Valérie Maltaverne
Founder and artistic director of the Ymer&Malta studio
Too often reduced to aesthetics, what if simplicity were revealed in ethics as well as in standards 'In its silences, it speaks to us.' A manifesto for a genre that contrasts our hurried and scattered
times with the pleasure of density and duration.
ALLIANCE
VALÉRIE MALTAVERNE,
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR - DESIGNER YMER & MALTA
Spending time in workshops, exchanging ideas, innovating, and guiding artisans to rethink their techniques.
Without compromise, without limits, without fear of challenges-striving for excellence, elevating traditional techniques into contemporary forms, and bringing craftsmanship to the level of fine art.
Letting oneself be carried by the poetry of each creation is also a breath of inspiration, an energy for the artisan ...
A dialogue takes shape. Being in harmony with the artisan is essential to achieving the impossible.
Every time I step into a workshop, the magic happens. Wools, silks in infinite sublime hues, the essence of wood, the veining of stone, the richness of leather. With patience, concentration, and expertise, the artisan reveals the beauty and full potential of the material.
Every workshop is a journey.
"15 years ago, she founded her design studio, YMER&MALTA, to bring together contemporary design and French craftsmanship. She has just produced her hundredth piece, a symbol of this art furniture, prized by collectors."
Éric Jansen, Daniel Féau, 2024
"Her charter encompasses six values: research (…), gesture (…), practice (…), transmission (…), appropriation (…), and fair pricing (…)."
Béatrice de Rochebouet, Le Figaro, 2024
“Craftsmanship and the virtues of slowness are the starting point of the French studio YMER&MALTA. At the helm, Valérie Maltaverne has been able to reinterpret the traces of the rich Gallic heritage in the pursuit of manufacturing excellence, which she translates into the creation of luxurious furniture with a strong transgressive and poetic component.”
Gloria Escribano, Room Diseno, 2023
"The planet YMER&MALTA is a world parallel to the design industry. At the helm is Valérie Maltaverne, whose combination of fine craftsmanship, the luxury of time and poetized nature, and daring experimentation with materials and techniques, has created a singular signature."
Emmanuel Lemieux, Slow Made #1, 2023
"Founder of the YMER&MALTA design studio, Valérie Maltaverne has turned her home into a research base, constantly pushing back the boundaries of the decorative arts, with the omnipresent desire to bring the skills of memory and exception into the contemporary world."
Virginie Bertrand, Côté Maison, 2023
"Dedicated to the creation of art furniture, the YMER&MALTA studio revisits French heritage by pushing the boundaries of contemporary design."
Marie Sophie Gauthier, AD France, 2023
“Since the reign of Louis XIV, French artisans have excelled in the field of decorative arts. Following in the footsteps of the extravagance of Versailles and the refinement of the Art Deco period, Parisian design studio YMER&MALTA has become a major new player in furniture, lighting, and art objects.”
Marielle Brie, France Amérique, 2022
"By giving Valérie Maltaverne carte blanche, the Cité Internationale de la Tapisserie d'Aubusson has instilled an innovative breath of fresh air into a historic savoir-faire."
Marielle Brie, La Gazette Drouot, 2022
“Art and contemporary creation to the rescue of heritage, the idea (…) will undoubtedly be salvation for the Aubusson tapestry. New threads drawn into the narrative frame.”
Anastasia de Villepin, l’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, 2021
“Valérie Maltaverne is a passionate discoverer. Her work is both strong and light, and craftsmanship and art are especially important to her.”
AD China, 2021
“YMER&MALTA is a unique art-furniture studio that creates custom-made, limited and numbered editions that are not found anywhere else, using high-end innovative French craftsmanship.”
Tomikawa Taruko, Fujingaho, 2021
“YMER&MALTA crafts some of the freshest French Furnishings you’ll find. The Parisian studio is taking traditional crafts and materials into the 21st century.”
Nina Siegal, Introspective Magazine, 2021
"A piece by YMER&MALTA is a piece of nature in its own right, living furniture whose vocation is also to stimulate the imagination.”
Éric Lerouge, Chasses Internationales, 2021
"Valérie Maltaverne, the studio's creative director, invites a team of designers and weavers to shake up Aubusson tapestry. The result? The Great Lady Collection, seven exceptional pieces of furniture sublimating this craft.”
Clémence Leboulanger, Elle Décoration, 2021
