The social atmosphere in some saunas can be austere, quiet. Sarah Mayo wanted hers to get customers talking.
Last year, disillusioned with her white-collar career, Mayo, 38, was planning an entrepreneurial turn: a small sauna business designed around conviviality.
Among many things, the vision informed her choice of heat source. “If you go with electric, then you’re not getting the crackling wood and the little bit of smoke smell and the view of the flames inside the fireplace,” Mayo says. She adds that if someone is feeling shy and doesn’t want to make eye contact with strangers, the fire provides something to look at and feel engaged…