The following interview was published in the May 2025 issue of ELLE Decoration. You can learn how the French Doll was born and what a truly timeless toy is...
Where did the idea for Francibaba come from?
The French Doll was born out of the love of children. It is named after my daughter, who was a true French and Hungarian doll, dual citizen, bilingual. We lived in a French-speaking area as a child, and she grew up with toys that I didn't know back home. One of the personal motivations is certainly nostalgia for childhood.
What exactly do you do?
Our goal was to appear on the Hungarian market with toys that are of excellent quality and made of natural materials, and are also durable so that even several generations can play with them.
Why do you think there is a demand for such traditional, classic gifts? Is it the child who needs them, or the parent?
Wooden toys, due to their simplicity, leave a lot of room for imagination. Unlike many electronic or plastic toys that almost dictate how children should play, a construction toy, a wooden train or a wooden tea set invites them to invent their own stories. In this way, they help cognitive development, autonomy and initiative.
Electronic toys, with their sounds, lights and automatic movements, often overstimulate children. In contrast, classic toys create a calmer environment that is conducive to concentration and patience. However, the manipulation of classic toys, such as playing with building blocks, is essential in developing certain fine motor skills, which later also affects the development of intellectual abilities. Everyone can look into this.
Big brands like Vilac or Jeujura have centuries-old traditions in toy manufacturing, which should not be underestimated, as the ancients knew something that we may have forgotten today.
Last but not least, a wooden toy can last for generations. Thanks to its durability, it can be passed down and memories and family stories are attached to it. Unlike plastic toys, which break and wear out quickly, these toys are designed to last a long time, which gives them a unique affective value.
Why do you think it is important to educate children in their early aesthetic development (i.e. not to play with ugly toys, etc.)?
As for aesthetics, taste can also be cultivated, and is the imprint of childhood memories and experiences. Just as tastes and smells, shapes, materials and colors are ingrained in our memory, and later this becomes the standard, the desired ideal for us. Every child deserves to be able to play with not only interesting but also beautiful toys. These objects may be more expensive, but we also have plans for how to make them available to as many children as possible in the future. But I will tell you about these plans in a later issue...