Formerly incubated within the Arts et Métiers incubator, Marion Baste and her partner Auriane Lefebvre created the company in 2023. Materialys, Valterio's commercial range. It designs unique decorative items that combine aesthetics and sustainability.
What is the concept behind Valterio?
My business partner Auriane Lefebvre and I founded our company Valterio in 2021, and our trademark Materialys was registered in 2023.
Valterio, the company, handles R&D to create panels for construction and interior design. Materialys is more of a craft business, which we run from our workshop at the Arts et Métiers incubator. We make small decorative items, which are handmade and produced in small batches.
What Valterio and Materialys have in common is that our products use the same raw materials: plant-based materials such as spent grain and cocoa shells, which we collect from Parisian chocolatiers, and a range of minerals from mussel, oyster, and scallop shells collected in Brittany. We develop our materials with Valterio, which we produce in the form of panels, but we can also create three-dimensional objects with Materialys.
The aim for both ranges is to replace the materials that are usually used, which are gradually becoming scarce, and to prioritize them for large-scale construction projects. This also limits waste production, as we use elements that would otherwise be thrown away.
How does the Arts et Métiers incubator support Arts et Métiers ?
We were fortunate to be welcomed by theArts et Métiers incubator,Arts et Métiers finances industrialization projects. Our project has progressed well. We have tested other materials. For example, we visited the Cluny campus, which specializes in woodworking.
We also took part in training courses. Thanks to the incubator's contacts, we met with professionals.
Above all, our workshop is located on the Paris campus, where we can conduct tests and experiments!
We also have some great opportunities, such as presenting our materials at the Arts et Métiers stand Arts et Métiers VivaTech trade show, which would not have been possible without the incubator's help.
What have you learned from your entrepreneurial journey?
Entrepreneurship is a very rewarding environment where there are lots of things you can do to promote your work: lots of events, programs, training courses, conferences, etc. Thanks to these numerous public speaking opportunities, I have gained confidence and am now able to present and defend my project clearly in front of large audiences.
But entrepreneurs often have to multitask, as they have to manage all aspects of a business.
In a way, you never get bored, but you have to be careful about the resulting workload.
The main advantage is being able to adjust your schedule to organize yourself, whether in your professional or personal life, and also the freedom to work completely independently.
Entrepreneurship is also a way to meet a lot of people. I visited laboratories and factories and met other entrepreneurs, potential partners with whom we are keeping in touch for the future... Knowing how to surround yourself with the right people and build a network is the key!
Do you have any advice for young entrepreneurs who want to start their own business?
Trust yourself and embrace the exchange of ideas. For example, my partner graduated from business school, which is a different background from mine. She brings a different perspective to the table, and we complement each other well. Anyone who is interested can contact me (manon@valterio.fr).
From experiments in a basement to starting a business
Manon Baste studied Product Design. It was after discovering spent grain, a residue from beer brewing, that Manon became interested in eco-designing objects, practicing in her parents' basement.
After completing her master's degree, she looked for a job but realized that environmental issues are still very underrepresented in the field of product design and industry. She therefore decided to start her own business and teamed up with Auriane Lefebvre to create Valterio and Materialys. These companies develop materials for interior design and furnishings from mineral and plant waste. By using these production residues from the circular economy, which are eco-friendly and French, they hope to put design at the service of ethics.
