Origins
OLLY DAVEY
Heartwood Saunas’ founder and director, Olly Davey, grew up surrounded by a rugged landscape of woodland and mountains in the heart of Wales. Combining his passion for an outdoor lifestyle with his craft, he was inspired to design and hand-build his first sauna. Olly knew how fantastic a sauna made him feel after outdoor activities such as mountain biking and stand-up paddle boarding, and wondered why the UK didn’t yet have its own sauna culture.
“The real motivation behind Heartwood Saunas was that I wanted more people to have access to that feeling. First and foremost, I wanted to build an outdoor wood-fired sauna, that was of the highest quality, designed to last through the UK’s worst weather, and offer my family and friends the health benefits and enjoyment of a sauna right outside our own home. I wanted a beautiful, natural design that complemented the surroundings of our house in the mountains, allowing us to relax and enjoy the views from our garden, whilst sweating nicely at 80 degrees, before dousing ourselves with ice cold water.”
Olly in the Heartwood Saunas workshop in Mid-Wales.
A SCENIC RETREAT
The first Heartwood Sauna was a remodel on a ‘traditional’ sauna design. Traditional saunas are largely timber huts with no glazing, but Olly wanted to invite a deeper connection with nature into the sauna bathing experience by using glazing elements to allow people to look out at the countryside, the sea, mountains or gardens as they relax enjoy the benefits of the sauna.
“I wanted to be able to look out at a view while leaning back on a solid wall. I also wanted there to be a hint from the outside of what it’s like inside; when it’s cold and frosty or grey and rainy, the sauna’s warm glow draws you in.”
It was also important to Olly to build a brand that stood for exceptional quality.
“I went on a mission to create a totally different sauna experience from the ones we are used to - enclosed and in a busy leisure centre or hotel; I wanted to make something a world away from any sauna I’d ever been to here in the UK - something that at the time, the UK just didn’t have.”
An Arbor Sauna at the ‘Do Lectures’ in West Wales