Kirsti Bertheussen is a sauna master living in Norway who works at the largest spa in Scandinavia, a place called The Well — which, appropriately, is exactly how you feel after spending a day there.

While visiting The Well on a vacation I did what any reasonable person would do after many rounds of hot and cold: I wandered into the gift shop in a blissed out, post-sauna trance and bought a sauna hat.

I fell in love with this hat.

It is lightweight, somehow elegant while drenched in sweat, and — most importantly — wearable while swinging a towel without accidentally lassoing it off my head.

It quickly became a favorite possession, which is saying a lot for something whose main job is preventing your brain from slowly cooking.

In the fall, my partner Cameron traveled to Norway and planned to stop at The Well. I asked him to bring back three more hats so I could give them as Christmas gifts.

He returned with one. It was all they had to sell.

Cam reached out to the Well and asked the spa if we could order more; they connected him directly with Kirsti — the woman who hand-makes these Norwegian wool treasures.

She told him she also works as a flight attendant and flies to New York, and that she could bring some hats on her next trip.

This is very Scandinavian we thought: "I make the best sauna hats by hand and will deliver them internationally during a commercial airline layover."

As if this generosity wasn't enough we had one more question — would she be interested in doing an Aufguss while she was here?

She replied: "Yes yes, no problem."

We had absolutely no idea if she knew how to perform Aufguss but the enthusiasm was enough for us.

When Kirsti arrived in New York, she brought five hats. Explaining that she can make 1 hat per day and that it is hard for her to keep up with the demand.

We bought all 5 and then brought Kirsti to our office to talk about the aufgus that was scheduled to begin.

I was bumbling, asking silly questions to gauge if she was capable.

Within seconds she pulled a towel from her suitcase and began moving it in ways I can only describe as aerodynamic poetry.

Questions stopped.

She walked over to our wall of essential oils and instinctively selected oils for her snowballs. Then she gave me four songs to find on Spotify for her set.

I had known her for about nine minutes at this point.

Soon we were changing into bathing suits (separately — important detail) and heading down to a full sauna for Aufguss.

She asked me to turn the heat up (it was already very hot).

She listened to the safety speech once, nodded, and said, "I got it. Please go sit down."

And then she took control.

Perfectly scented ice balls landed on the rocks.

Steam rose.

Eyes closed.

She spun two towels at once, moving heat through the room like a conductor shaping an invisible orchestra.

The entire sauna shifted — not just hotter, but softer, more alive.

It was the best Aufguss we had ever experienced.

You could feel her heart in it.

She has a kind, steady, generous presence

She was taking care of everyone in the room with her skill, style and grace.

It wasn't a performance. It was hospitality in its purest form.

Craft.

Art.

Love.

Afterward we went back upstairs to relax and chat.

She casually solved a problem I'd been stuck on for six months:: sourcing proper Aufguss towels from a master I'd been studying online.

She FaceTimed him.

Turns out they're good friends.

It's a small, incredible world.

The level of sauna synchronicity felt statistically unlikely.

Now Kirsti stops by Lore monthly during her layovers, bringing hats that we buy (and try not to hoard) and performing an Aufguss.

Each visit is more exciting than the last.

The aufgus leaves Lore patrons in hot bliss.

She is one of those rare people who quietly raises the standard of everything around them.

One of the greats.

Someone we admire deeply and feel lucky to know.

You never know who you'll meet, where you'll travel to sweat

Or which small purchase in a gift shop will turn into a story about friendship, craft, and the strange beautiful network of humans devoted to heat.

Sauna has a way of doing that, bringing people together

Opening hearts and minds while connecting them.