u00e8re - Expressions & R\u00e9flexions\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/cropped-logo-la-litiere2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/cropped-logo-la-litiere2.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"La Liti\u00e8re - Expressions & R\u00e9flexions\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lalitiere.co\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Benoit Milan and Soula Boscoupsios, founders of La Maison Fives - La Maison Fives","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/benoit-milan-and-soula-boscoupsios-founders-of-la-maison-fives\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Benoit Milan and Soula Boscoupsios, founders of La Maison Fives - La Maison Fives","og_description":"La Maison Fives \u00b7 About the team Two journeys.One shared story. Benoit Milan and Soula Boscoupsios are the founders of La Maison Fives in Lille. A couple and a team bringing together architecture, art, ceramics and entrepreneurship to create places people love to stay. 5 rooms in LilleA ceramics studioA story beginning in Mons around [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/benoit-milan-and-soula-boscoupsios-founders-of-la-maison-fives\/","og_site_name":"La Maison Fives","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lalitiere.co","article_modified_time":"2026-10-08T17:15:50+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/La-Maison-Folia-devient-La-Maison-Fives-08-EDIT-01.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"22 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/benoit-milan-and-soula-boscoupsios-founders-of-la-maison-fives\/","url":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/benoit-milan-and-soula-boscoupsios-founders-of-la-maison-fives\/","name":"Benoit Milan and Soula Boscoupsios, founders of La Maison Fives - La Maison Fives","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/benoit-milan-and-soula-boscoupsios-founders-of-la-maison-fives\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/benoit-milan-and-soula-boscoupsios-founders-of-la-maison-fives\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/La-Maison-Folia-devient-La-Maison-Fives-08-EDIT-01.png","datePublished":"2026-09-16T19:46:34+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-08T17:15:50+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/benoit-milan-and-soula-boscoupsios-founders-of-la-maison-fives\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/benoit-milan-and-soula-boscoupsios-founders-of-la-maison-fives\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/benoit-milan-and-soula-boscoupsios-founders-of-la-maison-fives\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/La-Maison-Folia-devient-La-Maison-Fives-08-EDIT-01.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/La-Maison-Folia-devient-La-Maison-Fives-08-EDIT-01.png"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/benoit-milan-and-soula-boscoupsios-founders-of-la-maison-fives\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Accueil","item":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Benoit Milan and Soula Boscoupsios, founders of La Maison Fives"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/","name":"La Liti\u00e8re - Expressions & R\u00e9flexions","description":"Five-Room Hotel &amp; Atelier-Boutique \u00e0 Lille Fives Cail","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/#organization"},"alternateName":"La Liti\u00e8re","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/#organization","name":"La Liti\u00e8re - Expressions & R\u00e9flexions","url":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/cropped-logo-la-litiere2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/cropped-logo-la-litiere2.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"La Liti\u00e8re - Expressions & R\u00e9flexions"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lalitiere.co"]}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6130"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6130\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6131,"href":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6130\/revisions\/6131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lamaisonfives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}