In his apartment in Joué-lès-Tours, David Dubois has set up a room filled with boxes of board games, figurines and pots of paint. A smile forms on his lips when he opens the doors to his “Caverne d’Ali Baba”Inside, fine brushes, small bottles of paint, boxes of games and collections of six-sided or larger dice.
For a few years now, he has been selling figurines and games on the Internet, creating his company, Figmarket. A way for him to “Share a passion” to as many people as possible, while ensuring that prices remain affordable.
“A manual, social and accessible leisure activity”
Because he fell into figurines from his earliest childhood. “When I was four or five years old, I would always go up to watch my father play Lords of War or HeroQuest, he says. I was fascinated by the armies, the flags, the knights or the orcs. It was explosive, in terms of colors, I liked it right away.
Once the figurine was painted, David Dubois let his imagination run wild. He painted a river and added elements to create grass and flowers.
© (Photo NR, Bastien David)
He then starts trading cards Magic The Gatheringoffered by his sister, in the schoolyard. “And when I was 11, I received my first figurines of the Lord of the Rings. Then I bought other figurines from other clans, and other characters from this universe.
Since then, this passion has never left him. On his website, he sells figurines from licenses known to the general public, such as Harry Potter or The Witcheror others inspired by historical soldiers, such as Viking warriors, Roman soldiers, or even Japanese soldiers.
“I try to have low prices, even if it means doing more volumeexplains David Dubois. I would find it a shame if the price prevented some people from being interested in a manual, social and accessible leisure activity.”
Because the interest in these games does not only lie in the games themselves. “Painting figurines is a very relaxing thing.he emphasizes. And if some people are afraid to start, I encourage them, even if they have never painted since school. The main thing is that we like it.”
There are dozens of game boxes in David Dubois’ “Ali Baba’s cave”.
© (Photo NR, Bastien David)
Some customers even become friends, “with whom we can play or go for a drink. In this environment, generally, we are passionate before being salespeople.”
And David Dubois doesn’t intend to stop there. He aims to eventually open a physical store in Joué-lès-Tours. “It’s important for smaller towns or to give an option to those who don’t want to go to the city centre of Tourshe explains. This is also what makes the independents strong, unlike the big ones. marketplaces (1). I spend a lot of time advising customers, I tell them to call me by my first name and I will find out if I don’t have the answer right away… Figmarket is not just a legal entity, there is a human being behind it.
(1) Online trading platforms
