When Colibri makes dolls and bears ... a pretty fairy tale
Alexandra and Emmanuel BROUET manage from Rouen "THE" French-speaking reference website for dolls.
Un Bonheur de Colibri is first and foremost an online store offering the widest possible choice of dolls (both play dolls and collectible or artist dolls, mainly in vinyl and resin) but also a very wide selection of accessories, clothes, wigs and shoes for all types of dolls.
Since the beginning of 2020, a new range of products has been introduced in the nest: stuffed animals and collectible bears, from the English brand Charlie Bears.
At Colibri, dolls are a family affair
The Colibri team is composed of Alexandra and Emmanuel, doll lovers in their spare time, teddy bears fans at heart and a true couple in life and in business.
Friends since high school, the story of Alexandra and Emmanuel is one of a change of life.
After having three children, this Belgian couple had taken the habit of reselling on the internet the childcare equipment that had become useless. While Emmanuel is very busy with his job as an insurance banker, Alexandra takes a liking to this internet sale, and decides to create a website offering beautiful wooden toys and original board games. The activity starts slowly in November 2009, and very quickly a first brand of play dolls joins the catalog.
Due to the success, two more brands are integrated, and collectible dolls (regularly requested by customers) are also added. The business took off and quickly eclipsed the other products sold by the site.
In July 2013, Emmanuel and Alexandra made another important decision, that of abandoning the Belgian greyness to settle in Narbonne, in the south of France. If the adaptation to the local life is perfect, the relationship with the French administration is much more complicated. The latter refused to recognize Emmanuel's 20 years of experience. Rather than retake his diplomas, he decided to join Alexandra and devote himself exclusively to the site, which is still expanding.
Logistics, marketing, social networks, photography, accounting, customer service, supplier relations, after-sales service ... everything is managed internally and as a family (because the couple's 3 children don't hesitate to get involved) to the delight of buyers.
After several years of existence, Un Bonheur de Colibri has become the French-speaking reference site for vinyl dolls. It has thousands of visits per month while animating a very large community of French, European, American, Australian, Canadian collectors... The blog of the store is very appreciated by many doll and teddy bear lovers.
New change in July 2019: the small team moves to Normandy, in the region of Rouen, with this deep desire to get closer to its Nordic roots that the Colibri family missed so much. The management of the site as well as all the logistic operations are entirely managed from a brand new professional space adapted to the activity of this little Hummingbird.
The importance of family ...
The small Colibri team is very attached to a "key" value in its eyes: the Family!
The family is for us a real refuge that allows us to be inspired, to protect us, to advise us, to support the worst, to encourage us, to console us, to share the good moments, to laugh, to dance, to sing ... in short, life!
A warm thank you to my wonderful little sister Phanie (Stéphanie is her real name) who, since the disappearance of Mom and Dad, surrounds me and brings me unconditional love.
You are always in my heart!
Gone much too soon, all our thoughts go to our dad who participated enormously in the development of our store by his wise advice and by the implementation of very advanced management tools, thus contributing to the flight of our Colibri.
At Colibri, a true magical story of passion and dreams
The adventure Un Bonheur de Colibri started in 2009, but this true passion for dolls goes back much further than that:
"A great childhood memory can't help but resurface every time I look at dolls. It was one Christmas and the prettiest gift wrapped under the tree had my name on it. I opened the box and there she was, with the most beautiful dress a doll could wear and dreamy hair that flowed down to her feet.
At first sight, I knew it was her, the best friend I had always dreamed of. Since that day, Magali and I have never left each other. She accompanied me everywhere and I told her all my secrets that she kept preciously for her. Over the years, I acquired other dolls that I cherished as much as my little Magali. Then, they ended up on the shelves of my room, each one as radiant as the other. As I grew up, my dolls always had a special place in my life. In fact, I ended up collecting them.
Today, I can still feel all the happiness they brought me, the peace they brought me when I was going through difficult times, the gestures I repeated over and over again when I was playing with them... I was far from imagining that later on, I would have a job that would allow me to share this joy with thousands of people, each of them living their own story."
Alexandra, founder of the website Un Bonheur de Colibri
"I was working in the banking sector when Alexandra and I decided to embark on this wonderful adventure. It was not just a question of selling dolls but of living and sharing a real passion. Like Alexandra, I was also touched by the plangonophiles. It may come as a surprise, but it is a phenomenon that concerns many more people than you might imagine: your neighbor, your uncle, a colleague at work, a man you meet in a restaurant, at the bar...
But what encouraged us the most in our business were the messages we received from our customers. We were always delighted to see that one of our dolls had made a little girl happy somewhere, but also her mother, who had worked hard to find the perfect gift. With this new friend, she would have the opportunity to live "her own fairy tale", to share with her every day new adventures, each one as extraordinary and wonderful as the other, to dream, to laugh ...
But some testimonies touched us even more than others, like the case of a couple who overcame the loss of their child thanks to a little doll they acquired from us.
One day, a lady sent us a picture of a whole universe that she managed to create thanks to our dolls. There is no age limit to fall under the charm of these toys which can in fact represent much more, give life to one's dreams and where the only limit remains the imagination".
Emmanuel, responsible for the website Un Bonheur de Colibri
Because let's not forget that...
- HAPPINESS is a lasting state of lightness and peace of mind, which can lead to luck, prosperity and success.
A loving reminder to Alexandra's mother, for whom she will always remain "THE Little Happiness"!
- THE HUMMINGBIRD is a remarkable bird because of its smallness, its lightness and the brightness of its colors.
Very emotional memory of the little nickname given to Alexandra by Chonchon, her Grandmother
Chonchon and Vivi (grandmother and mother of Alexandra), our 2 stars in the firmament
... then ... "A Hummingbird's delight" (Un Bonheur de Colibri in French)...
This represents a lot of emotions and happiness for YOU: satisfaction, choice, refinement, assortment, peace of mind ... for a very quick return and loyalty ... because nothing is more important than the HAPPINESS ...!