Binu Binu

For Karen Kim, founder of the Toronto-based artisanal soap company Binu Binu, traditional knowledge and clean aesthetics are essential ingredients for daily rituals. Heavily influenced by Korean bathhouse practices, Binu Binu, translating to “soap soap,” uses Boricha as its soap base—a roasted barley tea as ubiquitous as water in many Korean households. Since launching in 2015, the soap house has received international recognition for both its use of cold-pressed natural plant botanicals and the soap’s hand-cut monolithic forms. By focusing on the essentials, Binu Binu offers understated products that soothe a variety of skin types and double as striking objets d’art.