The Erode Soap Summit Series

Organic, handmade soap designed with shapes reminiscent of mountainous landscapes.

Founded by Victor Lefebvre and Mei-Lan Tan, UMÉ Studio is a multidisciplinary practice that collaborates with artisans from California and around the world to make furniture, home accessories and limited edition products. Both founders believe that materiality and craft should inform design. All of their projects embody this idea along with a focus on fine details and imaginative concepts. The Erode Soap Summit Series showcases the duo’s style as well as their love of unconventional designs. Made in a collaboration with Tonic Naturals, these soaps have an organic aesthetic.

Irregular slopes reminiscent of natural landscapes allude to the object’s obsolescence. With use, the ridges become softer until they flatten out and disappear, transforming washing into an especially tactile experience. Poured and cast by hand in San Rafael, California, each organic soap is one of a kind and features distinctive shapes as well as different layers and color combinations. The small cold-process production involves leaving the molds to cure for 8 to 10 weeks. Then, the team polishes and numbers each handmade soap.

The ingredients range from essential oils and antioxidants to organic botanicals and mineral-rich clay. This makes the Erode Soap Summit Series ideal for all skin types. The collection includes gorgeous scents like cardamom coffee, lavender, white grapefruit, and cedar. A daily detox soap with activated charcoal is also available. Customers can buy the soaps as they are or with a hand-cast concrete base. Designed to look like a large button, the plates come in gray, black, or marble colors.