Just out of the Cannes International Games Festival in 2020, I did not imagine (like many other traders) the impact that Covid-19 would have on my business...
Barely a month after a completely normal game festival, we are forced to close our stores, because they are not essential...
We did not know then what this thing was and the impact it would have on health mainly and then on the health of our businesses.
Closed to customers but open for withdrawal in front of the store, I made a very risky choice at this time hoping to find you there!
I have chosen to stop deliveries and only rely on Click and Collect so as not to risk the health of my deliverers to begin with, nor that of my remote customers.
And you did something just awesome for the store: you stuck with the store and quickly showed your support via Click and Collect!
Thank you for your enthusiasm for the world of board games despite these uncertain times.
And above all, thank you for trusting me and for continuing to trust me on a daily basis!
I have a thought for the female and male colleagues who have been forced to close their shops, as well as all the businesses affected.
A positive thing resulting from this crisis, is a better daily organization of my work and a better balance between professional and personal lives.
Because even if some will not understand that I give opening hours to also have a personal life, you are a large majority to understand that this balance is necessary in our lives.
And yes, I often opened longer and rendered services before that to "troubleshoot"... But when the troubleshooting does not allow you to do anything other than work, you have to say stop.
If this upsets some, then on good terms, so be it...
My customers and loyal players know that this does not impact my involvement with them on a daily basis.
Because if I can't balance my personal time equally with my professional time then I won't be able to share my passion for board games with you in the best possible way!
After being an animator for years, I wanted to move into another career path.
When we acquired the local store, the idea to germinate in my mind, to create a board game store.
At this time, Vaison sadly saw a symbol disappear, the paradise of babies...
Fan of board games since my youngest age, I wanted to share with you my passion for games.
So I took a year to train myself in business management to prepare for the opening of the store in the most serene way possible.
To create the site, even if I was good at coding, I took courses to improve myself and be able to customize the site as much as possible.
And then come the stages of creation where you mature your project with encouragement on the one hand and non-constructive criticism on the other...
I then started from the negative to develop the positive.
Because the negative can help you become more sure of your project.
How ?
As far as I am concerned, by being even more vigilant than if I had only had constructive criticism.
Because if our project will always bother some people (and yes, there are always dissatisfied people), it will delight a large number of people.
So, believe in your projects, give yourself the tools to be able to achieve them and never stop progressing. ;)
And for entertainment, I already had many years of experience behind me and an adaptability to my entertainment groups that allow me to personalize the play times that we share together as much as possible.
I intend to remain a force of proposal to offer you unique moments, passionate conversations around board games.
Sharing my passion for board games with all of you will always be my best motivation!
The battle: learn to overlap and enter into conflict.
My memory of the battle begins at 3 years old, when I played with my cousins.
No Batawaf or Batanimo at that time, but a good old deck of 32 or 54 cards would do.
In ascending order or by values for Jacks, Queens, Kings, Aces and Jokers.
Whoever had the strongest card won both cards in play, or more when there was one battle or multiple battles.
A game of chance, the battle game allows you to gently learn about card games and the battle brings the concept of confrontation with the other player(s).
He gently learns to win and lose and to react to the risk factor of the cards in his hand.
Learning to play by following rules that put all players on an equal footing also allows young children to learn and then enjoy the games.
With the battle, we learn to confront two cards by their values, making win the strongest, but we can also lose stronger cards in the battles.
The setting of the game quite often makes it easier to manage the emotions linked to victory or defeat, because you can take revenge or even have a good time.
A game is sometimes like in life, as Philippe Le Guillou says “Life is a game. You have to know how to lose”.
But whatever happens, as Jack London puts it, “Life is not just about having the right cards in your hand; sometimes it's knowing how to play well with a bad game”.
And then everything falls into place thanks to and with you.
During these first five years with you, I was able to develop the store.
Because your constructive opinion on the store is very important to me, I remain at your disposal on a daily basis.
