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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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