When asked where this collection comes from, I always give the same answer: Abidjan.
I lived in Ivory Coast for five years, managing Ma Cabane à Rêves from there. Five years of seeing, every morning, women dressed in colors I had never seen in France. A simple loincloth wrapped around their waist. Geometric patterns, bold solid colors, wax prints that tell a story with every meter of fabric.
There isn't a specific memory. Not a particular market, not one scene that sums it all up. It's an accumulation — five years of ordinary, daily beauty that eventually imprinted itself on my eyes. And in my hands.
What exactly is wax print?
Wax print fabric — also called ankara or pagne — is a cotton fabric printed with wax, originating from West Africa. Its geometric and floral patterns, vibrant and bold colors, make it one of the most recognizable textiles in the world. Each pattern has a name, sometimes a meaning. It is given, worn, displayed.
In Ivory Coast, wax print is everywhere — in markets, in the streets, at ceremonies. It's not a festive fabric reserved for special occasions. It's everyday wear. A woman wraps a simple loincloth around her waist and she is dressed — with an elegance and confidence that European clothes don't always have.
It's this beauty that I wanted to bring back to France. Not as an exotic curiosity. But as an obvious truth.
Artistic direction as transmission
When I wanted to create these magnetic dolls, I worked with Lorraine Duval — the illustrator of several games in the Ma Cabane à Rêves range. She had no particular connection to Africa. It was I who transmitted the artistic direction to her: the wax patterns, the colors, the silhouettes. What I had absorbed over five years, she translated into magnets.
That's what I love about this game. It's not a distant representation of Africa. It's a personal perspective, transmitted to an illustrator, translated into shapes that children can hold in their hands.
Why wax print for children?
Because wax print is joy. It's colors that don't apologize, patterns that happily combine and contrast, a way of dressing the body that says something powerful about beauty and self-confidence.
And because children deserve games that show them that beauty exists everywhere — not just in the pastel palettes of European toy catalogs.
Why offer this game?
- For children discovering diversity — dolls with wax print outfits on the fridge are a natural and joyful way to show that beauty exists all over the world.
- For families with African roots — a game that resembles them, made in France, carefully illustrated.
- As an original children's gift — for Christmas, a birthday, a birth. At €29, it's a gift that stands out from the usual.
- For teachers and educators — a fun tool to introduce cultural diversity from kindergarten.
The Wax Dolls magnetic game
32 magnets — dolls and outfits with wax patterns to freely compose. Children assemble, dress, change outfits, invent stories. Each combination is different. Each doll becomes unique.
3 additional dolls to color and cut out are printed on the back of the packaging — to extend the game on paper.
Made in France. Illustrated by Lorraine Duval under the artistic direction of Amandine Allard. Compatible with fridges, magnetic boards, and any metal surface. From 3 years old.