Tucked beneath her home and reached only by a winding garden path, Marie Wabbes’ studio is a world of its own. A secret sanctuary where stories are born. To get there, she walks through her private library, a treasure trove of thousands of art, garden, and history books, surrounded by sculptures, her own published works, and the vibrant greenery of a conservatory with lemon trees and geraniums. Down the steps and through the garden, her light-filled studio opens to sweeping views of nature—a space of quiet magic, where a simple desk, a sofa, and a long counter filled with paints, pencils, and well-loved objects invite imagination to bloom. Behind her, a closet holds decades of creativity: from teddy bear portraits to unpublished manuscripts. In this garden-facing cocoon, Marie has written and illustrated her stories for generations of children around the world.

The garden knows all her stories first; it listens through the window as she writes and draws.