UM É
International design studio UMÉ Studio, recognized for its ability to meld an appreciation for traditional craft with contemporary tastes and to delicately balance between the worlds of art and design, is pleased to unveil its latest series of limited edition items. Informed by designers Mei-Lan Tan and Victor Lefebvre’s nomadic lifestyle, learning from artisans trained in century-old skills and techniques,
The obsolescence of a soap is given by the speed of its erosion; hand, heat, water.
Rather than peaks and valleys in the coming, the Erode cleansing summit suggests its own obsolescence—the slopes are meant to be rubbed, the ridges meant to be worn off.
A tactile object by nature, it becomes one of desire and play.
ERODE
certified organic 5” round x 2” tall 320g e 11.6oz
MINI: WITH ITS INVITES TO TOUCH. ITS SUGGESTING ITS OWN - THE SLOPES ARE RUBBED, THE RIDGES WORN OFF. FORM AND WORK TOGETHER TO ADD KIND OF BEAUTY TO THE OF BATHING.
AN ABUNDANCE OF BOTANICALS, ANTIOXIDANTS, CLAYS, AND SKIN ESSENTIAL OILS TO HYDRATE, AND NOURISH TYPES. PERFECT FOR DAILY
ERODE MINI
USE: BRUSH WET HANDS OVER THE SOAP’S CREATE LATHER, RELEASE AROMATIC ESSENTIAL REVEAL THE CHANGING
CARE: ALLOW TO DRY BETWEEN FOR LONGER LASTING
REJUVENATING, PURIFYING, STIMULATING
The Erode mini is a smaller version of our Erode soap. Closer in size to a standard soap bar - it is designed to be held with one hand, while still featuring the tactile ridges and slopes of its full size counterpart.
MINI: WITH ITS INVITES TO TOUCH. ITS SUGGESTING ITS OWN - THE SLOPES ARE RUBBED, THE RIDGES WORN OFF. FORM AND WORK TOGETHER TO ADD KIND OF BEAUTY TO THE OF BATHING.
JUNIPER BERRY / LEMONGRASS / ACTIVATED CHARCOAL
NET WT 87g 3.1 oz
The soap is an object of desire, an invitation to wear its ridges - to touch and erode its sculpted shapes.
A tactile object by nature, it becomes one of desire and play.
AN ABUNDANCE OF BOTANICALS, ANTIOXIDANTS, CLAYS, AND SKIN ESSENTIAL OILS TO HYDRATE, AND NOURISH TYPES. PERFECT FOR DAILY
WOODSY, REFINED, ELEGANT
MINI: INVITES TO TOUCH. ITS SUGGESTING ITS OWN - THE SLOPES ARE RUBBED, THE RIDGES WORN OFF. FORM AND WORK TOGETHER TO ADD KIND OF BEAUTY TO THE OF BATHING.
AN ABUNDANCE OF BOTANICALS, ANTIOXIDANTS, CLAYS, AND SKIN ESSENTIAL OILS TO HYDRATE, AND NOURISH TYPES. PERFECT FOR DAILY
SUMPTUOUS, SWEET, HYDRATING
MINI: WITH ITS INVITES TO TOUCH. ITS SUGGESTING ITS OWN
ERODE SOAP MINI
CUCUMBER
UME-STUDIO.COM
USE: BRUSH WET HANDS OVER THE SOAP’S CREATE LATHER, RELEASE AROMATIC ESSENTIAL REVEAL THE CHANGING
CARE: ALLOW TO DRY BETWEEN FOR LONGER LASTING
ERODE SOAP MINI UME-STUDIO.COM
BRUSH WET HANDS OVER THE SOAP’S CREATE LATHER, RELEASE AROMATIC ESSENTIAL REVEAL THE CHANGING ALLOW TO DRY BETWEEN FOR LONGER LASTING
UME-STUDIO.COM
USE: BRUSH WET HANDS OVER THE SOAP’S CREATE LATHER, RELEASE
DAILY DETOX
SEED OIL NET WT 87g 3.1 oz
certified organic 1” round x 3” tall 870g e 3.1oz
An exercise at expressing a tension between the heavy concrete and the delicate edge generated by the pour.
While the concrete should be strong and durable, it is fragile and uneasy to handle.
It desires to be touched, maybe to be broken?
Each cast is a unique piece.
CONCRETE
Hand cast concrete / Gypsum cement / Mica / Natural Pigments
Made in Oakland, CA
Cast in one pour, this dish is formed like a button to showcase your everyday favorites. 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.
BOUTON
Hand cast concrete / Gypsum cement / Mica / Natural Pigments
Made in Oakland, CA
The Tusk Candle takes its inspiration from natural motifs : Ivory, tusks, canines, teeth and other fangs. Wax pours down the ridges, in channels, slowing down the burn.
It is one of these artifacts in between, animal and vegetal, inanimate and perhaps alive.
Each candle is handmade in Oakland, CA.