Thanks to your proposals to improve the store, its evolution has always been in the right direction thanks to you.
And little by little everything fell into place. First with the sale of games, then with services and finally with animations.
I would not have been and I still would not be able to offer beautiful playful nuggets or unique moments without your enthusiasm for board games or your desire to discover them.
5 years ago in Vaison, board games were not as common as they are now.
You have and continue to trust me and I strive to ensure that you can continue to do so. :)
I still have plenty of good ideas to offer you, and as long as you trust me, I still have plenty of surprises in store for you.
Let's talk about this passion for the game that drives me.
Born from my earliest childhood, the game has always been for me above all a way of sharing with other players.
Whether it was with my grandfather, when I started playing or now that I play with you on a daily basis; playing board games, for me, is above all about sharing.
Because beyond the fun that a game provides, sharing a moment with other players is a moment suspended in time, unique and irreplaceable.
We discover each person through their way of playing and interacting with others.
What is interesting is to see players discover themselves through the game, because it allows them to open up a little more to the other players around the table.
I particularly like when the games animations allow people who did not know each other to discover each other and to make acquaintances, or even better very often friends.
So do I drive my passion for games or does it drive me?
Good question…
One thing is sure, my passion for games allows me to share good times with you all and that is priceless!
With great achievements already accomplished with you by my side, I do not intend to stop in my tracks.
When I look back 5 years, when I created the store, I intended to develop game animations that did not exist in Vaison.
Some immediately trusted me, seeking my experience in animation to energize their organizations.
I would also like to thank these first people and companies who believed in my game animation project from the start.
I would particularly mention Mac Donald de Saint Romain en Viennois and their kind recommendation to other companies and institutions after having tested the game animations. :)
Thank you also to the town halls and toy libraries for your trust for 5 years now, thank you Vaison, where we Play the Game. ;)
And thank you around Vaison and elsewhere where we also play the game. ;)
Thank you especially to you my customers and everyday players, who allow me to continue the fun adventure by your side. ;)
Thank you to the entertainment teams that I joined or managed, particularly my Italian-Maltese froufrous team (Thank you frou frou team, grazzie mille frou frou team) and especially the entertainment team with whom everything started and continues every christmas, I named team fada. ;)
I would like to thank Angie, Cece, Clairounette, Julie Gege, Marie M., Yaume tomette, Kit and Kat, Angél-hic, Laeti titia, Magic Dom Dom.
I would end up thanking my husband, his parents, my relatives and friends, who even if they may have had doubts continue to support me and believe in my store. :)
I'm happy to see that we haven't gone from 0 game animation in 2018, to a year of games in advance, toy libraries that flourish in Vaison and its surroundings, partnerships that I appreciate more than anything!
Great achievements, failures too, but always great human and enriching adventures thanks to all of you!
So thank you very much to everyone, and we're staying the course, towards new projects and new adventures, promise. ;)
The life of an independent business can be quite random.
During the covid crisis, for example, I wondered if the store would be able to operate despite the closure and the restrictions first.
That's where you came in and where you were great, because even closed, you continued to trust me.
I was very lucky to have you, as you have allowed me during this time to keep the boat afloat through Click and Collect and shopping on the store site.
I had a lot of doubts, doubts that you swept away with your kindness and your loyalty to the store.
So, thank you very much for that!
And then being an independent shop means that I can only count on myself…
No branch or large group to back you up when times get tough.
Even if I was asked to take over as a franchise the suite of a large brand, my choice to be an independent boutique was carefully considered.
I didn't want to be able to just give you generic choices of board games, but also to be able to give you a range of indie publishers.
I have always had at heart, even in the face of difficulty, never to let go.
For what ?
Because sharing the best of the fun world has always been and will always be my driving force.
If something is difficult, it is not impossible!
I doubt, I sometimes succeed, I often make mistakes, but I always learn!
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