Since 2016
Our atelier
A brick workroom above Øvregaten in Bergen, where a team of eleven drafts, cuts and sews every Malva piece in small runs, and mends them for as long as they are worn.
Our founder
It started at a cutting table
Ingrid Malvik spent twelve years cutting patterns for other labels before she rented a corner of this workroom in 2016. She wanted to make fewer things, properly, from cloth she could trace back to the mill.
She still drafts every new shape by hand. The rest of the team cut, sew and press beside her, and the spare cloth for every style lives on the shelves behind them.
Ingrid Malvik
Founder and pattern cutter
What we hold to
How we work
Small runs
We cut each style in runs of forty or fewer, so nothing is made to sit in a warehouse.
Natural fibres
Linen, wool and silk only, undyed or dyed by the mill, from suppliers we visit every year.
Mended for life
Every piece can come back to the atelier for repair, free, for as long as you wear it.
In the workroom
How a piece is made
A Malva coat takes about five days from first line to final press, all of it under one roof.
Draft
Ingrid draws each new shape by hand on brown paper, then fits it on the stand until it hangs right.
Cut
The paper pattern is laid on the cloth and every piece is cut with shears, a few garments at a time.
Sew
One maker sews each garment from start to finish, with French seams wherever the cloth allows.
Press
Steam and a heavy iron set the shape, then each piece is checked and finished with a hand sewn label.
Where our cloth comes from
Materials
Four mills, all of them family run, all of them visited every year. We buy what we need for each run and keep the rest for repairs.
Linen from Normandy
France
Merino from Biella
Italy
Wool from the western fjords
Norway
Silk from Como
Italy
Free, for the life of the garment
Mended for life
A loose button, a worn elbow, a seam that has given way: send any Malva piece back to the atelier and we repair it free, however old it is. We keep spare cloth for every style so the mend matches.
Free repairs for every Malva piece, at any age
A prepaid return label, or drop it at the atelier
Back with you in about two weeks
Visit us
The atelier on Øvregaten
Address
Malva Atelier
Øvregaten 1
0000 Bergen
Up the steps from Bryggen, the green door by the bakery. The showroom is on the ground floor, the workroom above.
Opening hours
Tuesday to Friday, 11 to 18
Saturday, 10 to 16
Sunday and Monday, closed
Get in touch
Repairs, orders, visits
Write to us
Someone from the atelier answers every message, usually within a working day. For a repair, tell us the piece and what needs mending, and we will send a free return label.
Before you come
Good to know
No, the showroom is open to walk in during opening hours. If you would like a fitting or to see the workroom, write to us and we will set aside time.
Send us a photo and a short note. We email a prepaid return label, mend the piece with matching cloth and send it back, usually within two weeks.
Yes. Pieces bought in the showroom can be returned within 30 days, in person or by post, just like online orders.
Not yet, but we can adjust sleeve and hem lengths on most tailoring for a small fee. Ask at your fitting.