The promise of WARMTH draws you in. Enter barefoot. Leave ‘usual’ at the door. Throw a log on the fire. Listen to the crackling and low conversation. A glowing space.
Woodsmoke; timber; benches; the contrast of the traffic outside with the crackling of the fire inside; a hearth to gather round, extending each day quietly into the evening; WARMTH.
The sauna is a rexlaxing, sensory + disarming space. Temperatures vary between 80-100c, with humidity adjusted by adding water to the stones, producing a light steam.
Sauna-bathing stimulates circulation, stimulates the release of endorphins, relieves stress, relaxes muscles, soothes aches and can induce deeper sleep. The negative ions released by the stove into the air are also beneficial… I’ll write more when I’ve properly researched negative ions (bit confusing). Basically, life always feels great when you’ve had a sauna.
We've been to yards, streets, fields, live art festivals, music venues and artist residencies all over the UK, and now we’re setting up a permanent home in Sheffield as WARMTH Community Sauna.
We were trendsetters back in 2016 when Bethany built the UK’s original wood-fired horse box sauna. Since then there has been an huge expansion in sauna culture around the UK!
WARMTH is built in a converted horse trailer using top quality Finnish thermo-Aspen timber and a powerful Estonian wood-burning stove. The stove heats the sauna up to 80-100c, with hot stones + fresh water to create the perfect löyly - Finnish for sauna-steam.
- fully timber clad, with two tiers of benches
- wood burning stove with peridotite rocks
- logs drying under the benches
- bucket/scoop to splash water on the rocks
- a selection of oils [eucalyptus, camphor, pine] to scent the steam
- a fire-resistant felt roof
- wipeable black rubber floor
- slatted wooden floor decking
GUEST BOOK:
Comments from our Visitors' Book:
So great, transcendent. Don’t think I’ll experience anything like this again.
Isobel, sauna visitor at Compass Festival, Leeds
a perfect + empowering afternoon
Caroline
One of very few things that can *actually* chill me out. A safe space to sit in alone and be with your thoughts. And full of chatter and joyous naked laughter when it’s full. What a treat, and a bold act to take time out to relax.
Christie
Warms you though to the bones
Anthony
Not only cleansing for the body and spirit- such a wonderful vehicle for community and social cohesion. How can you not strike up conversation when 5 people are sat in swimwear in a horsebox! Blissful!!
Leann
Surreal moment on a rainy November evening.
Lucy
An important pitstop in the centre of a city - important to connect and especially in this way given so much unrest, disconnection and fractions. Moments + events such as this remind us of the significance of interventions which invite us to connect with strangers, those who are unfamiliar and to realise what we have in common.
Rommi
To take a break away from the everyday and sit in a sauna in the city you might think you will not hear anything but the city remains, the trains go by, the traffic behind and the cold, damp rain outside, but it’s a secret place of your own where you feel free of the world and anything is possible.
Terri
Gorgeous experience, blood pumping, thoughts flowing, eucalyptus steaming. Feels beautiful. Thank you!
Katherine
Made me feel real good about my body.
Micky
PRESS and listings for WARMTH:
The F Word Stage Blog on WARMTH at Compass Festival 2018
https://thefword.org.uk/2018/10/the-f-word-stage-blog-october-2018/
The Culture Vulture, podcast on WARMTH at Compass Festival 2108
https://theculturevulture.co.uk/cultures/compass-festival-warmth/
Leeds City Magazine on WARMTH at Compass Festival 2018
http://leedscitymagazine.co.uk/compass-festival-returns-to-leeds/
Artlyst on WARMTH at Compass Festival 2018
https://www.artlyst.com/previews/compass-2018-live-art-interactive-encounters-across-leeds/
TLM Magazine on WARMTH at Brighton Fringe [Brighton Fringe residency organised by Katie Bracher]
https://www.tlm-magazine.co.uk/out-and-about/p321969-warmth:brighton.html
Leeds Inspired on WARMTH at Arctic Bazaar, 2017
https://www.leedsinspired.co.uk/events/arctic-bazaar-0
Creative Tourist on WARMTH at the Arctic Bazaar, 2017
https://www.creativetourist.com/event/arctic-bazaar/
Art Hostel blog on WARMTH at Compass Festival 2016
https://arthostel.org.uk/category/past-projects/
Leeds Inspired on WARMTH at Compass Festival 2016
https://www.leedsinspired.co.uk/events/warmth-mobile-sauna-bethany-wells
WARMTH mobile sauna at the Antiuniversity, June 2017
http://www.antiuniversity.org/Other-Acts-of-Public-WARMTH