Yolaine Voltz – Antique fan artisan and globe restorer

Ile de France – 1987

Yolaine Voltz specializes in restoration of antique fans and globes. After a scientific baccalaureate, she joined the École de Condé to complete a master’s in graphic arts Restoration and Conservation. Her studies allowed her to explore complex fan techniques, particularly during internships at the fashion and costume museum of the Palais Galliera and the Fan Museum, under the mentorship of Anne Hoguet, master fan maker. After graduating in 2010, she established her own workshop, L’Utile Zéphyr (referencing 18th-century fan terminology).

In 2015, she became a student of Sylvain Le Guen, a master artisan in fan-making and tabletterie. Through this collaboration, she was able to hone her skills in fan creation techniques, such as engraving, re-piercing and polishing, applying them with precision to their restoration.

Yolaine specializes in the restoration of various types of globes, including terrestrial, celestial, planetary, armillary spheres, lunariums, and telluriums. She provides a full range of services: cleaning, reconditioning the paper gores, sphere consolidation, and revarnishing. Her unique touch is illusionistic restoration, recreating damaged cartographic details freehand. Her clientele includes private individuals, collectors, experts, antique dealers, and museums, both in France and worldwide.

2023 – Title of “Membre d’honneur” by the Worshipful Company of FanMakers, London

2023 – Title of Maître Artisan d’Art

2019 – First Prize for artisanal enterprise in the “Artisanat d’Art” category, Paris Est Marne et Bois.

Research and innovation

Yolaine’s craft is environmentally conscious, producing no pollution or waste. She employs conservation-restoration certified products and minimal solvents, guaranteeing reversible restorations. She also incorporates components from vintage fans in certain restoration projects, reflecting the principle of upcycling

Transmission

Yolaine has mentored three graphic arts restoration interns in their final year, providing specialized training in globe restoration. She collaborates with students at the Duperré School on fan design projects, and with those at the Condé School, who specialize in restoration, to introduce them to the unique characteristics of fans and globes. Beyond her teaching, Yolaine is an engaged member of fan associations, including Le Cercle de l’Éventail, Fan Circle International, the Worshipful Company of Fan Makers and the Fan Association of North America.

Thanks to the support of the Fondation, Yolaine Voltz has been able to acquire an exceptional collection of antique globes, historical tools, and materials. This acquisition will allow her to preserve, restore, and transmit her unique craftsmanship. She also plans to equip her workshop with a jeweler’s workbench and a polisher to improve her posture and prevent accidents.