UMÉ Studio

UMÉ Studio was founded in 2016 by Mei-Lan Tan and Victor Lefebvre, who met as architects at Herzog & de Meuron and also worked with Kengo Kuma, and is based in Oakland, California. Its signature Erode soap is cold-processed, poured by hand and cured for eight weeks, in an oversized sculptural form designed to wear away with use. The Tusk and Pit candles are made from beeswax, and every summer the studio hand-casts a limited batch of about 200 concrete vessels, each tinted with natural pigments and mineral flakes so that no two are alike. The studio also works with artisans abroad and has made pieces for retail interiors.