ART FURNITURE CREATOR
PARIS
Our CREATIONS
YMER&MALTA : HERITAGE OF THE FUTURE
Established in 2009, YMER&MALTA is dedicated to the creation of art-furniture where French traditional techniques are brought to the 21st century through innovation.
Of the 100 objects created by YMER&MALTA, 63 have been exhibited by museums and cultural institutions and 26 have been acquired as part of their permanent collections.
The three latest collections of YMER&MALTA were commissioned by the Noguchi Museum (2016-18), by the Cité Internationale de la Tapisserie (2015-20) and by the Mobilier national (2015-22).
Private collectors, passionate about exceptional craftsmanship and collectible design, order pieces from our collections and unique bespoke creations.
Established in 2009, YMER&MALTA is dedicated to the conception and production of exceptional objects and furniture renewed with traditional French excellence.
YMER&MALTA occupies a very particular niche in the world of contemporary decorative arts, situated at the crossroads between contemporary design and highly skilled French craftsmanship, creating bespoke and limited or numbered editions of art furniture.
History
After a 20 year career in film, video and animation, Valérie Maltaverne took a break to build and renovate a family home with her husband and raise their two daughters. This led to a passion for architecture and design as she recognized the similarities with the processes involved in film production.
In 2009 she went into partnership with auctioneer Rémy Le Fur. YMER stands for Rémy backwards and MALTA spells the first five letters of her own name : with YMER&MALTA they imagined an Art Furniture Studio, which Valérie currently runs alone.
Surrounded by talented designers and finest craftsmen, Valérie Maltaverne achieves the extraordinary results by leading the creative process from design to manufacturing. The work from YMER&MALTA can be found in 8 collections, 90 pieces from which 60 were exhibited by museums and institutions, 22 integrated into their permanent collections.
- Musée des Arts Décoratifs de Paris
- Cité Internationale de la Tapisserie in Aubusson
- Centre Pompidou
- CNAP – Centre National des Arts Plastiques
- The Noguchi Museum
- Fondation Cartier
- Château Borély : Musée des Arts Décoratifs of Marseille
- Le Quadrilatère in Beauvais
- Louvre Abu-Dhabi
- West Bund Museum in Shanghai
- Institut Culturel Bernard Magrez
- Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain de Saint Étienne
- Musée d’Art et d’Histoire Louis Senlecq
In 2016 the Akari Unfolded collection was commissioned by The Noguchi Museum and in 2015 the Cité Internationale de la Tapisserie commissioned the Aubusson Tapestry : The Great Lady collection.
CREATION PROCESS
The starting point of each collection comes from a vision, an emotion, a pure intuition or an inspiration.
Nature, a source of inspiration
For Valérie Maltaverne, observing nature is at the creative core of everything that comes out of YMER&MALTA. A bed of lichen, a tree, a riverbank, a rock formation, a ray of light… Nature elements are her inspiration for the concepts of YMER&MALTA pieces.
Time for Excellence
Each collection needs its own period of time to come to life. First comes the time of creative incubation: a considerable thinking process. Then comes the time of the craftsman’s art.
This period of time, which can vary from two to five years, forms the very basis of the entire process. It allows for high expectations in the choice of exceptional materials: wood, marble, leather, glass, paper as the selection process is exacting.
The resulting is prodigious. Working with a wide range of French workshops, YMER&MALTA has challenged techniques and pushed innovation to revisit marquetry, reinvent tapestry and illuminate marble, bringing a singularity and a new and poetic truth to each object and each piece of furniture. Luxury is the end result, immediately perceptible in the truest sense of the word.
« Taking her time : this is one of Valérie’s essential requirements. It translates her radical choice of refusing shortcuts or any tricks in her search for perfection. For Valérie, creation has always been a starting point, a challenge. Using her intuition as her only guide, she takes the side roads without ever forcing herself to abide by the trends of the moment. » Franck Riester, French Minister of Culture
Conception and Drawing
This phase involves a series of designer’s sketches and drawings, no deadlines, with constant exchanges where everything is allowed, even starting again from scratch to achieve the exceptional.
« My collaboration with Valérie Maltaverne is truly unique, we create our projects with four hands and two brains. » Benjamin Graindorge, Designer
Production
Doing, undoing, redoing alongside the craftsmen, Valérie Maltaverne explores previously unknown areas of their savoir-faire.
« This trio of -designer-Valérie-craftsman- is the genesis for objects that follow no trend, but create them. » Pierre-Henri Beyssac, Marquetry Artisan
« What defines the YMER&MALTA signature is the time dedicated in the workshops.».Catherine Bernet, Aubusson Weaver