at the World Bean Show, fabophiles in search of the ultimate figurine

The 32nd edition of the World Bean Show takes place on Sunday January 7 in Champagne-sur-Oise, in Val-d’Oise. This largest event of its kind in France attracts collectors from all over the country.

Fabophiles will meet in Champagne-sur-Oise (Val-d’Oise), Sunday January 7, for the World Champagne Bean and Capsule Show. But it is above all the small figurine found in the cakes that collectors, who we therefore call fabophiles, come to admire, buy or exchange during the largest event of its kind in France.

And there is something for everyone: from the small shoe-shaped bean to the more precious handmade one, gleaned over time by enthusiasts. “There, we attack the 32nd World of King Bean Collectors”. Thierry Storme, 74, can’t wait. The event organizer is in full preparations. He expects a lot of visitors, and between 80 and 100 exhibitors.

“We have people from the North, from Brittany, from the Vosges, from the Belgian border, from Bordeaux… They come from everywhere.”

Thierry Storme, collector

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This collector also exhibits his beans, hundreds of them well protected in small suitcases.
“There are brands, for example there is Midgard: a manufacturer which is on the Normandy sidehe describes. Their beans represent many monuments which are in Eure, Picardy or Normandy. Then you have Colas beans, which is one of the French manufacturers, and there aren’t many left. There are series of teddy bears, stars, pirates… They have an extraordinary, brilliant, flashy color, which we love enormously. Here, these are the Marlène beans, it’s the same, they are full of colors. Now their beans are in demand because there are no more factories.”

Four euros for these sought-after beans, which he sells because he has duplicates of them. And also to buy more : there are between 3 000 and 4 000 in total. Prices vary : some are worth a few cents, a hundred euros for the oldest. “They date from 1875 until 1914, given that there was the war, three quarters disappearedrecalls Thierry Storme. Obviously, these beans are more sought after because we can no longer find them. So we go to flea markets, sometimes people give us beans because they’re not going to do anything with them and know we’re addicted. I’ve been doing this for over forty years.”

“It got to me like that. There are people, their pleasure is smoking or drinking, for me it’s collecting! And meeting people. It’s great. It’s collecting, the fact of talking about it, of telling…”

Thierry Storme, collector

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Thierry Storme is looking for a certain type of bean. “There are beans that we don’t know, that we discover by accident,” he notes, “and there are some that we hear say exist and that we have never seen. And we’re always looking for those, we’re like kids!”

In his collection, Disney beans, old, golden, dating from the war, but Thierry Storme also has beans that are a little more daring. “A willy bean”he mentions for example, among anatomical models or a bit of Kamasutra. “Often, it’s collectors who buy them as a joke. On the day of the galette des rois, they pretend they had that.” smiles this fabophile, equally fond of galettes des rois.