Flavie moved to Paris when she was 17 to complete her studies in sociology. While there she began working as a model for designers like Olivier Theyskens and Comme des Garcons. Early one morning on a train to Cologne she met Clayton, the California native who was to become her husband. She visited him twice in Los Angeles; on the second trip she stayed.

The couple eventually started their luxury leather business Cerre, named for Flavie's grandmother who was a couture seamstress. Soon they realized that they needed their own shop too: "We wanted to create a full story, so we figured we would build a space around the bags, and we loved the old buildings in Hollywood." The store is located on Los Palmas Avenue, and Flavie is busily designing the next collection.