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challenge, however, is something they face on
a daily basis. "If you ask people, they tell you
they don't need design, while in reality they
don't realize that everything is designed," says
Lefebvre. Giving importance to details, Tan and
Lefebvre have an intuitive creative process.
"We travel, gather objects and experiences,
and live our life," Lefebvre says. "And one
morning, you end up in the shower holding a
little piece of soap that you have been using
for months, and that gives you an idea on how
to make something unique." That's exactly
what happened with the sculptural Erode soap
made with Tonic Naturals (a soap maker in San
Francisco). More recently, this creation inspired
them the new mini-Erode version. "We wanted
to bring the same concept of Erosion to a more
functional/compact item, keeping the idea of a
very tactile object," says Tan.
Not limited by any materials or
techniques, Umé Studio's main criteria
is what inspires and gives them the
opportunity to experiment. The same
applies to color. "I don't think we ever think
in terms of colors," Tan says. "We like to
work with the natural tones of a material and
see where it brings us." Constantly refining
their approach to some key concepts and
continuing to combine traditional craft with
contemporary design, Lefebvre and Tan
have just finished a series of furniture for
UNIQLO on Powell Street in San Francisco,
and a Valextra store in Hawaii. "These are
the kind of projects we would like to focus
on in the future," Tan confesses. "Being
architects by trade, we want to dedicate
more time to interiors and space." And
while the duo is currently working on a
soap for COS, Lefebvre's dream project
is quite different: "a cabin in the woods
where [I can] live and never come back,"
he smiles. As soon as he and Tan continue
to design, we will be fine. ume-studio.com
"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."