TUSK
100% Beeswax, Organic Hemp wick and coloring, unscented
ZABUTON SOFA ZABUTON SOFA
In Japanese, Zabuton 座布団 designates a cushion traditionally used on tatami.
With the raised floors being popularized in the 17th century, Japanese society as a whole adopted tatami living as the driving design principle of housing design, Zabuton were used to bring comfort to the seating of the nobility.
Our Zabuton sofa is a take on re-introducing traditional Japanese living into a modern piece of furniture.
It is designed as a frame for a variety of traditional cotton items - futon, zabuton, bolster.
Items can be arranged in a variety of ways in order to adapt to different activities. The result is an experience combining the very intimate, low, simple and un-ostentatious quality of the Japanese traditional items and the very generous, comfortable, social aspect of modern couches.
In Japanese, Zabuton 座布団 designates a cushion traditionally used on tatami.
With the raised floors being popularized in the 17th century, Japanese society as a whole adopted tatami living as the driving design principle of housing design, Zabuton were used to bring comfort to the seating of the nobility.
Our Zabuton sofa is a take on re-introducing traditional Japanese living into a modern piece of furniture.
Items can be arranged in a variety of ways in order to adapt to different activities. The result is an experience combining the very intimate, low, simple and un-ostentatious quality of the Japanese traditional items and the very generous, comfortable, social aspect of modern couches.
ZABUTON SOFA ZABUTON SOFA
It is designed as a frame for a variety of traditional cotton items - futon, zabuton, bolster.
This set of cups derives from a traditional sake warmer. Its precious proportions, details, and material associates any drink to a feeling of utmost sophistication.
Made in Ubud, Bali using traditional techniques, shaping a flat sheet to a form with a hammer and stone.
SAKE TAMPO SAK E TA MP O
Reminiscent of primitive designs found throughout history, the Henge Book Ends speak to the early act of carving stone, which represented the first forms of design expression or control.
The simplicity of the undulating carved stone offers an allegory on our tamed nature, reflecting on everything from evolution to the beauty of the book.
: A CARVED STONE - A BOOK END. AN IMMUTABLE STONE PIECE, SHAPED LIKE A STANDING BOOK. A HENGE ERECTED TO KNOWLEDGE.
KEEP AWAY FROM LIQUIDS AND CARRY CAREFULLY. HAND WASH WITH A MILD DISH-WASHING LIQUID IF STAINED.
CONCRETE, GYPSUM, MICA AND NATURAL PIGMENTS.
W:4.5“ D:5” (1) MADE IN OAKLAND,CA UME-STUDIO.COM
HENGE HENGE HENGE
CARE:
MATERIAL:
H:9”
CANDLE PIT CANDLE PIT
The piece is a large scale candle inspired by the landscapes of Iceland, the result of research on both Japanese and French candlemaking techniques as well as studying the use of candles for rituals.
We designed a candle as a story that unfolds.
It is less about its aspect than the way it burns, first fast drawing dramatic peaks and ridges, then very slowly as the wax spills out and draws a circonvulated landscape around it, an evocation of volcanic landscapes.
CANDLE PIT : A STORY THAT UNFOLDS. AN EVOCATION OF VOLCANIC LANDSCAPES - AN EXPERIENCE TO SHARE WITH SOMEONE AROUND A GLASS OF WINE, FOR A NIGHT. CARE : LIGHT ONLY ON TOP OF THE DEDICATED PLATE. DO NOT MOVE ONCE LIT. USE IN A WELL VENTILATED SPACE IN AN UNENCUMBERED AREA. KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN. MATERIAL: BEESWAX. FRANKINCENSE ESSENTIAL OIL. ORGANIC HEMP WICK. ORGANIC COLORING. L:7.75” W:7.5” H:10” MADE IN OAKLAND, CA UME-STUDIO.COM
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.
DRAPED FLOWERS 18
The paper table questions the thinness of both surface and structure, in order to reach their minimal expression. What is the minimum structure necessary to draw a sense of comfort and sturdiness, while still feeling fragile and “almost precarious” in its movements?
The metal surface becomes paperlike, levitating, supported by an elegant series of V legs.
The result is the perfect balance between stability and thinness.
PAPER TABLE
Founded by designer/architects Mei-Lan Tan and Victor Lefebvre, UMÉ Studio is a multidisciplinary design practice that blurs the boundaries between art, craft, and experience.
Victor and Mei-Lan formed UMÉ Studio after years of working together in internationally renowned architectural practices such as Herzog and de Meuron and Kengo Kuma. There they discovered a shared design ethos for materiality, craft, and technique.
Through methodical experimentation and a thoughtful critique of everything designed, they aim to find the space where disciplines merge.
Partnering with designers and artisans in California, Paris, Kyoto, Ubud and beyond, they draw upon a range of diverse skills, perspectives, and traditions.
“Our production is not one of products, but of stories. Products are things we buy and discard, stories are kept and cherished. We believe this way design is anchored in time. And this is how an object becomes a ritual.”
ume-studio.com
studio@ume-studio.com
