About Jabadabado

Sustainable consumption

Toys of solid design that can be played with for generations.

Our history

Children's joy and playfulness are always the starting point for us.

Jabadabado was created due to unemployment. Eva Eliasson, a designer by training, in 1993 had just been made redundant from her job as an interior designer as a result of the repercussions of the financial crisis.

She began carving wooden toys in her own designs at home in the basement mostly for fun. One of her very first creations was a rocking horse for her best friend's child’s christening. It's still going strong today. Her creations caught the attention of the community and soon orders started flooding in from friends and acquaintances, all raving about her work. An idea began to take shape, that there could be a way to make a living doing this.

Together with her husband Calle, a mechanic and carpenter, her passion soon turned into a joint venture. Calle had been talking for a long time about opening a toy shop when he grew old. But why wait that long?

Eva and Calle designed and built everything themselves, from the initial sketch to the final brushstroke. They eventually opened their own shop in Landskrona. The response to the products was fantastic, but they didn't make a single penny as production was far too time-consuming.

"In the beginning, we counted every penny. The early days were anything but a bed of roses." Calle Eliasson

The toy shop and their own products were discontinued, and the couple managed to get the representation of several international brands instead. However, one thing they retained was the belief in their own ideas and design. The dream of having their own design brand was still alive.

A trip to China in 1999 was the turning point. Since then, the agencies have been gradually phased out and JaBaDaBaDo's in-house designed toys are now produced in 22 Chinese factories. Most manufacturers have been involved since then. In 2000, the limited company JaBaDaBaDo was established.

"For me, Jabadabado is synonymous with joy! Just hearing the name makes me happy. We want to bring joy and play to children with our products, so I thought the name was a good fit." Eva Eliasson

Over time many toys have emerged from Eva and Calles' hands and the range now includes toys and children's room decor. Their core values are still alive today; products should be functional, beautifully designed, with fun patterns and pretty colours.

The Landskrona office currently employs 12 people in roles including product development, design, marketing, sales and logistics.

The JaBaDaBaDo family continues to grow and the sense of family has remained the same since the company's inception.