Olivia is the founder of the children's activity kit brand [ MA VIE PRATIQUE ]
Year founded: 2020
Design location, office: France 🇫🇷
Raw material sourcing locations: France 🇫🇷 and Europe 🇪🇺
Manufacturing location, production: Bordeaux, France 🇫🇷
Meet the founder
In 2012, after her 5th year at a digital communications agency, Olivia decided to travel to the United States to learn about organic farming. Attracted and enthusiastic about the ideas, she observed, experimented, and drew inspiration from local and entrepreneurial initiatives in California and Oregon.
At the same time, she discovered Montessori education , and wondered if it was a coincidence? At the time, there were no branded toys or dedicated manuals in bookstores. What she read on the subject touched the little girl in her and she decided to trust her intuition, leaving aside the "what will people say".
She delved deeper into this pedagogy by meeting teachers and volunteering in India for a summer. She visited Montessori schools in the state of Tamil Nadu, exchanged historical documents with the association's office in Chennai, then undertook the Montessori 2-6 years training. She finally graduated as an AMI Montessori Educator in July 2015.
Sensitive to the child's environment and touched by the abundance of plastic and electronic toys, the idea of offering a legitimate alternative became obvious. She completed her knowledge with training modules to understand how the Montessori approach can be applied at home and fell in love with the environments present in the Montessori classroom dedicated to Practical Life which, like language and mathematics, offer the child an attractive framework, designed for their needs and adapted to their strength and size.
Ma Vie Pratique makes available to the child activities from daily life representative of their culture. Each activity offers a goal to achieve while offering the child the ability to develop key skills.
After 3 years spent in Montessori schools, she returned to France and decided to support parents by helping them set up environments conducive to the child's development: to allow them to develop fundamental skills from a physical, psychological, and intellectual point of view.
Her project began in 2020, at the same time as Covid. She was asked to give online workshops and then to set up a (very) small school in a dedicated space. It was an opportunity for her to test her kits firsthand with her little students.
About the brand
Ma Vie Pratique designs and makes activity kits around daily life for children under 6 years old. The brand was designed by a Montessori educator. Each activity comes in a screen-printed pouch that contains the kit as well as an illustrated mini-guide, which tells the adult the steps to present the activity for the first time.
A kit consists of 3 to 10 objects to allow an organized and logical sequence of the activity. Hands are at the heart of this process. The objects are made of noble, durable, and responsible materials . These eco-responsible products are reusable for life!
Olivia, the founder, is an AMI Montessori educator and completed her training in London in 2014, she then worked in Montessori schools in France and England while giving lectures and workshops for families as well as professionals.
The eco-responsible impact
A committed brand : Ma Vie Pratique is a company whose mission is to bring a lasting change in the use of education and materials to help the child build themselves and adapt to the world in which they live. "Practical Life" constitutes the first area of development for children since it teaches them to master essential gestures while teaching them to take care of themselves and their environment with pride and dignity: washing their hands, setting the table, doing the dishes, etc... Key skills for their personal and social development. By doing these activities by themselves, they gain confidence in themselves, and strengthen their ability to concentrate.
Ma Vie Pratique is a zero-waste and 100% zero-plastic . The products are sourced in Europe and the textile creations are designed and made in France. The stock exists in small quantities to best adjust to demand. The packaging consists of a GOTS-certified organic cotton pouch (label for organic textiles) and the accessories are packed in kraft paper. The entire assembly is managed in Bordeaux.
The big pluses
The fabric is OEKO-TEX certified and the cotton of the pouches is GOTS certified.The values of the brand
🧴 Zero plastic ↓
No plastic is present in the kits since plastic does not provide sensory information to the child (weight, texture, temperature). Plastic, by its neutral appearance, does not engage or little engages the child's attention unlike noble materials which will help them become aware of what they are doing. Ma Vie Pratique has designed all its products in a responsible and sustainable way, each object will be easily reused instead of being thrown away.
🌀 Zero-waste lifestyle ↓
Ma Vie Pratique conveys the values related to caring for the environment, and each kit is intended to be used as many times as the child feels the need. It is in this circular logic that the objects do not produce waste. The objects are made of noble materials and the tools such as cotton pads and sponges are washable.
🇪🇺 Made in Europe ↓
The products are sourced in Europe mainly in Germany, the fabrics come from Spain and the textile creations are made in France. in an ESAT. All the assembly, packaging and shipping are done in France in Bordeaux.
💎 Limited series ↓
The stock exists in small quantities to best adjust to demand. The kits are made in series of 30.
[ Ma Vie Pratique helps the toddler become more autonomous every day! ]
