60 DIGS.NET
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2.21.2020
P R O F I L E | U M É S T U D I O
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few years ago, the two architects met while working at Herzog & de
Meuron in Basel, Switzerland, and quickly realized that they were
on converging paths. "We felt we had a creative connection and
shared a graphic vision of things," says Tan. In 2016, they took the plunge
and launched their own design studio in northern California. "It was a bit
of a coincidence; Victor was working on a project in San Francisco and we
somehow found an amazing space in Oakland, which was perfect for our
vision," Tan remembers. But that doesn't mean things are easy. "The Bay
Area design scene is very small," she adds. "It's all about tech so it's a
hard place to be creative."
Yet, day after day these talents create series of limited-edition objects
in partnership with other architects, designers, artisans and artists on the
West Coast, as well as around the world, including Paris, Kyoto and Bali.
"It is very much a story of connections—sometimes friends—people we
respect, people with a craft, always people with a story and with whom
we can dialogue to create," Lefebvre explains. "Our practice is at once
global and local, with a focus on designing objects for the everyday, meant
to engage and incite curiosity, be less prescriptive and more personal,
and connect people, their cultures and their histories." The items—ranging
from soaps, trays, cups and bowls to mirrors and sofas—designed
by Umé Studio all reflect the idea of transcending the original function
of these everyday objects, whose aesthetic are "simple and thoughtful"
according to Tan and Lefebvre. Simultaneously powerful and poetic, these
products are the result of an exploration of their contextual relationships.
"We believe an object's shape and use is derived from its making and is
deeply committed to allowing an object's function and the process behind
it to inspire its form," they say. "It is this dialogue of the hand, the shape it
produces, and an object's ensuing use that creates this subtle tension that
we understand as beauty."
So far, one of Umé Studio's most demanding projects has been the sofa
the duo designed in collaboration with Japanese futon factory Takaokaya
that took them two years to bring to life. Tan and Lefebvre's biggest
