KIUASSUOLA™: Celebrating traditional Finnish sauna culture
By Molly McPharlin | Photos: Miika Hämäläinen
In a world where well-being is measured, the Finnish sauna offers something radical in its simplicity: permission to be present. By returning to the sauna’s essential elements – heat, nature, atmosphere and sensory experience – Finnish sauna brand KIUASSUOLA™ follows those customs while also bringing a new ritual to one of the country’s oldest traditions.
KIUASSUOLA™ was established to celebrate and build on authentic Finnish sauna culture. Its mission is not only to develop innovative sauna products, but to share the Finnish sauna ritual with people around the world. Its new product, ILMARI KUURA™, combines Finnish soapstone with KIUASSUOLA™ sauna ritual salt to create a slow, atmospheric element for the sauna. Placed on the sauna heater before heating, the soapstone warms gradually with the sauna. Heat and humidity become part of the experience as the salt responds to the changing conditions around it.
Plunging into an ice pool while experiencing a Finnish sauna. Photo: Päivi Kankare.
“I didn’t want to create just another sauna product,” says Mira Kettunen, CEO and founder of KIUASSUOLA™. “I wanted to find a new role for familiar Finnish sauna elements – stone, salt, wool, heat and silence – without making the sauna experience more complicated. For me, the most interesting innovations are often not about inventing something completely new, but about seeing familiar materials differently.”
ILMARI KUURA™ is made in Finland using Finnish soapstone in cooperation with Tulikivi, one of the country’s best-known specialists in soapstone. The collaboration connects contemporary sauna design with a material deeply rooted in Finnish heat culture.
The response from customers has been positive. “One of the most meaningful things has been seeing that the concept resonates both in Finland and internationally,” says Kettunen. “Finns know sauna deeply, so acceptance at home gives us confidence to take our products abroad. At the same time, international customers often notice the materials, craftsmanship and Finnish origin first, which shows us that the same story can be understood from quite different starting points.”
International interest in sauna is growing rapidly, but Finnish sauna culture itself is still often misunderstood. Sauna can be social or solitary. It can mark the beginning of a celebration or the end of an ordinary working day. It can be part of a summer cottage, a city apartment, a hotel, or a family home. “What connects these experiences is not performance. It is repetition, familiarity and ambience,” says Kettunen. “These principles shape KIUASSUOLA™. Through natural materials and distinctive design, we want to be part of a person’s individual sauna experience.”
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