UMÉ Studio, a design practice where traditional craft meets contemporary tastes, is pleased to unveil its debut collection of delicate yet purposeful objects for everyday living. Founded by designers Victor Lefebvre and Mei-Lan Tan, UMÉ Studio’s collection of tactile objects blur the line between art and function. As a first array of offerings that speak to the studio’s unique aesthetic, each piece is a direct reflection of the technique behind it and is designed to inspire joy and thought in everyday use.

As a rapidly evolving design practice, UMÉ Studio’s practice is at once global and local. Lefebvre and Tan spend months traveling to artisan workshops around the globe to better understand century-old skills and techniques. The result is a collaborative network of artisans and designers dedicated to their craft who Lefebvre and Tan continue to work with from their new Oakland studio space, the final stop in their design journey. Keeping these traditions alive is essential to UMÉ Studio, as is updating their forms and bringing timeless techniques into the now to achieve pieces that are less prescriptive and more personal, connected to specific cultures, people, and histories.

Drawing on their experiences at architectural firms Herzog & de Meuron and Kengo Kuma, Lefebvre and Tan deeply value the design process. UMÉ believes an object’s shape and use is derived from its making. The studio develops each edition slowly and mindfully, with new pieces released periodically throughout the year. UMÉ Studio’s projects vary in scale, from objets d’art to larger furnishings, and are produced either in Oakland, CA or in collaboration with an expert craftsperson around the world. For each product, UMÉ Studio seeks out the highest quality materials and expertise. This considered approach explores how beauty and function can interact and even shift over time.

UMÉ Studio’s debut collection is a mere teaser of what is to come. In just a few short months, the studio has expanded its global outreach efforts, deepening its skills in centuries-old craft techniques, and plans to launch additional new products in the fall. 

Pricing for products ranges from $35-$400 for tabletop items, with pricing available upon request for limited edition pieces.

Erode Soap Summit Series

A tactile object by nature, the Erode Soap Summit Series becomes one of desire and play, adding a different kind of beauty to the daily ritual of bathing. The design’s luscious and unique shape suggests its own obsolescence—the slopes are meant to be rubbed, the ridges meant to be worn off. Each soap is poured and cast by hand, and no two soaps are the same.

Click here for additional product information. Made in collaboration with Tonic Naturals.

Bouton Series

Cast in one pour, the Bouton series is formed like a button to showcase your everyday favorites. Hand-mixed with different minerals and natural pigments, each Bouton carries subtle textures on its surface. As the concrete settles uniquely for each pour, no two are the same. Perfect in combination with your favorite objects, the Bouton series serves as a set of trays to collect trios of items. Use as coasters or plates for serving.

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Salle de Bain Tray Series

The Salle de Bain series plays on oft overlooked architectural detail: the bathroom tile. By displacing the familiar shape from a quotidian surface to its own distinct form, the cast-in-concrete tray becomes a stage in which you can curate and display your favorite belongings for easy use. Three different sizes in simple geometries accommodate myriad items and routines. 

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Draped Flower Curtain

An ever-changing living vertical divider, the Draped Flowers Curtain contains over 100 pockets where fresh flowers can be placed, transforming the space it inhabits by offering a landscape of seasonality and personal contexts. The limited run of 30 curtains are knit from a durable thread spun from Washi - a paper made of Manilla jute. As nature’s own room divider, the flora within the curtain is the owner’s choosing, free to design a floral tableau whose appearance and scent are ever changing and in sync with the seasons. 

Click here for additional product information and video. Made in collaboration with Akane Moriyama.

Tenon Mirror

By definition, a tenon is a simple work of joinery. Used here to create a mirror, the simple and elegant form acts as both a shelf and a support for the mirror. The Tenon Mirror itself can be reflective or translucent, depending on the surrounding light.

Click here for additional production information.

Concrete Series

A collection of 104 unique bowls, the Concrete Series expresses the tension between heavy concrete and its delicate edge generated by hand pouring. While one assumes concrete should be strong and durable, it is, at its core, fragile. This duality invites touch and contemplation, making it the perfect vessel for daily inspiration and display.

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For the complete list of products, click here.  

About UMÉ Studio

UMÉ Studio specializes in distinctive handmade items for the home. Founded by designers Mei-Lan Tan and Victor Lefebvre, UMÉ Studio is deeply committed to allowing an object’s function and the process behind it to inspire its form, yielding elegant solutions for daily life. Rather than considering UMÉ one brand, Tan and Lefebvre seek out close collaborations with expert artisans and designers across the world, from Europe to Asia. UMÉ Studio’s products reflect their diverse origins, inspiring joy and thoughtfulness with each use.