NOKI and SAVU have taught us something interesting.
A strong shape creates a reaction.
People want to try the hats on. They ask about them. Putting one on for the first time can sometimes require a small moment of courage – and once it is on, it gets noticed.
We like that.
We never wanted to create a sauna hat that simply disappeared into the background. We wanted to create an object with a recognisable identity of its own, while still leaving space for the personality of the person wearing it.
This September, the KIUASSUOLA™ sauna hats move briefly from the sauna bench to the catwalk as we join the Pue Villa 26 wool fashion shows in Finland – first at the Pori Handicraft Fair on 5 September and later at Helsinki Central Library Oodi on 20 September.
It feels like a particularly natural setting for them: Finnish wool, craftsmanship, design and movement coming together in one place.
A sauna hat without the unnecessary
For us, a good sauna hat begins with the material.
NOKI and SAVU are handmade in Finland from Finnish sheep wool. The natural shades of the wool are allowed to remain visible rather than being hidden beneath unnecessary colour or decoration.
The construction is equally important. The shape itself becomes the defining feature.
Recognition does not always need to come from decoration.
It can come from material, proportion and silhouette.
The collection was also designed to be genuinely gender-neutral. The hat can have a strong identity without defining the identity of the person wearing it.
That contrast has become one of our favourite aspects of the collection.
Why wear a sauna hat?
For many international sauna users, sauna hats are already familiar. For others, especially those discovering Finnish sauna culture for the first time, the idea may seem unusual.
A sauna hat is not simply decorative.
Wool acts as a natural insulating material between the head and the hottest air in the sauna. A good sauna hat can help protect the head, ears and hair from intense heat and make the sauna experience feel more comfortable, particularly during longer or hotter sessions.
It does not make the sauna cooler.
Instead, it helps create a more even personal experience of the heat.
And the use does not have to end at the sauna door. Wool works naturally in both hot and cold conditions, making the same hat equally at home beside a hot tub, during winter swimming or simply outdoors in winter.
From the beginning, NOKI and SAVU have occupied a space somewhere between functional sauna object and design piece.
They were created for the sauna, but they do not need to look as though they belong only on the sauna bench.
That is part of their appeal.
Finnish origin, with the world in mind
When we began developing the KIUASSUOLA™ sauna hats, we were looking beyond Finland from the very beginning.
But their origin was always meant to remain unmistakably Finnish: Finnish sheep wool, designed and handmade in Finland, and a form rooted in our own relationship with sauna culture.
Finnish sauna culture is increasingly recognised internationally, and the origin of Finnish materials carries a strong identity of its own. In many international markets, Finnish wool, natural materials and craftsmanship are valued precisely because they have a genuine connection to the culture they represent.
In Finland, sauna hats are familiar, but wearing one is still not an automatic part of every sauna visit.
That made the design process even more interesting.
If we were going to create our own sauna hat, it needed to feel unmistakably ours – and distinctive enough to have a place beyond Finland as well.
We deliberately chose not to compete in the category of inexpensive materials and mass-produced sauna accessories.
Instead, the starting point was the opposite:
Finnish sheep wool.
Handcraft from beginning to end.
Natural shades.
A distinctive silhouette.
The courage to turn that strong vision into a real product came through our work with Design Piritta Mäkinen, who helped give the idea its final form.
The result was NOKI and SAVU.
Natural wool is allowed to feel like wool
Natural materials have their own character.
With genuine sheep wool, a subtle natural wool scent may sometimes become noticeable when the material warms or becomes slightly damp.
For us, that is not something that needs to be disguised with artificial fragrance.
The same philosophy applies to care.
A wool sauna hat does not need constant washing. In normal use, airing the hat thoroughly is the most important form of care.
When Finnish winter conditions allow, traditional snow cleaning can also be a gentle way to freshen wool: clean, dry powder snow can help remove surface dirt and odours without unnecessarily stressing the fibres.
Routine machine washing is not part of the philosophy of these hats. Wool prefers gentle handling, good ventilation and time to dry naturally.
The less unnecessarily it is processed, the longer its natural character can remain.
Pikku Noki and Pikku Savu – created in response to Finnish customers
While NOKI and SAVU were originally developed with international markets strongly in mind, the story of Pikku Noki and Pikku Savu began much closer to home.
Finnish customers repeatedly asked us for a lower-profile version.
Many liked the material, natural colours and clean visual language of NOKI and SAVU, but wanted a slightly more understated silhouette.
Pikku Noki and Pikku Savu are our answer.
They retain the same design philosophy as the original hats.
Only the silhouette is lower.
The new models will make their first public appearances in the Pue Villa fashion shows during September before officially launching for sale in Finland at the beginning of October.
Before appearing in our online store, they will therefore first be seen in motion, surrounded by wool and as part of a fashion presentation.
That feels like exactly the right way to introduce them.
Now the collection feels complete
Pikku Noki and Pikku Savu complete the KIUASSUOLA™ sauna hat collection.
NOKI. SAVU. Pikku Noki. Pikku Savu.
Two tall, strongly shaped models and two lower-profile alternatives.
Four interpretations of the same idea.
At this point, we are not planning to keep adding new shapes to the collection.
It feels complete. ♡
A wider picture of Finnish sauna textiles
In the KIUASSUOLA™ entrance at Pue Villa, the story continues beyond the hats.
The presentation also includes beautiful Lapuan Kankurit towels, ponchos and other textiles, helping create a broader picture of the modern Finnish sauna experience.
Wool, linen, natural shades and tactile materials belong naturally together.
They also represent something we believe strongly about contemporary sauna design:
It does not need an added-on “sauna theme”.
The materials themselves can tell the story.
Less unnecessary detail.
More genuine materials.
Less decoration.
More form.
Pue Villa 26
Pori – Handicraft Fair
Saturday 5 September 2026
Pue Villa shows at 12:00 and 14:00
SAMK Agora Hall, Karjalankatu 2, Pori, Finland
Helsinki – Oodi
Sunday 20 September 2026
Pue Villa 26
KIUASSUOLA™ NOKI and SAVU, together with the new Pikku Noki and Pikku Savu models, will appear in the Pue Villa shows during September.
Pikku Noki and Pikku Savu will officially launch in Finland at the beginning of October 2026.
